Presidential Candidates: Save Our City

Astoria, New York. Early evening. As I looked out across the East River, stark against the shimmering backdrop of sunset stood the imperious skyline of Manhattan, its dark shapes framed by the behemoth Hell Gate Bridge overhead. It sure is a beautiful city.

With the sun eclipsed by the tallest of the crystal monoliths in the distance, I found myself awed by the sight. From this single vantage, I could see New York City across the ages — past, present, and future. Above me spanned the Hell Gate, a charismatic reminder of early 20th century industrialism and faith in human progress. The city underneath is the result of that impetus, a tiny world of 8 million humans, and probably many more cockroaches. And the shadow of the impending night seemed to be a premonition of the world to come.

Two weeks later, the spot I had stood on was underwater. Flash flooding swept through the area, inundating the street with the ferocious power of nature. The coastline resumed its familiar shape within a day, but I consider it only a taste of what’s to come, our good Mother reminding us who’s in control, and whom we ought to be listening to.

While I was appreciating the view of the city I call home, I also took the time to consider what it’s going to look like after climate change has run its course. The answer: a lot wetter.

My apartment may be in Harlem, but I don’t have to live in Alphabet City to consider the coming deluge a threat. I’m a New Yorker, and my city is under attack. And as New Yorkers have proven over and over again, we stand united when times get tough.

Last week was the New York primary, and much to my dismay, climate change was hardly mentioned by any of the candidates. The best we got was a rather unsatisfying tangent. How is it that when election fever swept New York, a community whose very existence is threatened by sea level rise, climate change got barely a passing mention? Was treated like a minor issue? Our city is about to slip beneath the tide. Why aren’t we making more noise about this?

Without a doubt, I consider the prospect of losing New York a lot more terrifying than Islamist terrorism, a lot more infuriating than wealth inequality, and a lot more relevant than the unemployment rate. And it isn’t just New York, of course; cities all across this country are at risk of catastrophe if things don’t change immediately. If you ask me, this is the biggest issue facing America today. Our communities are under fire. We know how to stop the onslaught. Why aren’t we demanding a response from our leaders?

On behalf of America’s urban population, I have three simple words for the presidential candidates of 2016.

Save our city.

It really isn’t an outlandish proposition. When you consider the fact that nearly 250 million people live in America’s cities (some 80% of the national population), the urban electorate makes up by far the largest demographic in this country. Over half of all Americans live within 50 miles of the coast, a coast that is rapidly encroaching on our living space. 39% of us reside in a county that touches the ocean, and that number is only going up.

We’ve faced attacks on home soil before. Fort Sumter, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11 come to mind. For better or worse, these events stirred us to action under the banner of fear and self-preservation.

To say that I’m afraid is an understatement, and to say that my self-preservation is at stake is to miss the big picture. As a New Yorker, it isn’t my life or my city that’s at stake. It’s everyone’s. What would our economy look like without New York, Miami or New Orleans? Where will we put the millions of refugees? These are the questions we need to grapple with as we consider who will be the next leader of our country. To not talk about climate change is to consign America to the waves.

The unfortunate reality is that whoever is elected to the Oval Office this fall will likely determine the shape of the future for millennia to come. And it isn’t just on them to lead us through the trials ahead; it’s on us to choose who we should follow. It’s a big responsibility, but that’s par for the course for presidential elections. Thankfully, more people than ever are beginning to realize what’s at stake. Come this November, I’ll be voting for the candidate who chooses to heed the warnings that our good Mother has sounded.

When I think about why I care so much about fighting climate change, a million things come to mind. But if mass extinctions, multi-decade megadroughts, and ocean acidification aren’t where your passions lie, then consider this and only this:

Our city is under attack.

We need strong leadership to meet the threat head-on. And that means two things: accepting climate change for the problem it is, and resolving to do what must be done in order to prevent it.

In the final analysis, this election isn’t about immigration reform or gun control, voting rights or wealth inequality, global trade or money in politics. And while I care deeply about all of those issues, they aren’t the heart of the matter.

The 2016 election is about New York. It’s about Boston, Miami, and San Francisco. It’s about Washington DC and Charleston. It’s about our city. And so I call on all Americans, urban and rural, to come together once again to face a challenge, and to unite our voices in a chorus that will echo across time with one simple message.

Presidential candidates: #saveourcity.