News

Aug 15, 2023

Floodwalls, Storm Gate Could Line Long Island City In New Army Plan

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A storm surge gate would guard Newtown Creek and

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A storm surge gate would guard Newtown Creek and seawalls would line Long Island City as part of a massive federal plan to protect New York City from future floods, according to a newly released report.

The report was released Saturday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, detailing a $52 billion plan that also calls for even larger gates to be built across Jamaica Bay and on heavily-used waterways near Staten Island.

First reported by Gothamist, the new study reveals that the government has chosen to move forward on one proposal out of five different flood-protection plans that had been considered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which unleashed billions of dollars of damage in the city in 2012.

The Newtown Creek-area component would include a mixture of floodwalls, seawalls and levees spanning along the East River from Transmitter Park in Greenpoint up to 43rd Avenue in Long Island City — covering a total of three miles. (The Army Corps defines seawalls as being made of rubble piles, while floodwalls would be reinforced concrete.)

The creek itself, which runs between Long Island City and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, would be outfitted with a 400-foot-wide gate with a 130-foot-wide opening that would be shut during storms, according to the Army Corps report.

The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and Flushing Creek in Queens would receive similar storm surge barriers as Newtown Creek, the plans say.

The proposal has not yet been finalized: the Army Corps is seeking feedback through Jan. 6, 2023 on the report, which could be finalized around 2024. It also needs approvals by city and state officials in New York and New Jersey, according to THE CITY.

If approved and funded, construction would last about 14 years and could begin by 2030, wrapping up in 2044, according to the new report.

It is also unclear how local groups will react to the proposal: leaders of the Newtown Creek Alliance, which has worked for years to preserve the waterway, have previously suggested that storm surge barriers would not do enough to protect the strait.

While the Army Corps had expected to announce its final plan as early as 2019, the project was delayed for years due to opposition from then-President Donald Trump — then restarted last October by the Biden Administration, Gothamist reported. The chosen plan, known as Alternative 3B, was selected in July, according to Gothamist.

If it is ultimately funded and built, the project would "create the largest and most comprehensive system of coastal protections in the region, while dramatically reshaping New York City's waterfront," Gothamist reported Monday.

Despite its cost to build, the flood protections would ultimately prevent an average of $6.2 billion in annual storm damage between 2044 and 2093, the report found. Climate change is expected to worsen flooding across the New York City area in the coming decades, with the Hudson River alone predicted to rise at least nine inches by 2050, the report noted.

"As sea levels continue to rise, coastal storms will cause flooding over a larger area and at increased heights than they otherwise would have in the past," the Army Corps wrote.

Still, the gates and floodwalls are intended only to guard against storm surges, not overall sea level rise or flooding caused by heavy rainfalls.

More detailed maps lay out the project's components along the Long Island City shoreline, including a seawall spanning most of Hunter's Point South Park, and levees and floodwalls surrounding Gantry Plaza State Park.

Besides protecting residents, the Long Island City infrastructure would help protect subway tunnels and the East River Tunnel and railyard used by Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, the Army Corps noted.

"The storm surge barrier and shore-based measure alignments could provide coastal storm risk management to the low-lying areas of Long Island City, Greenpoint, and the larger Newtown Creek area," the Army Corps wrote.

Read more about the flood-prevention plan at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.

Have a Long Island City news tip? Contact reporter Nick Garber at [email protected].