Cool Neighborhoods NYC.pdf

The City of New York has launched Cool Neighborhoods NYC, a $106 million program to keep communities safe during hot weather and mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE). The program aims to reduce heat-related illnesses and mortality, particularly in high-vulnerability neighborhoods.

Key Strategies:

1. Heat Mitigation Strategies:
Targeted street tree plantings to increase shade and canopy cover
Implementing NYC CoolRoofs to increase high albedo surfaces
Understanding the role of cool pavements in addressing UHIE
Implementing green infrastructure to reduce urban heat island effect
2. Heat Adaptation Strategies:
Launching climate risk training for home health aides
Encouraging New Yorkers to check on at-risk neighbors through Be a Buddy NYC
Building partnerships with health and weather reporters for preventative messaging
Advocating for reforms to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Improving ventilation and ensuring operable windows in residential buildings
3. Monitoring Strategies:
Collecting innovative data to deliver inclusive and health-focused climate policy

Key Facts:

Extreme heat is the number one cause of mortality from extreme weather in NYC
NYC experiences an average of 450 heat-related emergency department visits, 150 heat-related hospital admissions, and 13 heat-stroke deaths per year
The Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) makes cities up to 22°F hotter than rural and suburban areas
The Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) identifies NYC's most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, which are disproportionately affected by social and health risk factors.