The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that it is providing more than $8.3 million for a stormwater resiliency project to the Clinton Houses, a public housing development in East Harlem, New York City.
The funding comes through FEMA’s FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program’s FY21 funding cycle. The project aims to reduce the effects of extreme rainfall events in the low-income housing community.
The Clinton Houses and its surrounding streets — a critical shelter and transportation lifeline for East Harlem — have been subject to persistent stormwater flooding. Extreme rainfall events are becoming more frequent, more disruptive and more dangerous to the community.
The project will control flooding through nature-based detention and retention basins capable of managing nearly 1.8 million gallons of rainfall runoff. The project will also address extreme heat through multi-functional open spaces.
“In New York City, we are seeing an increase in extreme rainfall events which are severely impacting our communities,” said FEMA Region 2 Administrator David Warrington. “Thanks to FEMA’s BRIC program, we can implement innovative solutions to help mitigate impacts, especially in disadvantaged and underserved communities. Clinton Houses, a low-income public housing development in East Harlem, is just one example of how we are leveraging nature-based solutions to reduce risk and benefit the community in many other ways.”
