Transcript: Mayor Adams Briefs the Media on Last Night’s Flooding

July 15, 2025

Mayor Eric Adams: We are here to update New Yorkers on the storm that hit our city last night. If you were out, as I was, I probably don't recall seeing that level of rain before. It was a high-impact storm system that brought along heavy rain, flash flooding, and strong winds to the five boroughs. We saw the heaviest rainfall in Central Park and Harlem with 2.64 inches. In fact, Central Park had the second highest one-hour rainfall total ever documented at that location, only being surpassed by what we saw four years ago during Hurricane Ida. 

The storm caused widespread travel disruption across subways, highways, and regional railing. Several subway lines were temporarily suspended or delayed due to flooding and signal issues. While a portion of the FDR Drive, Cross Bronx Expressway, and Harlem River Drive experienced closures, JFK and LaGuardia Airport significant delays and more than 1,500 Con Edison customers lost power across all five boroughs. 

Our city agencies activated their emergency response plans. While conditions have stabilized and residual impacts remain, the city is open for business. We also saw some major flooding, particularly in the subway system. But, thanks to the early communication we shared with New Yorkers and the quick response of our teams last night, everyone's morning commute went smoothly earlier today, and we saw no deaths and had no major injuries reported. 

I want to remind New Yorkers that flash floods can fill streets, stairwells, and basements in minutes, often with little or no warning. New Yorkers who live in basements, below-grade dwellings, or low-lying areas should take extra precaution, keep a go-bag near the door, clear exits, and plan to leave early if conditions worsen. 

New York City will also face dangerous heat this week, with hot and humid weather over the next few days. The heat index for today could reach levels near 95 degrees and between 95 degrees and 100 degrees Fahrenheit from Wednesday through Friday, when a heat advisory is likely. 

As I have said before, New Yorkers should have a plan to beat the heat. We talk about it all the time, use our pools and beaches to stay cool, and rest assured that because of our hundreds of lifeguards and our drones on the lookout for sharks, we will have you protected and covered. 

We're asking all New Yorkers to stay hydrated, limit time outdoors, stay in an air-conditioned space, and head to a cooling center if needed. If you must work outside, as I've already stated, drink plenty of water, and stay in the shade. Never leave your children or pets in parked cars during this heat, and make sure to check on your older family members and neighbors.

[Crosstalk.]

You can find many ways to stay cool online by going to newyorkcity.gov/beattheheat or calling 311. New Yorkers can sign up on Notify NYC, the city's free emergency notification system, which will keep everyone updated about weather and air quality issues. 

From day one, the administration has made it clear public safety is our hallmark, and weather-related injuries or death is something we want to alleviate, if not eradicate. So be prepared, be safe, and stay cool. I want to turn it over to the DEP commissioner and our chief climate officer, Rohit Aggarwala.

Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala, Department of Environmental Protection: Thank you, mayor. Good morning, everybody. Last night's storm was a continuation of the pattern that we've seen over the last several years of the increasing frequency of these tropical-style intense but short bursts of rain that we have been getting. 

With last night, it is now the case that five of the most intense rainstorms in New York City's history have taken place in the last four years. And in addition to what the mayor cited as the 2.7 per inch, or I'm sorry, per hour number that was recorded at Central Park, the absolute peak of yesterday's storm during 15 minutes recorded a rate of 4.08 inches per hour, according to New York State's mesonet monitoring system. That compares with a peak rate of 6.06 in Ida, which is the highest we've ever recorded. And so last night was one of the most intense rainstorms the system has dealt with. 

Many of you recognize, and we've been talking about for several years, the fact that the city's sewers were designed over the last 100 or 200 years to deal with an intense rainstorm of up to 1.75 inches per hour. So what happened last night is really quite simple. The pipes were designed for a certain amount of water. A lot more water fell from the sky and was trying to get into them. 

We have been working on stormwater management and resilience to these climate change intense rainstorms since the beginning of this administration. Over the last several years, we have developed our first stormwater resilience strategy. We put out a report on that a year and a half ago. We've significantly invested in improving our ability to maintain the system. 

So because we have new catch basin cleaning trucks, we have a lot more availability. And in fact, only a year ago, we had a backlog of 5,000 catch basins waiting to be cleaned. As of my most recent data from a couple of weeks ago, we had only 263 catch basins. That's out of 150,000 across the city waiting to be cleaned. So we are doing, I believe, a really good job of maintaining the sewers to carry just as much water as they possibly can and as much as they were designed for. 

The problem, as we know, is that this is a level of rain that we never expected over the 400 years we've been here and over the 150 years we've been building these sewer systems. So we've done a lot over the last three years, but as we have talked about at great length, addressing stormwater resilience to fix this underground infrastructure is going to be the work of tens of years, decades. 

We put out our report last spring that estimated a total cost of roughly $30 billion and somewhere between 15 and 20 years of work. The reality is that fixing underground sewers takes a lot of design time. A couple of months ago, we announced a $390 million project to increase the capacity of the sewer under Knickerbocker Avenue and Bushwick by a factor of nine, literally expanding its capacity 9x. That's a $390 million project that will take eight years through design and construction because the reality is these things are difficult. 

We've also been working very closely with the MTA over the last several years. For example, we have done a project to identify 45 subway stations that experienced flooding during Hurricane Ida, and we have cleaned two and a half miles of the sewers surrounding those subway systems. We've just finished a two-year project to clean a siphon that will protect Sunnyside Yard from flooding, and we've put in new infrastructure over the last year and a half at the Dyckman Street station on the 1 train and the 103rd Street station on the 6 train, all to protect against flooding. 

The reality is that the subways are underground. They are where water will flow, and so we do work very closely with the MTA to protect that underground infrastructure, but it is a long-term effort. That's all I've got for now. Happy to answer questions.

Mayor Adams: Thank you, Rohit. Kayla, why don't we open up to questions regarding this?

Question: Great. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mayor Adams. And everybody for being on this call. Just a question in terms of what we saw last night at 28th Street in particular. A station there had flooded very badly. And from what we understand, you know, the issue in that part of the city on the west side is one that is not new. 

Last summer, I believe, there was a major water main break that really incapacitated the 1, 2, and 3 lines. That break happened at 42nd Street and Times Square. But considering what we're seeing now repeatedly, can I ask what the level of priority is as far as upgrading the sewer system to hold that amount of water in that area of the city?

Commissioner Aggarwala: Sure. I'm happy to take that. Well, look, first of all, the water main break that you're referring to was two years ago, and a water main break and the storm we had last night are radically different. And so really they're unrelated. I'm happy to talk as much as you'd like about what we are doing in terms of water main management, where we've got actually a really good track record doing a lot of preventative work. 

Well, look, as you point out, there are some subway stations that are more prone to flood than others. Several down in Chelsea have been the scene of past flooding. And as I've said, we have been systematically working through with the MTA all of the subway stations that have had these repeated flooding events. 

The unfortunate–  and we've done some work, as I described, whether it's tactical investments in infrastructure or the kind of cleaning and maintenance that's preventative and gets as much power out of the sewers as they are designed to have. The MTA also has done work, and they will have to continue to do their own resilience. Actually, I think the MTA's resilience planning is really very strong. 

But, for example, you know, you've seen around the city some places where you have to step up to go down into the subway. That's so that the water doesn't cascade down the steps. That was one of the factors, and I think it was 23rd Street that had one of the videos that was most vivid. We also have to look at where some of those manhole covers are underground, and that's something we'll certainly be doing an after-action, after-event discussion with MTA to see what they saw, what work they can do, what work we can do. 

The reality is I don't know that it's at all possible to design the sewers to handle 4 inches of rain per hour at that rate. And I think at some point we have to recognize that what Emergency Management did, as the mayor talked about, warning people to stay safe and pardoning this infrastructure has got to be part of the solution. 

It's one of the reasons that DEP has been doing flood events where we go into neighborhoods. We were in the Bronx maybe a week or two ago. We'll be, in fact, in Upper Manhattan later this week, I think, if not next, where we teach homeowners how to protect their property because the reality is we are going to do as much work as we possibly can, but number one, we can't protect against absolutely everything, and this is a long-term project. There's no way around it.

Question: Everybody can hear me? 

Mayor Adams: Yes. 

Question: Hi, mayor, commissioner. Thanks for this opportunity. It sounds like this is then the new normal, and you almost have to address things as they arise. 

Could you be a little more specific about what's clogging the catch basins? When you see these things, what are you pulling out of there? What's causing the issues, the blockage there, and could something be done to a drain? Would that help if there wasn't these drains being blocked? Because they could get blocked today maybe after– you're going back out there.

Commissioner Aggarwala: Yes. So there are two ways that catch basins can fail, and, again, let me reiterate. I think most of the flooding we had last night had nothing to do with the catch basins failing. It was just, you know, you're trying to put, imagine putting a 2-liter bottle of liquid into a 1-liter bottle. Some of it's going to spill, right? There was just more water trying to get into the subway, into the sewers than the sewers are designed to handle. 

When we clean catch basins, what we find when we have to go in and scoop them out with a big crane claw kind of thing, it's leaves, it's garbage, it's plastic bags, it's things like that. What also happens, and can happen in a violent, especially windy storm like we had last night, is that the catch basins get matted over, and that's actually street debris that doesn't clog them but just overtops them. 

We actually started a project in Greenpoint with Councilmember Ressler just a couple of months ago where we're inviting residents to commit to clearing off a catch basin because that's safe to do. Only we can go in and clean out and scoop out what's in there, but the average citizen with a rake or a broom can move leaves aside, and that can help if there's standing water. But again, that is not what we understand really happened last night. 

It was an intense burst of rain, and in fact, as the mayor pointed out, relatively quickly the rain subsided. It was actually a short, even though it was a very intense storm, and most of the flooding subsided relatively quickly around the city, which indicates that the drains were functioning. They just weren't big enough to handle the peak flow. 

Question: Yeah, and there wasn't something to open that could have been open to drain more off. 

Commissioner Aggarwala: No, the pipes are in the ground. It's a massive project to expand them, which we are not afraid of doing, and as I said, we announced a big project in Bushwick. We've got another project we're doing in Dyker Heights. We're doing a lot of planning still in Kissena Park. 

And I will point out it's one of the things. We've done these cloudburst projects. We've got our first one in South Jamaica where we design public areas to hold water. Unfortunately, some of the funding for that was federal funding, and it is now at risk, but nonetheless, we have a variety of tools that we're bringing to bear for climate resilience.

Question: Hey, I just want to clarify. Was a reason pinpointed for the flooding at 23rd and 28th Street, or is that still under investigation? And also, this $30 billion cost over 15 to 20 years to repair the most vulnerable parts of the sewer system, can you compare that to what your annual budget is, Rohit?

Commissioner Aggarwala: Sure. So a couple of things. First of all, we'll have the conversation with the MTA about what they actually experienced and saw at those two stations, but the reality is it's two things. It's water surcharging out of the sewer, and it's water cascading down from the street. So, you know, those are the things that happen. 

I'll point out also, you used the word repair. That's not accurate. We're not talking about repairing a broken system. We're talking about expanding a system that is actually in a pretty good state of repair, but was not designed for the task it's currently got because our climate has changed. 

You and I have talked about the fact that in 2020, the federal government reclassified New York City from the coastal temperate climate zone to the subtropical climate zone. So it's as if New York City moved 500 miles south, and so we have an infrastructure that was designed for an environment we no longer live in. 

To get to your budget question, $30 billion, our current total 10-year capital plan is $33 billion. That covers everything, our drinking water supply, the aqueducts, the reservoirs, the water treatment, our wastewater treatment plants and protecting the quality of water in the harbor, and our sewers. 

Right now, we are spending about $1 billion a year on sewers and stormwater management. So that 30-year number, I mean $30 billion at current spending, it would take us 30 years to do that. We're doing a lot of engineering work now, and of course you can't immediately increase how much you spend because we have to do the planning first that gets us ready to do more actual construction later on.

Question: Hi, can you hear me? 

Mayor Adams: Yes, we can. 

Question: Thanks. City Hall looks fancy, Mayor Adams. Is that City Hall? 

My question is about the city's, what it's doing on its stormwater management system to prevent this in the future. It keeps happening, and experts told us at the city that there hasn't been enough interaction between the city and the MTA on fixes. 

And my second question is, you know, looking at Hurricane Ida or Tropical Storm Ida, that rainfall was the remnants of a tropical storm. This wasn't. And I know for some climate scientists, this is really alarming. And I wanted to hear from maybe you, the mayor, and the DEP commissioner. The federal government has been gutting research programs and funding for climate change studies, for what information is shared between states. 

Maybe, you know, if the DEP commissioner wants to talk about how those cuts on the federal level have impacted at all New York City when it comes to predicting storms and how they interact with other agencies, even federally, about what's going to happen.

Mayor Adams: And I'll have Rohit answer that. But I think at the heart of what we are facing, the rule books seem to have changed drastically. And I think the commissioner really put it in a very simple way to understand. When you have a two-liter bottle poured into a one-liter, there's going to be some serious concerns and spilloffs. That's what we witnessed. 

Second highest rainfall in Central Park, not due to a Category 5 hurricane, but a tropical storm. And that is how significant this is. And he has stated this over and over again, that it really must resonate. Our sewer system is not built to manage this much water in a short period of time. And in order to change and build out our sewer system, what we're going to do is going to take time and money. That's something that we've allocated to doing so. 

So this is catching up to the change in our climate and these rainfalls that we're seeing. And particularly, not only how they impact the coastal areas, but how they are impacting the inner communities. Rohit, do you want to talk about the dollar changes amount on the federal level?

Commissioner Aggarwala: Sure. Well, Katie, first of all, I want to address, you know, I actually I saw a report from a professor, I think, who said something about the MTA and the city not working together. I don't know that that's an informed perspective on what we have or have not been doing. 

And again, I'll point to the fact that we have monthly coordinating meetings with the MTA on resilience planning. As I said, we cleaned two and a half miles of sewers designed to be around 45 stations that the MTA identified for us as having had flooding events in the past. We put new infrastructure to protect the Dyckman Street station on the one train and I think it's the one train and the 103rd Street station on the sixth train. 

And we've had a two-year joint project to clear out a lot of construction debris from east side access on the siphon that actually protects Sunnyside Yard from flooding. So we worked very closely with the MTA. The MTA, of course, has a great resilience program as well, as I mentioned. They've elevated some of the steps. That's a really valuable protection against water cascading in over the stairways. There are some parts of an underground system that are going to be very difficult to protect. 

If you look at the way Metro-North runs through the Bronx, it's depressed below street level. It's hard to drain something that's below street level. You look at some of their facilities that are right along the water. In a rainstorm, much like happened on the FDR Drive last night, you've got the Harlem line, I'm sorry, the Hudson line runs right along the river. It is prone to flooding and the MTA has recognized that they need to work on that. 

And as I said, we will continue to do this targeted work around specific subway stations where there are quick fixes. Frankly, in most cases, if there's a quick fix, we've already done it, but we're going to keep looking for more. 

And then we have to think about how to do things differently over the long term, whether that's a big capital project on their side to harden the subway station, whether there's work on our side to drain water away from that subway station, or whether we think very differently about the design of that subway station. All of those things are going to have to be in play. But again, I take issue with the idea that we don't work closely with them. We actually work quite regularly with MTA Capital on this problem.

Question: Hi, yes. I guess this question was already answered, but I just want to be specific.

[Crosstalk.]

Question: So I was saying, I keep on hearing everybody talking about, you know, long-term infrastructure. It's going to take a while to get the city to catch up. But what can be done right now? Is there need to be more education about cleaning the catch basins? Do more DEP staffers need to go out and clean the catch basins ahead of time? 

I mean, what resources can be done right now? Because it seems like the infrastructure is going to be lagging for the next couple of years, but the storms and the rainfall are going to come regularly. So how can the city be prepared now if everything changes in the future?

Commissioner Aggarwala: Well, so let me– Oh, go ahead, mayor.

Mayor Adams: No, no, no. I was going to pass it over to you, commissioner.

Commissioner Aggarwala: Okay. Look, let me reiterate a couple of things. One, we've been doing both long-term planning and any kind of short-term fixes we can find. In our 2024 stormwater report, we outline the fact that we have near-term changes we can make, but they will be insufficient. That's what we said a year and a half ago. So this is consistent with that. 

I'll also point out, as I said at the outset, we have, over the last two years, significantly increased our catch basin fleet, the trucks that actually do that cleaning, the resources devoted to that effort, and the maintenance regime that we use. And so whereas a year ago, less than half of our trucks were in service, we now have more than two-thirds of our trucks in service at any given time. And that is why we've dramatically reduced the backlog. 

So basically, any catch basin we identify as needing cleaning, we are cleaning within a couple of weeks. A year ago, that backlog was 5,000 catch basins. Today, it's a little over 200, right? So, I have to take issue with the idea that there is maintenance work to be done. The problem is not how we maintain the system. We have to continue to maintain the system, of course, and we must do that, we will do that. But what we are doing is planning to expand the system and helping people protect their property. 

Working with the MTA, and of course, they've got a great team on it, how can they protect their subway stations? And as I mentioned, doing these outreach efforts with homeowners and others across the city to help people protect their property. 

I will note, you know, last night I was a little bit, I was pleasantly surprised. We did not get a lot of complaints about sewer backups, which I was really worried about. And that's something that we've seen in many other storms.

I mean, as the mayor said, this storm is comparable to what hit the Western Bronx, or the Eastern Bronx, I'm sorry, last August. And it's comparable to the big storm Ophelia that did so much damage in North Brooklyn in September of 2023. I think the city has recovered more quickly from last night's storm. And in part, I think that's due to the really good work that we've done over the last couple of years.

First Deputy Commissioner Christina Farrell, Emergency Management Department: Hey, it's Christina Farrell at Emergency Management. I just wanted to jump on what the DEP commissioner said. You know, there are a lot of things that city agencies but also city residents can do. 

You know, we activated the flash flood plan on Sunday, gave a heads up to the agencies, as he knows, and they were out and about on Sunday and all day Monday. But also, as I'm sure you all know, we have NotifyNYC. Almost 5,000 New Yorkers signed up in the last week for NotifyNYC. We track it every day. And we have about 1.3 million New Yorkers on there. But, you know, we want everyone on there. 

We sent out 26 messages from Sunday until this morning dealing with this storm. We also have our strengthening communities groups that go out, that work, just like he talked about with homeowners. We're also very focused on basement apartment dwellers, making sure that they're safe, they know when they might have to evacuate. So it really is a whole-of-community effort. 

And we also, as you may have noticed, every time there is a storm like this coming, we collaborate with DEP and we send out a message encouraging people, when it's safe, to clean off the top of their catch basins, as the commissioner noted, so people can get rid of those plastic bags and the things that might slow down the water. 

And we will come talk to anyone at any time in basically any language about how to be prepared. So, you know, always reach out to emergency management for more information.

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