The Broadsheet – Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper
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Better Than Mops and Buckets
The $52 Billion Plan to Protect New York from Flooding
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Ten years after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, a new study from the Army Corps of Engineers aims to protect New York from the kind of flooding that swamped North Cove Marina and caused great devastation throughout the metropolitan region. Photo by Alison Simko.
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The Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft feasibility study and environmental impact statement for its plan to protect the New York area from future flooding, as a result of extreme weather events. This plan selects from half a dozen options that were under consideration, and settles on one that envisions large flood gates at 18 low-lying communities facing direct exposure to catastrophic storm surges, including Jamaica Bay, Coney Island Creek, Newtown Creek, the Gowanus Canal, Sheepshead Bay, and Flushing Creek, as well as Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull (which separate Staten Island from New Jersey).
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This is a concept for the Verrazzano-Narrows storm surge barrier, as proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Click here for detailed engineering studies on this particular proposed barrier. Below, another proposed storm surge barrier at the mouth of the Kill van Kull.
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The 500-plus page Army Corps plan explicitly rejects a controversial proposal to erect a massive floodgate at the mouth of New York Harbor. That idea was estimated to cost $6.5 billion, with annual maintenance and operating costs of approximately $75 million.
Even without the floodgate at the Narrows, however, the Army Corps plan will amount to the most massive infrastructure project the New York area has seen in decades, with a total projected budget of $52 billion, and a timeline of eight years for approval, followed by a construction start in 2030, and expected completion in 2044. In addition to the 11-figure price tag, the Army Corps report notes that New York and New Jersey will be required to “provide the lands, easements, rights-of-way, and relocations necessary” for the project to proceed. These are valued at an additional $5.8 billion.The vision encompassed by the Army Corps study incorporates a patchwork of local plans, such as the three Battery Park City resiliency projects—the completed ballfields resiliency project, as well as a southern component centered on Wagner Park, and the north/west project that will transform the Esplanade and reach into Tribeca. (The Battery Park City plans are themselves subsidiary components of a larger Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency initiative, which includes the Battery and the Financial District, and connects with an adjoining plan now under construction in the East River Park, which itself continues northward to the edge of Midtown.) The Army Corp study also envisions incorporating local plans that have not yet been formulated or funded, referring to “a protective system around Manhattan from West 57th Street south to The Battery and to East 42nd Street.”
The Army Corps report notes that Lower Manhattan faces some of the highest risk of any area within the zone, acknowledging that “the average tidal range is greatest at the Battery, in southern Manhattan,” at 4.4 feet.” And these fluctuations are slated to become more intense, with Army Corps projections for the Battery ranging “from an increase of 0.7 feet for the low scenario, increase of 1.8 feet for the intermediate, and up to 5 feet for the high scenario through 2100.”
The study began in 2016, but was shut down in 2019, when then-President Donald Trump tweeted “a massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably won’t work anyway. It will also look terrible. Sorry, you’ll just have to get your mops & buckets ready!” Immediately following that outburst, he halted funding for the Army Corps analysis.
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While the Army Corps plan seeks to address flooding from storms, such as this inundation on West Street on October 29, 2012, it offers no protection against sea-level rise. Photo by Alison Simko.
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President Joe Biden restored support for the Army Corps planning process in 2021, resulting in the report that was released last week. The Army Corps report cautions that while the plan “will improve coastal flood risks in the project area, it will not totally eliminate flood risks; therefore, residual risk for flooding still remains a threat to life and property. It is essential that flood risk be proactively communicated to residents in accessible and thoughtful ways.”
Although the Army Corps plan is audaciously broad in scope and scale, it also comes with limits. The project is intended only to protect against flooding from storms, and does not address inundation from sea-level rise or normal rainfall.
See the Army Corps plan here on an interactive platform that includes maps that allow a user to search an address to see which of the plan’s features might be nearby, as well as animations, renderings, and summaries. A public comment period on the proposal is open until January 6, 2023. Members of the public may email NYNJHarbor.TribStudy@usace.army.mil . Matthew Fenton
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‘No Way This Could Have Been Predicted’
Doorman and Woman Assaulted on Rector Place
Amid rising concerns about violent street crime in Lower Manhattan, the overnight doorman at the Liberty House condominium (377 Rector Place) and a pedestrian nearby were assaulted in the early hours of Monday morning. Read more…
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FiDi Food Hall Burgled
Thieves Break into UrbanSpace Market, Abscond with Cash
The Financial District’s newest food hall—UrbanSpace market at 100 Pearl Street—was broken into around 3:30am last Tuesday, by two men who shattered a glass door, according to surveillance video captured by the facility’s security system. Read more…
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Letter
To the editor,
The high percentage of young children living in Battery Park City who have not been fully vaccinated to protect against polio is shocking, especially in such a well-educated and affluent community. I survived and recovered from paralytic polio in the 1950’s, but the disease left a permanent residual physical impact throughout my life, including old-age post-polio syndrome (PPS). No parent should intentionally expose this health risk to their children. Get them vaccinated!
Raven Black
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On Common Ground
BPCA Asks for Ideas about Upgrades to the Promenade
The Battery Park City Authority is seeking ideas from residents about how to bring recreational uses to the granite promenade that parallels the West Street and the Hudson River Greenway, between Battery Place and Third Place. This initiative is envisioned as a tradeoff to countervail the deficit of open space that will be created for several years, when nearby Wagner Park is closed for reconstruction of resiliency measures. That project is slated to begin soon. Read more…
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Eyes to the Sky, October 3 – 16 , 2022
Planet Jupiter brightest in 59 years
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Currently, Jupiter is second only to the moon in radiance and traverses the sky all night. The most dramatic times to see the great gas planet are when it is rising and setting. Look to the east on Sunday, October 9, when the Full Hunter’s Moon rises at 6:34pm. Jupiter rises at 5:51pm that same evening, preceding the moon. The two travel the night sky in tandem.
Judy Isacoff, naturesturn.org
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Wednesday, October 5
8am
Meet at Netherland Memorial Flagpole, Battery Park
Join experienced birding guide Gabriel Willow on a walk through The Battery to observe the diversity of migrating birds that visit the park. Free.
10am-12pm
Rector Park East
Observe and sketch the human figure. An artist/educator will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Drawing materials provided. Free.
1:30pm-2:30pm
Rockefeller Park
Children ages 6-10, are invited to play in pop-up clinics on select days off from school this fall. Join BPCA coaches for a kickball skills session ending in a scrimmage open to all levels. Free.
2pm-4pm
Rector Park East
Draw with pastels and watercolors. An artist/ educator will provide ideas and instruction. Materials provided. Free.
5:30pm
Oculus Plaza, Westfield World Trade Center
Sputnik Yoga creates pop-up experiences in unexpected spaces in New York. Bring your own mat. Free.
6pm-10pm
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl Street
Opening night of a new exhibition at Fraunces Tavern Museum featuring live sketching, silent auctions, original art and rare comics, and keynote speaker, former Marvel Editor in Chief, Jim Shooter. Discover how Washington’s persona has been showcased throughout pop history, from traditional reenactments of famous events to appearances in modern times with the likes of Superman, Captain America and other famous heroes. $25-$149.
7pm
McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street
Reading. An explosive, deeply reported exposé of McKinsey & Company, the international consulting firm that advises corporations and governments, that highlights the often drastic impact of its work on employees and citizens around the world. RSVP required.
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Thursday, October 6
1pm
Tour of the urban vegetable farm and perennial forest farm, led by park staff. RSVP is required for this event. Please note that this tour is intended for ages 13 and up. Free.
3pm
Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza
Creative writing workshop centered around using writing as a tool for survival. Part of the Fandango Skip, a temporary installation offering ice cream and mental health support. Free.
3pm-4pm
Battery Urban Farm
Kid-friendly tour of this urban vegetable farm. RSVP required. Free.
4:30pm
Battery Urban Farm
Learn about the crops and practices that can help keep your garden producing all winter long. Free.
4:30pm
Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza
Hear about the Fandango Skip, a temporary installation offering ice cream and mental health support. Free.
4:45pm-6pm
Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza
Part of the Fandango Skip. Talk that centers around the role community-driven mural making plays in eliminating the stigma around mental illness. Free.
5:30pm-6:30pm
Belvedere Plaza
Ladies of Hip-Hop is a nonprofit organization that provides artistic opportunities for girls & women in Hip-Hop culture. Free.
6:30pm-7:30pm
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl Street
In this lecture, Nancy Rubin Stuart reveals the long-neglected voices of the women Benjamin Franklin loved and lost during his lifelong struggle between passion and prudence. $5.
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Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets
Tribeca Greenmarket
Greenwich Street & Chambers Street
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)
Bowling Green Greenmarket
Broadway & Whitehall St
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)
World Trade Center Oculus Greenmarket
Tuesdays, 8am-5pm
The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market
91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets
Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm
CSA pick-up: Thursday, 4pm-6pm; Friday, 11:30-5pm
Outdoor market: Saturdays, 11:30am-5pm
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Today in History
October 5
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Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief and warrior who resisted the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands, was killed in battle on this day in 1813. Art attributed to Owen Staples (1866–1949), based on the engraving published by Benson John Lossing.
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1789 – In the French Revolution, the women of Paris march to Versailles to confront Louis XVI with their demands.
1864 – The city of Calcutta is almost totally destroyed by a cyclone; 60,000 die.
1947 – First televised White House address is given by President Harry S. Truman.
1948 – The Ashgabat earthquake in Turkmenistan kills 110,000.
1962 – The Beatles’ first single Love Me Do is released in the United Kingdom.
1982 – Johnson & Johnson initiates a nationwide product recall in the United States for all products in its Tylenol brand after several bottles in Chicago are found to have been laced with cyanide, resulting in seven deaths.
2000 – Mass demonstrations in Belgrade culminate in the resignation of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević
2017 – Spanish constitutional court suspends Catalan parliament to prevent declaration of independence
2020 – At least 14 million tons of plastic pieces are at the bottom of the ocean, 30 times more than on the surface according to new research published on this day.
Births
1882 – Robert H. Goddard, physicist, engineer, and academic (d. 1945)
1902 – Ray Kroc, businessman and philanthropist (d. 1984)
1936 – Václav Havel, poet, playwright, political prisoner, and politician, first President of the Czech Republic (d. 2011)
1958 – Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, cosmologist, and author
1975 – Kate Winslet, actress
1983 – Jesse Eisenberg, actor, author and playwright
Deaths
1112 – Sigebert of Gembloux, French monk, historian, and author (b. 1030)
1813 – Tecumseh, American tribal leader (b. 1768)
1941 – Louis Brandeis, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1856)
1942 – Dorothea Klumpke, American astronomer (b. 1861)
1983 – Earl Tupper, inventor, founded the Tupperware Corporation (b. 1907)
1986 – James H. Wilkinson, mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1919)
2004 – Rodney Dangerfield, comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter (b. 1921)
2011 – Steve Jobs, businessman, co-founder of Apple Inc. and Pixar (b. 1955)
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The Broadsheet Inc. eBroadsheet.com editor @ ebroadsheet.com ©2022 All Rights Reserved All photos © Robert Simko 2022 unless otherwise credited
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