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Eye On Flood Risk Management


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USACE’s Olivia Ng Crackler shed light on plans to shore up the New York/New Jersey Harbor against future coastal storm flooding along with her colleagues, including Bryce Wisemiller. Photo by Ralph Mancini

Members of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) notified the public of long-range plans to solve coastal storm flooding in the New York/New Jersey Harbor and its surrounding tributaries during a series of four meetings from Monday, July 9 through Tuesday, July 10 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) in Tribeca and at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.

“We’ve identified the alternatives, but haven’t taken action,” said Olivia Ng Cackler, USACE project planner and archeologist, as she proceeded to highlight key pieces of data associated with identifying the existing problems and opportunities to reduce future damage by coastal storms and subsequent flooding in the interest of ultimately saving lives.

In that effort the federal agency is conducting a feasibility study that has thus far resulted in six strategies that will be evaluated, screened and compared to one another to determine the environmental impacts of each undertaking along with benefits vis-à-vis the cost aspects of the individual plans.

Offering a general description of the alternatives was USACE New York District Project Manager Bryce Wisemiller, who described each proposed procedure as follows:

 

  • Alternative 1: This plan consists in taking no action, according to the study team.
  • Alternative 2: Described as the “most expensive” alternative, this approach includes the installation of a harbor-wide storm-surge barrier from Breezy Point to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
  • Alternative 3A: This method would result in storm-surge barrier construction at the southern end of Arthur Kill (also known as the Staten Island Sound), at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, at Pelham Bay and at Jamaica Bay with additional flood walls and levee systems.
  • Alternative 3B: Construction as per this design would take place further back into the estuaries, where storm-surge barriers would be placed along Coney Island and Jamaica Bay, among other locations. Additional flood walls and levee systems would also be included.
  • Alternative 4: This action plan entails the addition of solitary bay and river basin surge barriers, flood walls and levees along the Hackensack River and the west side of Manhattan.
  • Alternative 5: This type of project would only provide shoreline storm-surge barrier measures along the perimeter of the harbor.

 

The Wave sought feedback from some of the Rockaway residents who participated in the scoping session, such as Bayswater-based civic leader Eugene Falik, who said he wasn’t sure if he had a firm opinion of the USACE’s findings and suggestions.

He did, however, see the benefits of using one large, harbor-wide barrier as a protective measure as opposed to adding many smaller barriers that would need one problem before everything falls apart.

Belle Harbor Property Owners Association (BHPOA) President Hank Iori called what the USACE is trying to accomplish as “pretty comprehensive,” but noted that it only marginally involves Rockaway.

“This is a much broader coverage of New York City and Staten Island and other areas. They want to give us a vision of the future. We want the present and the next two years to get us safe and that’s not the topic here,” observed the Belle Harbor activist.

“The time table they’re giving us is a concern because the reality is we don’t see any physical work being done in terms of a berm or a dune put up on our beach until probably the fall of 2020, even though they say that they’ll get things started at the end of 2019. The berm we currently have is being compromised right now and may be defeated in 2019 or 2020, which means the 2,000 homes from 126th Street to 149th Street could be in jeopardy of being flooded all over again.”

The Wave also spoke with National Park Service Superintendent Jennifer T. Nersesian, who called the USACE study one that can have “beneficial” impacts, but maintained that she is still weighing and considering all of the suggestions.

Attendees at the information gatherings were given a list of milestone dates, which includes a release of the draft report in Fall 2018; a final report that will be ready by Spring 2021 and the USACE Chief’s report in Summer 2020.

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