Water Talks

Join Open House New York and the Design Trust for Public Space for a talk by Rohit T. Aggarwala, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Following the talk, infrastructure expert Kate Ascher will join Commissioner Aggarwala in conversation.

Most New Yorkers unknowingly begin each day by interacting with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP). Whenever city residents turn on a tap or flush a toilet, they are using a vast and largely unseen network of pipes, tunnels, and other facilities that handle drinking water delivery and wastewater treatment – all managed by NYC DEP.

This infrastructure operates behind the scenes to deliver more than one billion gallons of clean drinking water to New Yorkers’ taps each day through more than 7,000 miles of water mains. This water, renowned for its delicious taste, comes from large upstate reservoirs – some more than 125 miles from NYC – spread across 1.2 million acres of protected watershed. NYC’s sewers handle another 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater and stormwater daily through a separate system of 7,400 miles of pipes and 14 wastewater resource recovery facilities. 

With extreme weather events becoming more common, NYC DEP is also responsible for implementing key goals of PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, the city’s 2023 climate action plan. Major climate hazards such as coastal storm surges, tidal flooding, and extreme rainfall are projected to increase dramatically in the coming decades and will disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income residents. NYC DEP is preparing to handle more stormwater than ever before and now oversees NYC’s coastal resilience efforts to address the risks faced by the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

As Open House New York launches the newest installment of its Urban Systems series, Water Works, and the Design Trust for Public Space launches its 13th call for projects under the theme of Water, the organizations are jointly sponsoring a talk by Rohit T. Aggarwala, NYC DEP Commissioner and the City’s Chief Climate Officer. Commissioner Aggarwala will discuss what it takes to operate and maintain the city’s water infrastructure and some of the projects the agency is undertaking to ensure water quality and manage severe weather events for the protection of all New Yorkers. 

Following the Commissioner’s talk, he will be joined by infrastructure expert Kate Ascher, Professor of Urban Development at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and author of The Works: Anatomy of a City, for a conversation about the future of NYC’s water systems.

This program is part of Water Works, a new yearlong series exploring the city’s water systems and our connections to water. The series is produced with lead agency partner NYC Department of Environmental Protection and with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the City’s Chief Climate Officer in February 2022. Under his leadership, DEP has been at the forefront of both stormwater and coastal resilience, streamlined its procurement processes to be able to invest more money in infrastructure each year, and improved water revenues by reducing accounts receivable. As Chief Climate Officer, he also led the development of New York City’s most recent sustainability plan, PlaNYC.

Prior to the Adams administration, Aggarwala served as the first Director of the New York City Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, where he led the creation of the first PlaNYC. He later founded the environmental grantmaking program at Bloomberg Philanthropies and served as president of the Board of Directors of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. He was part of the founding team at Sidewalk Labs—Google’s urban technology startup—and more recently was a senior urban tech fellow at the Jacobs Cornell-Technion Institute. He has co-chaired the Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan for the New York metropolitan area and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Aggarwala holds a PhD, MBA, and BA from Columbia University and an MA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Kate Ascher is the Milstein Professor of Urban Development at Columbia GSAPP, where she teaches real estate, infrastructure and urban planning courses. She also serves in an advisory capacity on a variety of planning and infrastructure projects as a consultant to Buro Happold, where she served as partner through 2019.

Prior to joining Columbia and Buro Happold, she served as Director of Development at Vornado Realty Trust, Executive Vice-President overseeing planning and infrastructure at the New York City Economic Development Corporation under Michael Bloomberg, and Assistant Director of the Port at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Her public sector work has involved overseeing major waterfront development and infrastructure initiatives across the metropolitan region, including the development of energy, telecom, transport, and waste plans in cooperation with community, environmental, and business advocacy groups.

Kate Ascher holds a BA in political science from Brown University, Providence, R.I., and an MSc and PhD in government from the London School of Economics (LSE), United Kingdom. She is the author of several books on urban infrastructure including The Works: Anatomy of a City, The Heights, and The Way to Go, as well as co-author of New York Rising, an illustrated anthology of New York City’s physical evolution.

The Design Trust for Public Space is a non-profit organization that unlocks the potential of New York’s public spaces. Our unique model catalyzes design ideas into action for a more just and equitable city. Founded in 1995 to unlock the potential of New York City’s shared spaces, today The Design Trust is a nationally-recognized incubator that transforms and evolves the city’s landscape with city agencies and community collaborators. Their work can be seen, felt and experienced throughout all five boroughs–from parks and plazas to streets and public buildings.

SVA Theatre is committed to accessibility for all patrons. The venue is ADA compliant and provides listening devices for the hearing impaired.