Professor Malcolm Bowman (left), NY NJ Storm Surge Working Group chair, introduces Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Photo: Victoria Bonilla Baez
On October 28, the New York New Jersey Storm Surge Working Group (SSWG) hosted the Superstorm Sandy Ninth Anniversary Coastal Resiliency Boat Tour aboard the Classic Harbor Line’s Manhattan II. Experts and stakeholders, including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and former President of the Regional Plan Association Bob Yaro, gave a comprehensive review to date of what has been done and what has not been done over the last nine years to protect New York and New Jersey from the existential threat posed by the next Sandy, the next Ida or an extreme weather event that could combine the devastation of Sandy’s storm surge and Ida’s storm water inundation.
The conclusion: not much has been done, and New York is still extremely vulnerable to catastrophic flooding events. The SSWG argues that coastal flooding is a regional threat and requires a regional solution. The science and technology exist to build a NY NJ regional coastal resiliency “layered defense” system that would cost effectively protect people, property and the environment. Such a layered system would negate the need to build high walls around the perimeter of Manhattan and the other 550+ miles of coastline surrounding New York Harbor that would block views and access to the waterfront.
For more information: metrosurge.org