A new floodgate installed as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
On October 17, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the completion of the first section of the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project. The East Side Coastal Resiliency project is a $1.45 billion project that will create a 2.4-mile-long flood barrier on the Lower East Side from Montgomery Street to Asser Levy Playground between East 23rd Street and East 25th Street. The $1.45 billion project is being built in two sections. The northern section began construction in November 2020 and was completed for $163 million last month. The second section, which will include a complete reconstruction of East River Park, at a cost of roughly $1.28 billion is currently underway and anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026.
The goal of the project is to protect 110,000 Lower East Side residents including 28,000 in public housing from the region’s anticipated 100-year storm in the year 2050 (a storm that starting in 2050 has a 1 percent annual chance of hitting New York City), based on climate change projections produced by the New York City Panel on Climate Change.
The East Side Coastal Resiliency adds two feet of elevation should sea levels rise through raised parkland, floodwalls, berms, and 18 swinging or sliding flood gates. In February 2022, the first floodgate was installed in the northern section. That flood gate is 42 feet long, 10 feet high, and weighs 32,000 pounds.
As a result of the project, Stuyvesant Cove Park, Murphy Brothers Playground, Asser Levy Playground, and Corlears Hook Park, have all received or will receive floodwalls and floodgates protection.
The East Side Coastal Resiliency’s companion project Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience, is due to be completed at the end of 2026. When taken in aggregate the two projects protect 3.22 miles of coastline from the Brooklyn Bridge north to Asser Levy Playground at a construction cost of close to $2 billion.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “As one of the world’s great coastal cities, we know that stronger storms and rising seas are a threat, because no one knows when the next Superstorm Sandy will arrive at our doorstep; but New York City plans to be ready. Today, we are marking the completion of Phase One of East Side Coastal Resiliency – two months ahead of schedule and $10 million under budget. Once the entire project is completed, the protective gates can be deployed when a hurricane or storm surge is headed our way – protecting lives and New Yorkers’ wallets as we safeguard property. Protecting New Yorkers from climate change is a massive undertaking, with millions of lives and billions of dollars on the line – and we’re more than up to the task.”
Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said, “Gone are the days when a park was just a park; now everything must do double duty to protect New York from the vagaries of climate change. There is no clearer example of this mission than the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, where protection and playgrounds are being brought to you ahead of schedule and under budget. As part of our broader toolkit to keep New Yorkers safe from bigger and more frequent storms, our coastal resiliency projects are helping us meet the scale of the climate crisis head-on. I look forward to celebrating ESCR’s completion in 2026, thanks to the partnership of our hardworking public servants at DDC and the Parks Department.”
By: Chelsea Ramjeawan (Chelsea is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)