VIDEO: First of Two Sections of NYC's $1.45B East Side Coastal Resiliency Project Is Complete
New York City completes first section of $1.45B East Side Coastal Resiliency Project ahead of schedule and under budget, aiming to protect Lower East Side residents from storms and sea level rise. Project includes flood barriers, raised parkland, and upgraded recreation areas. Second section and companion project underway for full completion by late 2026.
Tue November 05, 2024 - Northeast Edition Office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams
New York City has completed the first section of its East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project ahead of schedule and under budget, Mayor Eric Adams announced Oct. 17.
It marks a major milestone in the effort to protect more than 110,000 Lower East Side residents, including 28,000 in public housing, from future storms and high tides and protect billions of dollars' worth of infrastructure and property in the area.
ESCR employs raised parkland, floodwalls, berms and 18 swinging or sliding flood gates to create a continuous line of protection against sea level rise and the growing threat of stronger, more severe coastal storms worsened by climate change.
The $1.45 billion project is being built in two sections, with the northern section having begun construction in November 2020. Work in that area was completed in mid-October at a cost of $163 million — $10 million under its original projected budget, and two months ahead of schedule.
Work on the second section, which is under way and anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026, includes a complete reconstruction of East River Park.
"As one of the world's great coastal cities, we know that stronger storms and rising seas are a threat, because no one knows when the next Superstorm Sandy will arrive at our doorstep; but New York City plans to be ready," Adams said in a statement from his office.
"Once the entire project is completed, the protective gates can be deployed when a hurricane or storm surge is headed our way — protecting lives and New Yorkers' wallets as we safeguard property."
He added that the effort "is a massive undertaking, with millions of lives and billions of dollars on the line — and we're more than up to the task."
Through the ESCR, the city is creating a flexible, 2.4-mi.-long flood barrier on the Lower East Side from Montgomery Street up to Asser Levy Playground between East 23rd Street and East 25th Street.
It is specifically designed to protect New Yorkers from the region's anticipated 100-year storm in 2050 (a storm that has a 1 percent annual chance of hitting New York City), based on projections produced by the city's Panel on Climate Change.
The project uses an adaptive design that can accommodate the addition of two more feet of elevation should sea levels in the coming decades rise faster than experts anticipate, improve waterfront access through reconstructed bridges and entry points, and upgrade existing sewer systems to capture and manage precipitation during storms.
The first floodgate — which is 42 ft. long, 10 ft. high and 32,000 lbs. — was installed in February 2022. Flood protection will become effective at the end of the project, which is currently set for late 2026.
ESCR also has a companion project to the south due to be finished by late 2026 called "Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience." Together, the two efforts will protect 3.22 mi. of coastline from the Brooklyn Bridge north to Asser Levy Playground at a construction cost of close to $2 billion.
"Gone are the days when a park was just a park; now everything must do double duty to protect New York from the vagaries of climate change. There is no clearer example of this mission than the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, where protection and playgrounds are being brought to you ahead of schedule and under budget," said NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. "As part of our broader toolkit to keep New Yorkers safe from bigger and more frequent storms, our coastal resiliency projects are helping us meet the scale of the climate crisis head-on."
Five City Recreation Parks Upgraded As Part of ESCR
Thomas Foley, commissioner of the city's Department of Design and Construction (DDC), said that New York is "pioneering shoreline protection and climate change management for major North American cities, and doing it in a way that enhance recreation and enhances neighborhoods instead of just walling them in."
In total, ESCR is making improvements to five recreation areas in New York City:
Stuyvesant Cove Park has been rebuilt with new amenities and a combination of floodwalls and floodgates along its western edge.
Murphy Brothers Playground, which reopened in October, has new flood protection, a basketball court, a dog run, two ballfields, new lighting, a playground area and swing set, more trees and new grading and landscaping.
The 2.44-acre Asser Levy Playground — which is now intersected by a new floodwall and sliding floodgate — was partially rebuilt with extensive landscaping and new playground and basketball areas using resilient materials.
Corlears Hook Park, which is still under construction, also will see improvements such as new landscaping, plantings, lighting, and playground equipment.
The first ballfields in the new East River Park opened in September along with a larger and more accessible Delancey Street Bridge spanning the FDR Drive.
Sue Donoghue, commissioner of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, noted, "Thanks to this innovative project, Murphy Brothers Playground will reopen with improved recreational spaces, new measures to increase climate resiliency and additional amenities that will keep our urban landscapes vibrant and green for all New Yorkers."
"With the completion of this first portion of East Side Coastal Resiliency we are making concrete progress on our critical work to protect New Yorkers from rising sea levels and coastal storm surges like we experienced during Hurricane Sandy," said NYC Chief Climate Officer and the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. "These complex and massive projects take many years to design and build, but with more than a dozen similar projects now under way, from Staten Island to the Rockaways to Red Hook, DEP's Bureau of Coastal Resiliency is eager to be able to operate and maintain these flood defense systems to protect the city from coastal storms."
