“From coastal resiliency and sustainable green practices to the preservation of affordable housing, world-class public art, and vibrant, year-round programming in award-winning public spaces, Battery Park City leads the way in many of the measures that makes cities livable."

Raju Mann

President & CEO
  • 10/29/19
  • Community
  • Environment
  • Governance
  • Property Service & Maintenance
  • Urban Planning

BPCA MARKS HURRICANE SANDY ANNIVERSARY

Seven years ago today Hurricane Sandy struck New York City, resulting in more than 50 lives lost, countless displaced residents, and billions of dollars in property damage. Battery Park City in particular sustained millions of dollars of damage to historic Pier A Harbor House on its southern end, as well as to the BPC Ball Fields and Asphalt Green Community Center in the north as storm surge waters poured in from BPC’s eastern boundary.

In the time since, BPCA has invested millions of dollars repairing and hardening its physical site, from wet flood proofing Pier A, relocating above the flood zone the NYC Police Memorial’s electrical infrastructure for the Memorial and the south side of the North Cove Marina, upgrading all its street lighting components to be water resistant, and much more.

As part of these efforts, and as a result of its 2015 comprehensive infrastructure study, BPCA has initiated  four resiliency infrastructure projects to better protect Battery Park City’s 92 acres from storm surge, storm water, and sea level rise. Three of those initiatives, part of New York City’s overall Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) Project, are now underway:

o The BPC Ball Fields & Community Center Resiliency Project, to begin construction in early 2020 and be completed later that year, includes an interim flood protection system to reduce risk to the Ball Fields, which are enjoyed by some 50,000 local year annually and the BPC Community Center, currently operated by Asphalt Green. This solution follows a series of public meetings that led to a mutually-agreed upon approach toward less disruptive and more cost-effective protective measures that can be removed once the North and South BPC Resiliency projects (below) are complete. Today, and for the duration of Atlantic Hurricane Season (through November 30), BPCA has installed temporary protective barriers at the BPC Ball Fields to provide flood risk mitigation prior to the start of project construction work next year.

Read more: Final Plan Shown for Ball Fields Barrier Against the Next Big Storm

o The South BPC Resiliency Project, to begin construction in 2020 and be complete in 2022, includes construction of a continuous series of protective measures along the neighborhood’s southern boundary, from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, through Wagner Park, across Pier A Plaza, and along the northern edge of The Battery, roughly to a point just shy of State Street. Now at the 30% design mark, BPCA continues its collaborative work with a range of City, State, and local community stakeholders on this complex initiative.

Read more: Battery Park City: At the Vanguard of Resiliency

o The North Battery Park City Resiliency Project, scheduled to begin construction in 2021 and run through 2023, will span BPC’s North Esplanade and entail a deployable barrier crossing West Street / Route 9A before terminating at a point to be determined in Tribeca. This area represents one of BPC’s (and Lower Manhattan’s) most vulnerable points for storm surge inundation and flooding. The project kicked off earlier this month with the first in what will be a series of public meetings, in keeping with BPCA’s community-driven design approach.

Read more: Some of Tribeca Is in Battery Park City’s Plan for Its Flood Protection

The last of these four initiatives, the West BPC Resiliency Project, contemplates a focus on existing garden/park walls to devise a new line of flood protection along BPC’s western waterfront perimeter. Design for this project will commence in 2020, with construction to follow from 2021 to 2024.

Combined, the cost for the projects is estimated at approximately $310 million, and will be funded by the issuance of BPCA capital bonds. Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, BPCA worked to secure legislation authorizing a one-time, $500 million increase to its bonding capacity to facilitate these and other capital projects over the next five years.

Crucial to these efforts during the 2019 legislative session were Battery Park City’s state representatives – Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, and Assembly Member Deborah Glick.

On this solemn anniversary, BPCA is honored to continue this vital work with our elected representatives, Manhattan Community Board 1, and other local stakeholders to protect Battery Park City for succeeding generations.

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