VIDEO: New York City Mayor Breaks Ground on Two Bridges Coastal Resiliency Project
Thu October 27, 2022 - Northeast Edition #24 NYC.gov
With a host of New York City officials and climate change advocates at his side, Mayor Eric Adams broke ground Oct. 26 on the Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience (BRMC) project, which will see the construction of flood walls and deployable flip-up barriers meant to protect the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan from future flood surges.
The plan is designed to hold back a 100-year coastal storm surge, accounting for sea level rise expected by 2050, while also maintaining access and visibility to the waterfront.
New York City's Department of Design and Construction (DDC) estimates construction on the $522 million project will be complete in 2026, according to Commissioner Thomas Foley.
The kickoff event came three days before the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy rampage through the metropolitan area, which resulted in the deaths of 44 New Yorkers, flooded 51 miles, or 71 percent, of city land, and caused damage to more than 9,100 homes. The powerful hurricane also cost New York City $19 billion in damage and lost economic activity, according to NYC.gov, the city's official website.
The BRMC construction, which aims to keep the waterfront accessible and visible, is one of the four climate resiliency projects that make up the larger Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience Project, a signature resiliency effort former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration put into place in the aftermath of Sandy.
"Ten years ago, flooded subways, a weeklong blackout downtown, billions in property damage, and 44 of our neighbors killed tragically showed what climate change can do to our city," Adams said in a statement. "Sandy wasn't just a storm; it was a warning. Another storm could hit our city at any time and that is why our administration is doing everything we can to prepare and protect New Yorkers."
Adams said the BRMC, also known as the Two Bridges, project would lessen the risk of flooding for more than 44,000 New Yorkers, many of whom live in affordable apartments.
The building effort gets its nickname from the Two Bridges neighborhood that would be protected by the series of flood barriers. It is found along the East River waterfront near both the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge.
According to NYC.gov, once the BRMC construction is finished, and 72 hours before a potential storm hits, an emergency response task force will be charged with deciding when and if the city should activate its flood gates, the vast majority of which can be started by pushing a button.
The deployable barriers will be permanent infrastructure, hidden until they are flipped up prior to the storm's arrival. The location of the flood walls and posts were conceived to minimize conflict with subsurface infrastructure and to maximize integration of public space amenities, such as open-air seating, fitness equipment and athletic courts.
Adams Calls On Feds to Help Fund Protections
The Adams administration also announced a new program — Climate Strong Communities (CSC) — as part of the city's strategic climate strategy. A central initiative of AdaptNYC, CSC is a community engagement and project development program that will help create the next pipeline of resiliency projects that target multiple types of hazards. It will focus on neighborhoods that have not received help from existing or planned Sandy recovery projects.
In addition, during the BRMC groundbreaking ceremony, Adams also called on the federal government to create a coastal infrastructure formula funding program that will provide approximately $8.5 billion in pre-disaster mitigation grants to enable New York City to complete many of its critical resiliency projects, including the following:
Coney Island Creek Raise Shoreline
Bushwick Inlet Park
Coney Island Boardwalk and Beach
East Harlem Coastal Resiliency
Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan
Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
Wetlands Management Framework for New York City
Forest Management Framework for New York City
Tibbets Brook Daylighting Project
Raise Shorelines 2.0
"We have embarked on some of the largest urban climate adaptation projects in the country," Adams said. "New York City's infrastructure projects are more complex, novel and unparalleled compared to any other American city, but many remain in various stages of completion, and we need our partners in the federal government to help provide us with regular and reliable resiliency funding. We must continue to act quickly to bolster our defenses, prevent damage and save lives."
