On Sandy anniversary, NYC Council members & de Blasio official spar over preparation for next superstorm

City Council members and a top de Blasio official sparred Tuesday over whether the Big Apple is prepared for the next Superstorm Sandy, with pols from the outer boroughs accusing the mayor of bogging down preparation efforts in red tape and excuses.

“Families are still at risk,” said Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Queens), who chairs the Committee on Environmental Protection. “While we do not anticipate a superstorm tomorrow … we must act as soon as possible.”

Speaking at a hearing on the seventh anniversary of the devastating hurricane, Jainey Bavishi, director of the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency, insisted the administration is ready for the next superstorm.

“New York City is definitively safer and better protected than it was during Hurricane Sandy,” she said.

“We have done a lot of work citywide to harden critical infrastructure, to increase flood insurance enrollment, to improve social cohesion and to improve emergency evacuation and response times so that citywide, we’re prepared for another disaster,” Bavishi asserted in her testimony.

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“It sounds great,” shot back Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), chair of the Committee on Resiliency and Waterfronts. “I don’t know that anybody in the outer boroughs really believes it.”