Dive Brief: - New York City will spend $8.4 million to turn three concrete roadway medians in the Queens borough into green infrastructure “sponges” designed to absorb stormwater and prevent extreme weather flooding, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYC Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Garcia announced Thursday. - Concrete medians and curbs will be replaced with inlet openings that will divert stormwater from streets to underground storage systems and areas planted with native species, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers. - The state is helping fund the project with $5 million in grants from its Green Innovation Grant Program and Water Quality Improvement Project. “By supporting projects that work with nature to manage severe weather, the State is helping New York City build resilience while minimizing costs for ratepayers,” New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation President and CEO Maureen Coleman said in a statement. Dive Insight: New York City has been building a green infrastructure system to address stormwater runoff and flooding since 2010, when former Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a $2.4 billion plan to capture and retain stormwater runoff before it enters the sewer system. About 60% of NYC’s sewer system is combined, meaning a single pipe carries both stormwater runoff and sewage, overwhelming treatment plants during heavy storms. The city expects to experience as much as 30% more annual rainfall and 150% more days with over an inch of rain by the end of the century. As sea level and groundwater tables rise, stormwater will drain more slowly and contribute to flooding, according to the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. Distributed stormwater management is part of the larger green infrastructure project designed to slow down, absorb and filter stormwater by capturing it at the source before it can enter the sewer system. The city aims