Riverkeeper’s action plan for the new Mayor
November 5, 2025
Riverkeeper Team
On Tuesday, New Yorkers elected a new mayor to lead the nation’s largest city. As part of his campaign centered on affordability and a liveable city for everyone, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani spoke of the need to tackle increased flooding head on — and as Mayor, he will need to make key clean water and climate resilience investments to ensure New York City remains a place where New Yorkers can live for generations to come.
These investments include upgrading stormwater infrastructure and coastal storm defenses to protect New Yorkers from flooding, addressing threats to New York City’s drinking water supply, and embracing an expansive vision of our waterways as key open spaces in the city that should be clean and accessible to all New Yorkers.
Riverkeeper looks forward to working with the new Mayor and his administration on our shared priorities including: ensuring that every New Yorker has access to clean, affordable drinking water; creating programs to install resilient green infrastructure — like green roofs that absorb stormwater runoff — on schools and affordable housing citywide; and investing in parks, waterways, and open spaces as essential natural infrastructure that helps cool cities, absorb carbon, reduce flooding, and improve air quality.
Learn more about Riverkeeper’s action plan for the next Mayor below — distinct policies Mayor Mamdani can take in his first year in office to ensure that New York City’s waters remain clean, healthy, and climate resilient in the face of a changing climate.
Action plan for the new Mayor
- Protect New York City’s world class drinking water supply by:
- Investing in watershed protection that uses best available science to control emerging threats to NYC’s upstate drinking water supply
- Working with upstate communities to regulate road salts and fund the marginal costs of more sustainable de-icing practices
- Continuing land acquisition of sensitive streamside properties
- Ensure all New Yorkers have access to clean water by:
- Transforming Rikers Island into a sewage pollution reduction and renewable energy hub
- Directing the NYC DEP to continue working towards zero combined sewer overflows in NYC waters by 2060, investing in reducing water pollution to protect public health and the environment
- Expanding the NYC DEP’s Green Infrastructure Program to schools and affordable housing citywide to improve water quality and mitigate stormwater flooding
- Funding the NYC DEP to implement the Unified Stormwater Rule and the Stormwater Masterplan
- Make water rates affordable for all New Yorkers by:
- Modernizing the NYC DEP’s water rate structure to include new development fees and affordability carve outs
- Committing to not diverting funds from the New York City Water Board for other budget needs as Mayor
- Supporting Rain Ready NY Act in Albany to ensure large, impermeable properties do their part in managing stormwater
- Maintaining safe sources of drinking water to avoid costly filtration, saving ratepayers billions
- Build a resilient New York City for the future by:
- Working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward the Harbor and Tributary Study (HATS) to protect New York Harbor from storm surge
- Empowering the Bureau of Coastal Resilience to tackle projects citywide by passing legislation to codify the office and fully fund it
- Reimagining New York’s public spaces by turning existing parks, streets, schools, open spaces and waterways into climate mitigators that manage stormwater, contribute to flood resilience, and reduce extreme heat, using the NYC DEP’s Cloudburst hubs as a roadmap
Learn more about our Clean Water, Coastal and Stormwater Resilience, and NYC Drinking Water policy priorities at riverkeeper.org/policy
Related campaigns
New York City drinking water
The water supply for 9.5 million New Yorkers depends on keeping our watersheds clean and protected
New York City adaptation
Advocating for climate solutions for our waterways and communities in our nation’s largest city
Sewer and stormwater pollution
Working to keep sewage and street pollution out of our waterways
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