Flooding threatens over 80,000 homes in NYC and suburbs by 2024: Report

Yahoo

08-04-2025

The Brief
Up to 82,000 homes across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester could be lost to chronic and coastal flooding by 2040, according to a new report.
The region faces a housing deficit of 680,000 units due to restrictive zoning and climate-related risks, with zoning laws allowing less than half the housing needed by 2040.
The report recommends urgent action, including zoning reform, resilient construction, and strategic buyouts in flood-prone areas to prevent a deepening housing crisis.
NEW YORK - A new report from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) projects that tens of thousands of homes across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County could be lost due to permanent, chronic, and coastal flooding by 2040 — compounding an already severe housing crisis in the region.
What we know
In its report, the RPA estimates that 82,000 housing units could be lost across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester by 2040 due to sea-level rise and storm-related flooding. That figure could double by 2070. The study warns that 77,300 acres of residential-zoned land—10.5% of all such land in the region—may face future flooding.
In New York City, neighborhoods such as the Rockaways, Canarsie, and South Ozone Park are among the most at-risk. In the suburbs, towns like Hempstead, Babylon, Islip, and Brookhaven on Long Island could each lose over 6,000 units.
By the numbers
82,000 homes at risk of flooding by 2040
1.26 million new housing units needed by 2040
680,000-unit housing deficit under current zoning laws
1.6 million people could be living in flood-prone zones by 2040
77,300 acres of residential land may face flooding in the study area
The backstory
Hurricane Sandy in 2012 destroyed or damaged 170,000 homes in New York City and Long Island. Since then, emissions have continued rising globally, and zoning restrictions in the tri-state area—especially on Long Island and in Westchester—have stalled multifamily housing development. Roughly 85% of residentially zoned land in the region allows only single-family homes, limiting options for growth.
What's next
The RPA says that policymakers need to make sure homes are built to withstand flooding and storms and to buy out housing that's at the greatest risk, all while building more housing outside of flood zones.