With Sandy nearly five years in the rear view mirror, residents in our region might be forgiven for wanting to move on and forget about the storm. But as the events in Houston this week vividly demonstrate, the next big hurricane could always be just around the corner.

The historic flooding in Texas raises questions about just how much New York City has done since Sandy to plan for the next disaster — and how urgently Mayor de Blasio has been working to mitigate climate change.

Compared to President Donald Trump, the mayor "is a paragon of environmentalism," said Steve Cohen, executive director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. But de Blasio is not as much of an innovator as former Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

"Bloomberg was a results-oriented manager," Cohen told WNYC host David Furst. "De Blasio's a political actor. What he is trying to do is create an impression that he is in favor of something and tries to get political credit because his goal is the next political job he may have."