The Financial District & Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan,
spearheaded by New York City Economic Development Corporation
(NYCEDC) and the Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency (MOCR), aims
to protect the Financial District and Seaport neighborhoods from the
impacts of climate change and extreme flooding. Extreme weather
events like Hurricanes Sandy and Ida have shown the importance
of being prepared for storm events, and the FiDi & Seaport Climate
Resilience Master Plan is an ambitious, infrastructure-based strategy
which will protect critical geographies along the coast of lower
Manhattan through unprecedented coastal resilience infrastructure
designed to manage rising sea levels and extreme storm surges. The
project is guided by six principles: build climate resilience, strengthen
lower Manhattan as a central hub, develop an implementation plan,
create an inclusive public engagement process, be a global leader, and
enhance an active, accessible waterfront.

NYCEDC hired Karp Strategies, supporting the consultant team led
by Arcadis, to lead outreach and engagement efforts for the fourth
cycle of virtual open houses in November 2021. Working hand-in-hand
with key community partners, Karp Strategies was able to effectively
communicate information about the open house events, and the team
conducted in-person outreach efforts to 70+ small businesses in the
Financial District and Seaport neighborhoods while leading efforts to
create cohesive messaging aimed at a wide range of audiences. The
team mobilized various digital outreach tactics, including networking
with local stakeholders and social media, to over 100+ virtual partners.
As a result, the virtual houses exceeded 200+ participants who
learned about the project, gave feedback and opinions, and asked
questions directly to NYCEDC staff on the newest plans.