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New York City Proposes Flood-Proof Barrier for Manhattan to Combat Sea Level Rise

March 14, 2019

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New York City barrier — With the lack of any effort by the federal government to address climate change, New York City plans to go it alone with mitigation and adaptation strategies including the building of an elevated barrier to flooding for all of Lower Manhattan. (Image credit: NYC Mayor's Office)

March 14, 2019 – Today the city of New York proposed a $10 billion USD plan to extend the coastline of Manhattan outward by more than 150 meters (500 feet). The plan would provide a ring of protection around the southern and eastern parts of Lower Manhattan, an area that is 2.4 meters (8 feet) above current sea levels. The land extension would be a barrier some 6 meters (20 feet) tall and would loom over neighbouring areas.

The area to be protected was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and includes Wall Street, $60 billion worth of property, 75% of the city’s subway lines, 90,000 residents, and home to 500,000 jobs. The $10 billion spent will buy Manhattan protection from sea level rise until the end of the century.

With the lack of any effort by the federal government to address climate change, New York City plans to go it alone with mitigation and adaptation strategies including the building of an elevated barrier to flooding for all of Lower Manhattan. (Image credit: NYC Mayor’s Office)

In the borough of Staten Island, also heavily impacted by Hurricane Sandy, a protective $615 million seawall funded through the federal government, is to be installed on its eastern shore. And in Queens, a new barrier and boardwalk are being built to protect the southern approaches to the Long Island neighbourhood.

Jesse Keenan, of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, is quoted in a Bloomberg article stating “I can’t think of anywhere else in America where there would be a stronger impetus to make this kind of investment,” referring to the Lower Manhattan barrier. Keenan continues, “Given the elevation and total amount of economic output and productivity from this part of the country, we really have no other alternative.”

Keenan notes that the Army Corps of Engineers and Congress will have to be involved because altering a coastline and watercourse will necessitate environmental impact studies and analysis of changes to the dynamics of the offshore environment.

Stated New York’s Mayor, Bill de Blasio, “After Sandy you don’t find many climate-change deniers in New York City. This is the existential threat, the core issue that we all must face as soon as possible.”