Thread: New York City to Get $176 Million From U.S. for Storm Protections

New York City to Get $176 Million From U.S. for Storm Protections

By WINNIE HUJAN. 18, 2016



A rendering of a city proposal to protect against flooding in Lower Manhattan from another storm like Hurricane Sandy.

New York City may soon be one step closer to building a new flood protection system around Lower Manhattan to guard against another storm like Hurricane Sandy.

Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said on Monday that the city would be awarded $176 million in federal funding for the proposed project, through a national contest created by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help communities recover from disasters and better prepare for them.

The money would be used to help fortify a stretch of shoreline from Montgomery Street on the Lower East Side to the northern tip of Battery Park City. Specific measures have not yet been determined, but could include adding sea walls and temporary flood walls that could be deployed before a storm, and building grass berms that could double as recreational areas.

“This project has gotten more money than any other in this rebuild contest,” Mr. Schumer said.

The senator added that he had lobbied the housing secretary, Julián Castro, numerous times, including most recently over breakfast at a diner in Lower Manhattan last week.

Mr. Schumer said that the project would both protect the city and develop its waterfront for recreational and community use. “The Lower East Side waterfront is almost a wasteland compared to the West Side waterfront, and this should make them much more equal,” he said, adding that he would like to see new bike paths and ball fields along the water.

The federal competition, called the National Disaster Resilience Competition, identified 40 states and local communities — including New York City, New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut — as finalists in June in the first phase of the contest. The finalists represented areas that have been affected by major disasters declared by the president in 2011, 2012 and 2013, according to the housing agency’s website.

In the second phase, the finalists were invited to compete for nearly $1 billion in federal funds, of which $181 million was set aside for projects in New York and New Jersey. Proposals for specific projects were due in October.

Officials with the housing agency, which was closed on Monday for Martin Luther King’s Birthday, could not be reached for comment. The agency is expected to announce the winners of the contest this month, according to federal officials.

New York State is also expected to be awarded $35.8 million for a public housing pilot project in Nassau County, on Long Island, according to a federal official who was briefed on the awards but not authorized to speak publicly about them.

In New York City, the money for Lower Manhattan would supplement $100 million in capital funds that Mayor Bill de Blasio and city officials committed to the project in August.

“With the risks of climate change only growing, the city
continues to act,” said Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for the mayor. Ms. Spitalnick said that with any new funds, “the city will build on Mayor de Blasio’s $100 million commitment to Lower Manhattan flood protection” as part of a comprehensive “resiliency program underway across the five boroughs.”

City officials had requested up to $500 million, the maximum award amount, for the Lower Manhattan project in a 75-page application that drew support from a coalition of local, state and federal officials and community leaders.

“Hurricane Sandy was the worst natural disaster in the history of New York City, with 44 lives lost and $19 billion in damages and lost economic activity,” wrote Daniel A. Zarrilli, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, in a letter to Secretary Castro as part of the application. “It was also a turning point in our efforts to adapt to climate change and invest in resilience.”

In 2014, the city was awarded an additional $335 million in federal funds through another contest, called Rebuild by Design, to pay for an adjoining project that spans the shoreline from East 23rd Street to Montgomery Street.

City officials said that preliminary designs had been completed for that earlier project and that they expected similar work to begin on the Lower Manhattan section later this year.

Jessica Lappin, a former member of the City Council who is president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, a nonprofit organization representing business and property owners in Lower Manhattan, said that the shoreline improvements were crucial and that with the expected announcement of the award, the city should immediately begin its planning process.

“This is a vital economic hub for the city and the country,” Ms. Lappin said. “And we need the make sure it’s properly protected moving forward.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/ny...otections.html

Virginia to receive $120 MILLION to address rising sea levels, flooding

Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2016 4:00 pm

BY GRAHAM MOOMAW Richmond Times-Dispatch
Virginia will receive more than $120.5 million in federal funding as part of a national competition for projects in the Hampton Roads area to prepare for storms, flooding and the impacts of climate change, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Thursday in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The money, awarded as a part of HUD's $1 billion National Disaster Resilience Competition, will help fund a state plan to "unite the region, create coastal resilience, build water management solutions, improve economic vitality and strengthen vulnerable neighborhoods," according to the announcement.

"These funds will significantly aid our work to protect the economic vitality and quality of life in areas like Hampton Roads by preparing now for the real impacts of climate change and sea level rise," McAuliffe said.

http://www.richmond.com/news/virgini...f97651521.html