When the Army Corps of Engineers introduced their plans to invest in massive storm surge barriers across the waterways that feed New York Harbor in 2018, Riverkeeper led the opposition, explaining the dangers posed by the proposed in-water barriers and miles of associated walls. We assembled a large coalition of partners and raised public awareness, resulting in hundreds of public comments submitted in opposition to the shortsighted plan.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, federal legislation was passed to support a plan to address flooding solely from storm surges. After sustained lobbying, we succeeded in getting that legislation changed to address all the sources of flooding the NYC metro region suffers from and to assess and implement nature-based strategies to address that flooding wherever possible.

Our coalition is now working cooperatively with New York State, New Jersey, New York City, and the Army Corps of Engineers, bringing the concerns of our growing network of partners and community groups to the table to ensure the projects that are developed and funded will meet the current and future needs of the city. We will continue to advocate for effective projects that reflect our changing ecosystem and community needs.

Riverkeeper has long fought for the qualities of a livable New York City, including healthy water for drinking, green spaces for cooling off, safety from flooding, and access to clean rivers for fishing, swimming and boating. Achieving these goals requires immense planning and investment, and with the impacts of climate now accelerating in our region, the pressure to get this work done right and fast is acute. “PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done,” released in 2023, is the city’s current road map to address its climate threats. It recognizes the need to eliminate the city’s sewage pollution crisis, setting 2060 as a target to eliminate all combined sewage overflows, and contains other key goals such as establishing a Bureau of Coastal Resilience to coordinate flood planning across city agencies. Riverkeeper provided comments during the PlaNYC process including testimony to the City Council. We continue to track the city’s progress towards the goals in PlaNYC and to lobby for local, state and federal funding to support them.

In the lead up to the publication of PlaNYC, in 2022 we published “Building an Equitably Green New York City” with actionable recommendations to speed and sustain green infrastructure projects across the city, working in coalition with local partner organizations. Riverkeeper and our partners continue our multi-decade campaign to green the city, reducing water and air pollution and improving flood resiliency and quality of life.

Riverkeeper has also been a key partner on multiple community-specific campaigns and waterfront plans including the Newtown Creek Vision Plan, Flushing Waterways Vision Plan, and the Harlem River Watershed Hilltop Green Infrastructure Plan.

Riverkeeper is making progress in our multi-front campaign to clean up the waterways that make New York the greatest city in America. Through our patrols and our legal actions, we have identified and brought about the cleanup of some of our region's most polluted waterways including the Superfund sites on Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. With the Army Corps planning to build in-water storm surge gates that will block these waterways from draining during storms, that water pollution is likely to back-flood into neighborhood homes, businesses, and schools, making these cleanups more critical than ever.

The threat of inland flooding from heavy rain storms like Hurricane Ida or planned surge barriers raises the specter of a public health threat from the contaminants in these waterways, which range from the ubiquitous untreated city sewage to a wide variety of industrial pollutants. As we move towards a wetter future, we need clean waterways. And as we achieve those cleanups, we will have the dual benefit of more locations for safe swimming to beat the heat.