Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine announced a proposal to create a new city agency to oversee coastal resiliency projects in an interview with Bobby Cuza on "Inside City Hall" Thursday.
Levine said 11 city agencies currently have jurisdiction over the coastal resiliency projects, creating an unnecessary web of bureaucracy and slowing down construction.
"We have got to do better," Levine said. "We need a single, unified agency that can lead the design, construction, management and governance of our coastal resiliency projects."
The new agency would require City Council approval and a change to the city charter, according to Levine. But in response to questions about the cost of a new agency, the Manhattan borough president argued that "the efficiency would save the city money." He noted that 10 years after Hurricane Sandy, "doing this work is not just critical to saving lives in New York City, it's critical to our economy."
According to Levine's vision, the new agency would oversee development of the coastal resiliency projects, but would not have complete control of the city's coastline.
Streamlining the decision-making process as the city implements the projects cannot come fast enough, he said.
"Low-lying areas of the city are vulnerable. Hundreds of thousands of families are vulnerable," the borough president said. "We have got to figure out a way to protect them."
Levine also discussed the passage of a "bathroom bill" in the City Council that he co-sponsored. The bill would mandate the city identify locations for public bathrooms in each zip code.