As New York City builds flood resilience, a Queens neighborhood feels neglected: We are forgotten here'

"During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, over 5ft of water rushed into his two-story home, which sits directly beside Jamaica Bay in the working class community of Edgemere. He had to swim across the street to higher ground, riding out the rest of the storm in a disabled car surrounded by water. I was praying, Ndanani told Floodlight. I just wanted to get out, and that was it, he said."

"Yet despite his horrible experience and a city-run voluntary buyout program to relocate residents of Edgemere, Ndanani says he has no intention of leaving his coastal home. Instead, Ndanani is among many Edgemere residents still hoping the city will deliver on its decade-old promise to protect the neighborhood from flooding. Edgemere is among New York City's most flood-prone neighborhoods, yet residents say they have been largely left out of the city's coastal defenses. Photograph: Evan Simon and Jeffrey Basinger / Floodlight"

"In the other neighborhood(s) they've done that, so why is Edgemere different? Ndanani asked, referring to the city's ongoing efforts to raise shorelines around Lower Manhattan. Because we don't have Wall Street here? The lack of flood protections in Edgemere, a minority neighborhood, reflects a wider trend among coastal resiliency efforts currently underway across US cities. In Charleston and Miami and Norfolk, city officials are planning billion-dollar seawalls to protect their wealthy core, but not the vulnerable communities beyond it."

Baba Ndanani has lived in Edgemere for more than 20 years and experienced over five feet of flooding during Hurricane Sandy, forcing him to flee and sleep atop an overturned refrigerator afterward. Many residents declined voluntary buyouts and hope for city-built protections instead of relocating. Edgemere lacks the coastal defenses installed in wealthier parts of New York such as Lower Manhattan. The neighborhood is majority minority and working-class, and residents feel overlooked as cities plan billion-dollar seawalls to protect wealthier cores in Charleston, Miami and Norfolk. Researchers warn that neglected, flood-prone neighborhoods like Edgemere will become increasingly common without equitable resilience investments.

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