City leaders missed the moment — we won’t let them miss the next
July 24, 2025
Riverkeeper Team
This year’s New York City budget is out, and while the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation did see some restorations for staffing, clean water and climate resilience were not prioritized in Mayor Adams so-called “Best Budget Ever.” At a time when the “Big Beautiful Bill” in Washington is decimating funding for environmental protection and climate resiliency funding, it is disappointing that New York City lawmakers did not step up to protect New Yorkers.
Three key priorities to protect New Yorkers from future flooding were not included in this year's budget:
- Funding for the Unified Stormwater Rule, which is key to reducing street flooding and sewage overflows into waterways
- Funding for the Bureau of Coastal Resiliency, which is tasked with constructing post-Sandy coastal protection projects
- A rejection of taking funding from the NYC’s water board in the form of a rental payment, which siphons millions intended for clean water investments into the city’s general fund
There were some bright spots in the budget, including funding to protect wetlands, $3 million to fund an additional 35 staff in the Parks Department’s Natural Resources Group, and funding to keep the Financial District Seaport Coastal Resiliency Project alive in the wake of federal cuts. Riverkeeper is also pleased to have received $5,000 in discretionary funding from Council Member Susan Zhuang for a series of Sweep cleanup projects in Council District 43!
While the results of this round of budgeting was disappointing, Riverkeeper will continue to work with partners to fight for clean water and common sense climate funding. With turnover in the Council and the potential for a new Mayoral administration in January, we look forward to the opportunity to raise these issues with current and future city leaders.
Related campaigns
New York City adaptation
Advocating for climate solutions for our waterways and communities in our nation’s largest city
Strengthening protections against a changing climate
Supporting nature-based solutions to adapt to the impacts of climate change
Sewer and stormwater pollution
Working to keep sewage and street pollution out of our waterways
