Times Union: Every one of New York’s 62 counties over the past decade have experienced a flooding disaster. Flooding has ravaged urban, suburban, and rural communities, with devastating harm to black, white, Hispanic, Asian and Native American residents. Affluent communities are damaged by floods and low-income communities are hurt the most.

We can’t stop the rain. But we can prepare for the future if our governor and Legislature will make a substantial infrastructure investment that can protect us from floods while also making improvements in our communities and local economies.

The problem is inescapable. New York state has been experiencing increasing rainfall, with more intensity. Each storm causes human tragedy and millions or even billions of dollars in damages. While Hurricanes Irene, Sandy and Lee got huge and warranted news coverage, unnamed storms wreak havoc around the state on an astonishingly regular basis.

While we commend our state government for committing to reduce the impacts of climate change by eliminating net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, that does not obviate the need for immediate action to protect lives and communities statewide. Read more>>