Judy Huynh

Spectrum News TX: “FEMA is frontline aid for states across the country,” said Amy Chester, director of Rebuild by Design, a New York University-based nonprofit that has been helping communities adapt to climate change ever since Hurricane Sandy.

The Hill: The nonpartisan organization Rebuild by Design notes that 40 states experienced 10 or more major disasters (those causing more than $1 billion in damages) from 2011 to 2024. During that period, every county in 28 states suffered at least one major weather disaster. Only two of America’s 435 congressional districts escaped big weather

Times of San Diego: Rebuild by Design “put designers in the driver’s seat to come up with ideas as to how to protect Manhattan from the next superstorm,” Rost said. “We saw it as an opportunity not just to build a wall around Manhattan, which would be a huge undertaking,” but also to transform the

The Cool Down: New York City has a new elevated waterfront park, and the first section just opened to the public 13 years after Hurricane Sandy flooded lower Manhattan, the Guardian reported. “This is a project that brings the community to the water,” said Amy Chester, director of Rebuild by Design, a New York-based nonprofit

The Guardian: ‘The whole idea was to use the park as the “wall” that would protect the community behind it, but also give the community new access to a park they could enjoy,’ said Amy Chester, director of Rebuild by Design, a New York-based non-profit that worked with city and federal officials on the project.

EESI: After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, New Jersey received U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding for two adaptation projects: Rebuild by Design (RBD) – Hudson River and RBD – RBD – Hudson River received an initial $230 million. RBD – Hudson River includes six parks in Hoboken designed to retain and rebuff water.

Patch: In a recent study conducted by Rebuild by Design (RBD), 1.3 million people in New Jersey live in high flood risk areas, with half of those being lower-income individuals who may lack the resources to evacuate. An additional $277.7 billion in property value and $3.2 billion in annual tax revenue are also under threat

Arch Paper: A short PATH ride away in Hoboken is ResilienCity Park (formerly known as Northwest Resiliency Park). Led by E&LP (now AKRF) with landscapes by OLIN, ResilienCity was created through the Hudson River component of Rebuild By Design, a post-Sandy initiative founded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Leisure Opportunities: Memorial Day (29 May) saw the opening of phase one of the East River Park redevelopment in New York City, with the newly opened section featuring new basketball and tennis courts, picnic and BBQ areas, a large passive lawn, a flexible use space and several hundred new trees.  

Cape May County Herald: A new report by the public-private partnership Rebuild by Design says Cape May and Atlantic counties have the most property vulnerable to flood damage in the next 25 years. The report projects 70% of Cape May County will be at risk by 2050.