Thread by @nytimes

1/ Nine years ago, when Hurricane Sandy devastated New York and cut the power in Lower Manhattan, Nancy Ortiz was scrambling to find ice for the diabetic seniors in her building. nyti.ms/3Dgqdkv

2/ Across the region, the storm caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed more than 100 people. In some areas, flooding was 14 feet high.

Ortiz lived on the edge of the Lower East Side and her neighborhood was among the worst hit.

3/ In the years that followed, resiliency plans sprang up, including one to protect Ortiz’s neighborhood. That plan centers on East River Park. But it stalled for years, as city missteps and reversals curled into a neighborhood fight.

4/ Our architecture critic @kimmelman has followed this saga for years. In his story is a parable about participatory democracy and how we reconcile urgency with inclusion, and accessibility with expertise. And what it tells us about progress. nyti.ms/3Dgqdkv

6/ What has played out in Lower Manhattan among neighbors and city officials is unfolding on a wider scale around crises like Covid, our failing infrastructure and the affordable housing crunch.

7/ Our hope in launching Headway is to engage readers in questions, dialogue and correspondence about how to make progress, globally and in their communities.

8/ Headway launched a series of stories called Hindsight that follows up on forecasts from decades ago to ask what time has revealed. Much like the parable of the park, the central question is: What is progress? nyti.ms/3G9JHZX

9/ Which brings us to a request: When you read @kimmelman’s story, let us know if it provokes ideas about inclusion, expertise or problem-solving in your own community. We want to know what you have to say. You can email us at [e-mail].

nyti.ms/3Dgqdkv