Resiliency case study: East Side Coastal Resiliency
The problem
When Hurricane Sandy hit New York, water came over the East River banks causing the explosion of a Con Edison plant transformer on the Lower East Side. The event knocked out power for half of Manhattan for nearly a week.
Manhattan
Hudson River
Upper Bay
Queens
Brooklyn
East Side Coastal Resiliency
The solution
The East Side Coastal Resiliency project aims to protect that infrastructure as well as the surrounding neighborhoods from East 25th Street to Montgomery Street. Seawalls with gates are being built to help seal off the area when large storms strike. One gate flips open, another rolls into place on rails and a third type swings shut like a door.
Flip walls
Rolling walls
Swinging walls
The impact
Protecting the neighborhood's 110,000 residents and critical infrastructure from storm surges while elevating and rebuilding the East River Park for residents to enjoy year-round.
Photos by Buck Enniis