NEW YORK—Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer outlined plans for a storm barrier on the Lower East Side on Thursday evening.
In his final State of the Borough speech, Stringer described the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy while presenting plans for the East River Blueway, a stretch from Brooklyn Bridge to 38th Street that is practically blocked off from the river. Stringer called it “the achilles heel of Manhattan’s flood zone.”
Stringer, Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, and Adam Lubinsky of WXY Architecture + Urban Design, have been studying the area and reaching out to the community for several years.
Although the full plan hasn’t been released yet, it includes:
- A concrete bulkhead beneath FDR Drive from the Brooklyn Bridge to Rutgers Slip would turn into protective wetlands, helping re-direct surges from the next big storm.
- The beach underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, which is both inaccessible to the public and often strewn with trash, would become “an active waterfront destination.”
- A green pedestrian bridge would be built outside of the ConEd plant on East 14th, which is at the water’s edge. An explosion at this ConEd station during Hurricane Sandy was caused by flooding. All of downtown Manhattan’s power went out at the same time.
