Climate Change Isn't
Coming, It's Here

The Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan aims to build Lower Manhattan’s resilience to climate risks, including daily tides and coastal storms. We are developing a comprehensive plan to secure the future of the region.
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Protecting Lower Manhattan

Why Protect Lower Manhattan?

Slide A Critical Hub of Transportation for the City and Region Three quarters of the city’s subways, 17 ferry routes, commuter buses, and the PATH train pass through Lower Manhattan. Climate change would have devastating consequences throughout the city and region, interrupting life for residents, workers, students, and the half a million commuters that travel through Lower Manhattan every day.
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OF COMMUTERS LIVE OUTSIDE OF LOWER MANHATTAN OF LOWER MANHATTAN WORKERS COME FROM THE OTHER 4 BOROUGHS OF LOWER MANHATTAN WORKERS COME FROM OUTSIDE NYC 73% 50% 33% Slide A Driver of the City’s Workforce and Economy Climate change threatens jobs and the city’s economy, as Lower Manhattan represents 8% of the city’s GDP and $6.5B in annual revenue. Close to 300,000 people work in Lower Manhattan, including New Yorkers from every community district across the city, and they work in finance, insurance, health care, education, architecture and engineering, media, law, retail, and more.
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1 $6.5 BILLION JOBS IN NYC IN ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2019 IN ANNUAL GDP (8% OF THE CITY'S TOTAL) $74 BILLION 10 in Slide A Center of Culture, Community, and Civic Life Lower Manhattan is more than a business district, with a residential community that has tripled in the past two decades, tens of thousands of students, and millions of visitors every year. The area is also a center of civic and cultural life. Climate change could disrupt daily life and force Lower Manhattan’s residents, as well educational and cultural institutions, to find a new home.
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RESIDENTS STUDENTS 62k 23k 2000 2020 STUDENTS 55,000 170% 21 INCREASE IN RESIDENTS IN LOWER MANHATTAN HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS

Comprehensive Strategy to Protect Lower Manhattan

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Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) is the City’s strategy to adapt Lower Manhattan to climate change for this generation and the next. The City released the LMCR study in March 2019; it was the most comprehensive assessment to date of the area’s climate risks.

Because of Lower Manhattan’s vulnerabilities, the City is taking action now—investing $500 million to protect workers, residents, businesses, schools, critical infrastructure and more across 70% of Lower Manhattan’s coastline. For each project, the resiliency strategy and design of flood protection infrastructure is tailored to the neighborhood’s unique context and flood risk.

The City is working to identify the right resiliency projects for the Financial District (“FiDi”) and South Street Seaport (the “Seaport”) neighborhoods. While there are interim flood protection measures in place for a section of the area, they are short-term solutions. The area’s low-lying topography, dense infrastructure, and complex waterfront and maritime uses make it particularly challenging to adapt for the long-term.

To respond to this challenge, we are advancing the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan.

Learn More About Each of the LMCR Projects:

  1. Brooklyn Bridge Montgomery Coastal Resilience
  2. Battery Park City Coastal Resiliency
  3. The Battery Coastal Resiliency

What Is the City Doing in Other Neighborhoods?

The City has invested more than $20 billion in climate resiliency to-date and major projects are ongoing in all five boroughs. For more information, visit the Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency website.

What Does Lower Manhattan Mean to You?

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I think of FiDi as New Amsterdam, the original Dutch settlement that laid the blueprint for the city that became New York. We must protect and preserve what is left of it and make sure this area is secure as the climate shifts around us. It is also, of course, a growing neighborhood and the beating heart of a major metropolis – creative, robust, integrated resiliency planning is necessary to make sure the many people who live, work, and pass through here can continue to thrive.

-Jennifer McDermott
Lower Manhattan deserves protection from storm surge and sea level rise. The answer is a \'layered defense\" with local sea walls to protect against slowly rising sea levels and a regional sea gate system connect Breezy point to sandy hook and across Throgs Neck to protect lower manhattan and all of NYC\'s 550 miles of coastline in a way that actually meets our social justice values To dat ether City has utterly failed to meet its obligation to protect Lower Manhattan as well as the other boroughs

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Lower Manhattan is our home! What I loved about living and working in Lower Manhattan was proximity to the water, how open it is, and how vibrant and diverse the community is. For outboard proposals, please consider porosity of the development edge. Flood protection is necessary, but so is the preservation of the form/character of the area (especially the low, historic areas). It would also be great if more green (not just hardscape parks) were implemented, to serve double duty, interspersed with higher density outboard interventions (to avoid a wall of development). Outboard development also needs to remain inclusive to the incomes and backgrounds that already exist in communities (e.g. Seaport/Two Bridges).

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Away from the noise and crowds of Midtown, Lower Manhattan has a completely different vibe to it. It is drenched in history, with the Statue of Liberty symbolizing a new dawn of opportunity for millions of immigrants over the years. Lower Manhattan is home away from home for me! And I strive every day, both personally and professionally, to protect it against the elements.

-Latha Chandrasekaran
FIDI Lower Manhattan has been my home for 42 years and it needs protection from climate change danger. Super Storm Sandy was a wake up call and to date there are no plans to remediate the problem. A resiliency park on an empty lot could be used as part of the solution.

-Linda Roche
When I worked in Lower Manhattan, I appreciated the easy access by bike, subway, or ferry.

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