Huffington Magazine Issue 25 | Page 36

MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES SANDY’S DEVASTATION its building and zoning codes to better prepare for weather events and is continuing to develop measures that lower our risk and mitigate the impact of climate change,” said Lauren Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for the city. Developers built up parts of the Jersey Shore and the Rockaways, a low-lying peninsula in Queens, N.Y., in similar fashion in recent HUFFINGTON 12.02.12 years, with little effort by local or state officials to mitigate the risk posed by hurricanes, experts said. Real estate developers represent a powerful force in state p olitics, particularly in New Jersey and New York, where executives and political action committees have been major donors to governors and local officeholders. This coastal growth took place An aerial shot of the flooding and destruction in Mantoloking, N.J.