Nearly 1,200 green infrastructure upgrades, including rain gardens and infiltration basins, set to capture over 122 million gallons of stormwater annually

As part of Earth Week celebrations, New York City Mayor Eric Adams marked Earth Day with the announcement of a major environmental and public safety milestone: the completion of a $42.3 million flood prevention infrastructure project in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush and Canarsie neighborhoods.

The project is expected to dramatically reduce roadway flooding, safeguard property, and protect lives from increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

“Protecting New Yorkers from the clear and present danger to life and property that flooding poses is critical to keeping New Yorkers safe on Earth Day and every day,” said Mayor Eric Adams.

“These investments in Canarsie and East Flatbush will capture enough water annually to fill 184 Olympic swimming pools — keeping residents safe and reducing flooding. Our administration continues to focus on creating a safer, more affordable city, and with climate change continuing to produce more intense and more frequent extreme weather, investments like these are a key part of our public safety and affordability strategies.”

The ambitious project includes nearly 1,200 new green infrastructure installations: 906 infiltration basins and 291 rain gardens that will together absorb approximately 122.5 million gallons of stormwater each year — the equivalent of 184 Olympic-sized pools. These installations will keep stormwater from overwhelming sewers and flooding streets, particularly in flood-prone neighborhoods.

Rain gardens, which resemble traditional curbside tree beds, are designed to store up to 2,500 gallons of water that slowly infiltrate the ground. Infiltration basins function similarly but at sidewalk level, seamlessly blending into the streetscape with walkable surfaces.

Deputy Mayor for Operations Jeff Roth emphasized the urgent need for these interventions: “Stronger and more frequent storms are felt more acutely with every passing year.

This Earth Day, one thing is clear: We need to bring every resource we have to bear to protect communities from the water that laps at our shores and inundates us from above. Delivering rain gardens and infiltration basins may seem minor, but in aggregate, they offset tens of millions of gallons of rainwater, saving property and, most importantly, lives.”

In addition to reducing flood risk, the project includes the planting of 223 new trees across East Flatbush and Canarsie. These neighborhoods are among the city’s most heat-vulnerable, and the new trees will help mitigate the urban heat island effect by providing shade and improving air quality.

“Every storm is a reminder that climate change is here and hitting New York City hard,” said NYC Chief Climate Officer and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. “This new green infrastructure in East Flatbush and Canarsie will soak up stormwater to ease flooding and reduce pollution.”

Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Elijah Hutchinson added: “These trees will help to cool some of the city’s hottest neighborhoods, including Canarsie, one of our Climate Strong Communities. As that program has shown us, so many of our residents are at risk of multiple climate threats. Today’s announcement is a perfect example of how we’re going to have to think holistically to keep our communities safe from climate hazards as the city gets hotter and wetter.”

The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) led the effort, with support from the Department of Environmental Protection and the NYC Department of Transportation.

“Bringing green infrastructure to East Flatbush and Canarsie, Brooklyn as part of these two projects is just one way we are celebrating Earth Week at DDC,” said DDC Commissioner Thomas Foley. “We are completing other projects like these all over the city, and have a team working hard every day to find engineering and architectural solutions to make our infrastructure and public buildings stock greener while also combating the effects of climate change.”

New York City Economic Development Corporation President & CEO Andrew Kimball echoed the importance of infrastructure resilience: “Investments in resilient infrastructure are vital to keeping our city and New Yorkers safe.”

The newly completed project is part of the Adams administration’s broader commitment to stormwater resilience. Since taking office, the administration has dedicated $12.3 billion to stormwater infrastructure through the Ten Year Capital Plan — including traditional sewer upgrades and cutting-edge green infrastructure. National studies suggest that such investments yield a 7:1 return by preventing costly flood damage.

Last year, Mayor Adams also celebrated milestones in five other public safety initiatives, including sewer capacity upgrades in College Point and Maspeth, the installation of the 200th flood sensor in Corona, and groundbreaking on the city’s first Cloudburst project at NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses — a project projected to divert 3.5 million gallons of stormwater from the sewer system annually.

With this Earth Day achievement, New York City takes another significant step toward climate resilience, combining nature-based solutions and forward-thinking urban planning to protect its most vulnerable neighborhoods.