The sinking class: the New Yorkers left to fight the climate crisis alone

The city is taking action to protect lower Manhattan's waterfront while low-income residents in other boroughs must fend for themselves

Jainey Bavishi is all business as she takes off from Battery Park to walk the perimeter of lower Manhattan. It's a muggy afternoon, a breeze barely lifting off of the New York Harbor, after days of heavy rain. She manoeuvres throngs of tourists, construction workers and suits streaming out of office tours for lunch as she walks north from the waterfront park toward the Brooklyn Bridge.

In a skirt suit and flats, Bavishi fits in among lower Manhattan's workday hustle. But there's no one else with a job like hers: director of the New York City's mayor's office of resiliency. She is the woman tasked with protecting all 580 miles of New York City shoreline from more frequent and extreme storms and expected sea rise due to the climate crisis.