Rendering of proposed flood resiliency infrastructure./Image Credit: DDC, Parks, DOT, DEP, and Mayor’s Office of Resiliency/CPC
Despite the project’s phased construction schedule, concerns with the project still exist among elected officials and community members. On November 4, 2019, the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Dispositions approved two land use applications for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, the City’s flood protection plan for Lower Manhattan. The Project will include a system of floodgates and walls along the project area, sewage improvements, and will elevate East River Park eight feet above the flood plain to protect the Park and have it serve as a flood barrier for nearby neighborhoods. The first application is for access onto private property adjacent to the proposed flood protection infrastructure for the City to conduct inspections, maintenance, and repair of the infrastructure. The second application is for a zoning text amendment to allow higher wall heights for the proposed floodwalls and gates at Stuyvesant Cove Park.
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Pershing Square in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC
Designations opposed by developers and hoteliers; transit advocates expressed concern that landmarking would prevent improved subway infrastructure and access. On July 19 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designations of five possible individual landmarks in the East Midtown area of Manhattan. Twelve items in total were identified by Landmarks as significant historic and architectural resources, as part of the mayoral administration’s Greater East Midtown plan. The plan to revitalize the area is intended to strengthen its position as a commercial district. The plan is expected to entail rezoning for greater density, improvements to transit and public spaces, and funding commitments for improvements and economic growth projects, in addition to the preservation of landmark-worthy fabric. Various stakeholders, including elected officials, business and real estate interests, and labor organizations are informing the plan, and a steering committee released a final report in 2015. (more…)
