As catastrophic as Hurricane Sandy was, had it struck nine hours earlier a large part of the city’s food supply could have washed away, city officials disclosed yesterday.
“We got lucky with our food, in that the storm did not impact The Bronx the way it did other parts of the city,” said Seth Pinsky, head of a city task force studying how to cope with future storms.
His reference was to the Hunts Point market, supplier of 60 percent of the city’s fresh produce, which was largely spared as Sandy slammed the Rockaways, Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn to the south.
Mayor Bloomberg is issuing a report today on plans for protecting the city from future devastating storms caused by climate change.
By mid-century, up to a quarter of the city’s land area — home to 800,000 residents — is projected to be in the flood plain.
The number of 90-degree days could go from 18 a year to as many as 33 in about 10 years and 57 over the next 40 years.
“By the 2050s, New York could have as many 90-degree days as Birmingham, Ala., does today,” said Pinsky.The process to address these changes will take years and will be largely in the hands of the next administration.