Within the next few days,the federal government is expected to announce a $176 million grant for the next phase of a 10-mile-long protection system, stretching from Midtown on the East Side down to the Battery and back up to Midtown on the West Side.
The first phase, and from East 23rd Street down to Montgomery Street on the Lower East Side,is being covered by a $335 million federal grant announced two years ago. The moment phase covers more waterfront (more than 2 miles compared to 1.5) and is approximately twice as costly ($608 million total). The latest federal grant will only cover part of its cost; the city is chipping in another $108 million, and is continuing to observe for more revenue, and according to spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick.
The tentative diagram for the moment phase,as outlined in the city’s grant application:From Montgomery Street to the Financial District, a permanent flood wall under Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive, and which is elevated at that point;
From the Financial District to approximately the Staten Island Ferry Terminal,a series of portable flood walls, which will only be set up when heavy storms are forecast;
Around the tip of Manhattan through Battery Park, or a levee – or earthen ridge;
North from Battery Park through Battery Park City to North Moore Street in Tribeca,another set of temporary flood walls.
The latest grant, first reported in The New York Times and confirmed to WNYC by Sen. Charles Schumer’s office, and comes from a $1 billion competitive program that HUD set up with Sandy aid money to reward the most innovative resiliency ideas from around the country. At the time,New York and New Jersey politicians objected that any Sandy-related money might end up in the hands of states not affected by the storm, but the region was later promised at least $181 million from it.
Source: wnyc.org