Mayor de Blasio Announces Major Investments to Protect the Rockaways from Storms

Mayor de Blasio Announces Major Investments to Protect the Rockaways from Future Storms

$145 million in new and upgraded parks and facilities will help protect the Rockaways from coastal storms and flooding

On the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced a $145 million investment for up to seven resilience projects to help protect communities in the Rockaways from the impacts of climate change. Each project will be designed to improve quality of life, build more resilient neighborhoods in the Rockaway peninsula that will be better prepared to withstand future flooding and coastal storms. All seven projects were identified by the City through extensive consultation with Rockaway residents and their elected officials.

Link to conceptual renderings of Bayswater Park available herePark Conceptual Rendering.jpg?dl=0

and conceptual renderings of Beach 88th Street Park available here:

88th Street Park Conceptual Rendering.jpg?dl=0

These investments are an important step forward for Rockaways residents, connecting them with parks and the waterfront, while helping shield them from future storms, said Mayor Bill de Blasio. The community will see a lot they will like in newly renovated parks, and will feel safer because of the flood protections that will be built in. New York is building this kind of smart infrastructure to fight climate change and inequality at the same time, so future generations will inherit a city thats more resilient and just.

This past February, the City submitted a list of recreational and resiliency projects to be considered by FEMA for funding from cost savings from the Rockaway Beach boardwalk reconstruction. A total of $480 million was obligated for the Rockaway Boardwalk project, and Mayor de Blasio committed to keep any additional funding that was not spent on the boardwalk in the Rockaways. $120 million was saved from reconstructing the Boardwalk. Under FEMA 428 program rules, the city was able to allocate the saving to other resiliency projects. FEMA reviewed the Citys application and approved the full amount to be used on the submitted recreational and resiliency projects pending approval of environmental and historical preservation reviews. This was supplemented by a contribution of $25 million from the administration, Borough President Katz and other public and private sources. With FEMAs approval, the City will now be able to complete design on following seven projects, moving them another step closer to construction, subject to final FEMA approval.

• Bayswater Park. This project will install berm along the waterfront and other feature to help manage stormwater. It will also include new sports fields, play areas, a public plaza, a refurbished comfort station and access for kayaks.

• Edgemere Raised Shoreline. This project will raise the shoreline around the Edgemere neighborhood. It will include new vegetated berm and new bulkheads to help mitigate coastal flooding.

• Shore Front Parkway Recreation Zone. This project will include six new recreational facilities along Shorefront Parkway to replace those lost during Hurricane Sandy.

• Rockaway Community Park. This project will include a raising the shorelines around the parkss eastern and western edges as well as restore the native wetlands as a natural buffer between the park and Jamaica Bay.

• Beach 88th Street Park. This new waterfront park will include a new seawall and restores wetlands to mitigate against tidal flooding in the Rockaway Beach neighborhood. It will also include play and seating areas and kayak access.

• Thursby Basin Park. This project will transform a vacant lot into a park with seawall and new resilent vegetation along the water to help protect against tidal flooding. It will also include new sport courts, play equipment, and a kayak launch.

• NYC Parks Operations Headquarters for the Rockaways and Broad Channel. This project will elevate past of the facility protect from future flooding to ensure it can as a response center in the event of a future storm.

FEMA shared their enthusiasm and appreciation of the Citys ability to identify these projects which will provide additional resiliency features to the peninsulas shorelines, improve NYC Parks operations and emergency response throughout the peninsula and Broad Channel, and supply the communities with both renovated and new parks.

Public scoping meetings to begin these projects are expected to be held starting in Spring and Summer 2018.

To see the full list of the City's progress on its OneNYC $20 billion multilayered resiliency program, please visit our citywide resiliency map here

Rockaway YMCA at Arverne by the Sea

207 Beach 73rd Street

Queens

October 29, 2017