As residents battle brutal winter storms, one nonprofit is already looking ahead to the next climate threat: extreme heat. Resilient Cities Catalyst is rolling out creative and practical solutions designed to protect vulnerable neighborhoods from rising temperatures, flooding, and severe weather events that experts warn are becoming more frequent and intense.

“We might not feel it today, but it's going to get extremely hot this summer,” said Corinne LeTourneau, Founding Principal of Resilient Cities Catalyst. “This neighborhood is at extreme risk of extreme heat, which can not only affect community members, but can affect small businesses as well. It's also at risk of extreme precipitation and flooding caused by extreme precipitation.”

Working alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s New York City Office of Climate and Environmental Justice and the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District, the nonprofit is planting trees, installing tree guard benches, and building flood-ready community spaces along the Pitkin Avenue corridor. The goal: create shaded, cooler streetscapes while strengthening infrastructure against heavy rainfall and stormwater runoff.

“The education and awareness around climate resiliency; you don't see that happen much,” said Ineisha Williford, Executive Director of the Pitkin Avenue BID. “Things like the tree guard benches and the mobile shade stations, these are going to be key features in our community.”

In what organizers say is a first for New York City, the group is also launching green-roof bus stops equipped with cooling technology. The pilot program aims to reduce urban heat at transit hubs while drawing more foot traffic to nearby small businesses.

“The BID is always there for us to help us and make sure the streets are clean and businesses are improving, with more foot traffic and more safety on the street,” said Eli Ghanimeh, store manager at Shoppers World along the corridor.

By spring, one bus stop will be transformed into one of four green-roof shelters as part of the pilot program, an effort leaders say could reshape how public transit infrastructure doubles as climate protection.

“To partner with RCC implementing a pilot bus station with [the] green roof and cooling and heating - it makes the corridor more attractive for people to want to come out and feel safe,” Williford said.

As winter storms continue to batter the city, advocates say the real test will come in the sweltering months ahead, and whether these bold investments can help communities weather what’s next.