Major milestone marked for project to protect more than one mile of Lower Manhattan coastline
New project renderings can be found here
The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) today announced a major milestone on the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project (NWBPR), unveiling renderings for the project that reflect 60% design progress at a public meeting at Stuyvesant High School in Battery Park City. The current designs incorporate public feedback received over the course of more than two dozen public meetings, workshops, walking tours, and small group discussions conducted over the past three years. NWBPCR will provide risk reduction to property, residents, and assets within the vicinity of Battery Park City through creation of an integrated coastal flood risk management system that runs from First Place, north along the Battery Park City Esplanade, across to the east side of West Street/Route 9A, terminating above Chambers Street at a high point on Greenwich Street.
In addition to providing risk reduction from coastal flooding, stormwater runoff, and heavy rains, NWBPCR will also bring the following benefits:
o Protection from 2.5 feet of projected sea level rise, help cool neighborhood during heat events, and prevent ponding of more than 1’ depth during rain events in Battery Park City.
o Reduce Homeownership Costs – FEMA’s removal of Battery Park City from the current flood zone will eliminate homeowners’ need to purchase flood insurance for federally-backed mortgagees.
o Enhance Public Space with universal accessibility, remediated circulation pinch points, and increased and improved seating.
o More Landscape – over 30% increase in total planting coverage within the project area, including 2x along Battery Park City’s South Esplanade
o Increase Native Plantings – 85% native species coverage, better supporting birds and pollinators with new planted areas that shorten existing gaps in habitat corridors
o Improve In-Water Habitats – Approximately 1,200 linear feet of reconstructed bulkhead designed to provide environments that support marine life
“Battery Park City’s resiliency efforts figure as part of a larger, farsighted strategy with our partners at the City of New York to protect lower Manhattan for the coming decades,” said BPCA president and CEO Raju Mann. “While we work on finalizing the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project designs we’re mindful of the project’s urgency and committed to working in close coordination with community stakeholders to deliver a coastal flood protection system to be proud of.”
“This project is an example of urban coastal resilience at its best – design that is universally accessible, increases biodiversity, engages community, and protects our beloved and culturally significant waterfront,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson. “I look forward to our continued collaboration on Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience – the City-State partnership that coordinates and delivers resilient waterfront infrastructure projects for Lower Manhattan, home to critical infrastructure, jobs, and transportation networks that serve so many New Yorkers and the region as a whole.”
“The Battery Park City Authority has been diligently working to protect Lower Manhattan’s residents, and showing what right looks like,” said Congressman Dan Goldman. “I want to thank Raju Mann and the entire Battery Park City Authority team for their coastal resiliency efforts, which include their flood mitigation and management systems. I look forward to working alongside the BPCA to make sure Lower Manhattan remains protected for years to come.”
“Storm surge and sea-level rise have been unwelcome words in New York since Superstorm Sandy, but the lessons learned are important for leading the city into the future,” said New York Building Congress President & CEO Carlo A. Scissura, Esq. “That’s why the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project is so critical. It will provide resilience, accessibility, and a greener, cleaner space. Just as important, nothing was decided without input from those most affected – the area’s residents. We look forward to this project’s completion and a better Battery Park City and New York because of it.”
“Battery Park City Authority’s commitment to planning and action is heartening as we face the warming planet, sea rise and unpredictable storms of the future,” said Jessica Lappin, President of the Alliance for Downtown New York. “The ecologically sensitive hardening of the coast that the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project will achieve is the kind of preparation and investment we need in Lower Manhattan and throughout the city.”
“We applaud the Battery Park City Authority’s leadership in climate adaptation and resilience, said Cortney Koenig Worrall, President and CEO, Waterfront Alliance. “The North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project is the Authority’s second project designed to meet the WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) standards, ensuring that the project will be exemplary in resilience, ecology, and access. Once completed, this project will provide critical protection against storm surge and rising sea levels to Lower Manhattan.”
“The North/West Battery Park Resiliency Project is a demonstration of how NYC is learning from the past and looking toward the future,” said David Erdman, Founding Director, Center for Climate Adaptation. “Among its merits, it showcases innovative design methods for negotiating and integrating flood barriers while also sensitively programming construction to allow for ongoing access and reduced closure periods. A challenging collection of sites that comprise an invaluable array of public and community assets, the plan advances strategies for restoring habitat and protecting residents while amplifying and enriching how we experience our shorelines, adapt to and live with an evolving climate.”
“The North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project is a notable example of a multipurpose, integrated project in an incredibly unique urban setting,” said Anne Baker, PLA, Senior Coalition Director at the American Flood Coalition, a non-partisan organization with over 400 members in 23 states advocating for solutions to flooding and sea level rise. “The Battery Park City Authority’s focus on reducing flood risk while also considering open space, urban heat, and so many other factors is relevant to adaptation conversations across the country, as communities of all types and sizes are increasingly integrating a growing range of needs and goals into local flood-related projects.”
“It is encouraging to see the plans and progress being made to secure New York against future weather events, especially but not limited to cloudbursts, extreme storms, SLR, and high water events. I had previously visited some early hardened areas in Red Hook as well as the now completed East Side Resiliency Project and applaud these advances,” said Lance Jay Brown, Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, Co-Founder and Past President, Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization. “The NWBPR is perhaps the most challenging of these initiatives given the complexity of the context and richness of its culture and history. I am impressed with how the work is proceeding and the ways in which the various community interests are be incorporated. I suggest that during the construction of the various reaches, and while the complicated intersections of infrastructure and public spaces are open and visible to view, that each and every eighth grader be brought for a tour of the work. In this way the next generation will fully understand and appreciate the environmental challenges faced and addressed and the role of design excellence in doing so. It is important that our school age children understand the policies, economics, and design needs, and career opportunities, as they go forward into our ever more dynamic world – and they can then explain to their parents what they learned!”
“The Skyscraper Museum supports the protection the NWBPCR project will provide the surrounding community,” said Carol Willis, Founder, Director, and Curator, the Skyscraper Museum. “While the construction is a challenge, we appreciate the long-term protection, adaptability, and improvements to the public realm.”
“Protecting Lower Manhattan neighborhoods from climate-induced sea level rise is of utmost importance and a necessary step for the future of New York City,” said Tammy Meltzer, Chair of Manhattan Community Board 1. “We thank the BPCA for their engagement with the board and the community during critical design and construction decisions. We appreciate the emphasis on protection while balancing design to maintain open view corridors to the water and preserve the natural beauty and unique landscaping of Lower Manhattan and Battery Park City. We look forward to continued collaboration and support of community interests as the project fulfills its commitment to making Lower Manhattan resilient for years to come.”
“Stuyvesant High School has a long-standing partnership with the Battery Park City Authority. The North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project will help protect and beautify the vicinity and allow for Stuyvesant to continue to be a key educational fixture in the neighborhood,” said Brian Moran, Assistant Principal, Stuyvesant High School. “Stuyvesant has hosted many of the BPCA Resiliency Project community outreach events and the BPCA has communicated and worked in collaboration with the school to support its needs throughout the entire process.”
NWBPCR is the third large-scale resiliency infrastructure project undertaken by BPCA since Superstorm Sandy ravaged Lower Manhattan in 2012. The BPC Ball Fields & Community Center Project, now complete, entails an 800-linear foot barrier system to protect the 80,000 square foot playing surface – used by some 50,000 local youth annually – as well as the adjacent community center, from the risks associated with storm surge and sea level rise. The project received American Society of Civil Engineers Metropolitan Section’s Sustainability Project of the Year award in 2023, presented in recognition of a project which exhibits innovative environmentally sustainable aspects that benefit its users and the public.
The South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, currently under construction and to be completed next spring, will create an integrated coastal flood risk management system will run from the Museum of Jewish Heritage (where it will tie into NWBPCR), across Wagner Park and Pier A Plaza, and along the northern border of the Historic Battery, where it be integrated with New York City’s Battery Coastal Resiliency. In January 2024, SBPCR earned the prestigious WEDG (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) Verification from the Waterfront Alliance. WEDG is a national rating system and gold standard for resilient, ecological, and accessible waterfront design.
These large infrastructure projects are in addition to BPCA’s already-completed work to repair and harden vulnerable areas throughout the neighborhood – from relocation above the flood zone of electrical infrastructure powering the NYC Police Memorial and south side of the North Cove Marina, resilient turf and elevated electric equipment at the BPC Ball Fields, and wet flood proofing of the historic Pier A, to upgrading to water-resistant street lighting, and flood protection measures at the Robert R. Douglass / West Thames Street pedestrian bridge that can be installed in advance of significant storm events.
Battery Park City’s resiliency projects comprise part of the City of New York’s overall Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project (LMCR), an integrated coastal protection initiative aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea level rise in Lower Manhattan. The LMCR Project area spans the Lower Manhattan coast and seeks to increase resiliency while preserving access to the waterfront and integrating with public space.
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