Preparation Is Key: Coastal Resiliency Projects to Protect NYC

By Peter Aronson

It may not be obvious to many New Yorkers, but currently there are shoreline resiliency projects to protect against future flooding ongoing in many areas of New York City, particularly in downtown.

Since Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused $19 billion in damage and extensive flooding in the city, New York has developed a vast array of coastal protection projects.

These projects have taken on more urgency as scientists predict that the city will be subject to increased flooding in years to come as sea levels rise on the East Coast. 

City Limits,  citing a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, reported  that “sea level rise driven by global warming is on track to put critical New York buildings – like public housing complexes, hospitals, schools and power plants – at risk of frequent inundation.” 

In the report, New York state was ranked as the ninth state with the greatest risk of infrastructure flooding in 2050 and sixth in 2100. Much if not most of this flooding would occur in or around New York City. The city’s five boroughs (Manhattan and Staten Island are separate islands and Queens and Brooklyn are part of Long Island) have a coastline of 520 miles, the longest of any city in the country, because of its winding path in and around the five boroughs.      

Since 1900, the sea level in the city has risen by about one foot, but is projected to increase by 5.4 feet by 2100, leading to increased coastal flooding, according to the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. 

To prevent and protect against the flooding that is projected, the city has embarked on an ambitious series of projects to divert and/or hold back water.

• In light of its success in Staten Island, the city is expanding its Bluebelt program to other boroughs. Bluebelts capture storm water and through an engineering system, divert it to new or existing ponds and streams and away from areas prone to flooding. According to the City, as of a few years ago, there were 94 bluebelts citywide, with 83 providing drainage in Staten Island and 10 in Queens and one in the Bronx. Several additional bluebelts are currently in the pipeline, and city engineers are looking to determine what other sites across the city are feasible for future bluebelts.
• The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is designed to prevent flooding from east 25th street to Montgomery Street in the Lower East Side. This area is designated as a natural “pinch-point” in New York’s 100-year floodplain, because the land there is higher along the coast. The construction, which improves waterfront open space and access, instead of walling off the neighborhood, is expected to be completed in 2026. This is designed to protect the 110,000 residents of this area from potential flooding.
• As part of the Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resiliency Project, the city will “install a combination of flood walls and deployable flip-up barriers to protect the neighborhood” from predicted flooding due to sea level rise and storm surges in years to come. The construction, which will extend along the shore from the bridge to Montgomery Street, will maintain views and access to the waterfront.
• The Battery Park Coastal Resiliency Project is designed to protect one of Manhattan’s most flood-prone areas. The project will repair, rebuild and elevate the wharf area, maintaining its true character and keeping it safe from projected rising seas into 2100.
• The Seaport Coastal Resilience project focuses on safeguarding the Seaport neighborhood between John Street and the Brooklyn Bridge from immediate and future risks from tidal flooding and sea level rise projected for the year 2100. To achieve this goal, the project aims to raise the affected waterfront to 11 feet above sea level.

All these projects fall under the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project, which is designed to reduce the flood risk throughout Lower Manhattan. More than $1.7 billion in city, state and federal funds have been committed to these projects. This overall plan includes one to protect the financial district from flooding into the next century.

“This vision responds to the increasing hazards posed by climate change, while transforming the waterfront to better serve all New Yorkers for generations to come,” the city states.

For more information about the city’s resiliency plans, please see Financial District/Seaport plan, the city’s comprehensive plan and this article by RebuildbyDesgin.org.

Peter Aronson, a volunteer writer at the New York League of Conservation Voters since September 2022, is a former journalist and retired attorney. He is the author of Mandalay Hawk’s Dilemma: The United States of Anthropocene, a novel for middle-grade readers about kids fighting global warming. Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, wrote: “A scathing work and an essential blueprint for youth battling climate change.” To read more about Peter, visit his website www.peteraronsonbooks.com or to purchase his book, click here.