NEW YORK—An East Harlem public housing development is the recipient of a FEMA grant to make it more resilient to flooding threats.
Clinton Houses will receive more than $8.3 million for a stormwater resiliency project funded through FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities 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.”
“This project reaffirms our commitment to sustainability – building resilience before disasters is a critical step toward making our communities safer for future generations,” RA Warrington added.
For more information on other BRIC funding selections, visit FEMA.gov.
The Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 Initiative aims to deliver 40% of overall benefits to projects like Clinton Houses through various FEMA programs. Project obligations like Clinton Houses—located in a disadvantaged community with the highest concentration of public housing developments in Manhattan—help the administration meet this goal.
Disadvantaged communities like East Harlem have been marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment. Increased funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help FEMA direct money toward more communities like this so they can better withstand the growing climate threat facing communities like East Harlem.
The law provides nearly $7 billion to help communities proactively reduce their vulnerability to flood, hurricanes, drought, wildfires, extreme heat and other climate-fueled hazards. The current BRIC funding announcement of $1 billion benefits from $400 million in BIL funds.
To learn more about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, visit FEMA.gov.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.