NY building

The challenges of retrofitting New York City’s multifamily housing stock against future climate threats, including the potential effect on the city’s limited stock of affordable housing, are examined in a report by the New York University Furman Center, a MacArthur grantee. The report finds storm-proofing and retrofitting older buildings will be particularly challenging. New York's shortage of affordable housing may make the direct and indirect costs of retrofitting difficult to bear given that the majority of units in flood-prone areas are either rent-stabilized or receive a government subsidy to provide affordable housing.