The city’s deputy mayor for operations, Meera Joshi, joined "Mornings On 1" Friday to discuss the Adams administration's response to last week’s heavy rainfall and flooding, emphasizing the city's commitment to resilience in the face of climate-related challenges. 

Reflecting on the record-breaking rainfall seen last week, Joshi said, "The climate crisis is here. Unpredictable weather is now routine, and New York City must be prepared." 

While Joshi stressed individual preparedness, she said the city itself is already working to upgrade green infrastructure to handle increasing rainfall and flooding. 

“We have to make New York City a sponge. We have to make New York City more absorbent,” she said. “We've put over $390 million in this administration into building out our green infrastructure and making sure that work continues, and [we’ve already] done a vast majority of the recommendations from the Ida report aftermath.” 

Joshi highlighted rain gardens that have been constructed across the city to absorb large quantities of rainfall, a “blue belt” in Staten Island that becomes a human-made pond during storms and the acquisition of land in the Bronx to widen streams that often cause sewer flooding. 

When asked about City Comptroller Brad Lander's audit of the administration’s response, Joshi welcomed oversight, saying, "Oversight is always helpful." She commended Lander's support for infrastructure improvements and advocated for federal funding to bolster resiliency efforts.