New York City has completed the first section of East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR), a major milestone in the effort to protect the Lower East Side of Manhattan from future storms and high tides and protect billions of dollars worth of infrastructure and property in the area. ESCR employs raised parkland, floodwalls, berms, and 18 swinging or sliding floodgates to create a continuous line of protection against sea level rise and the growing threat of stronger, more severe coastal storms worsened by climate change. The project is being built in two sections, with the northern section having begun work in November 2020. The first section has just been completed, and construction on the second section, which is underway and anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026, includes a complete reconstruction of East River Park.
“With this milestone, achieved ahead of time and under budget, New York City takes a huge step toward protecting one of its most vulnerable communities from coastal storms and future high tides,” “We are pioneering shoreline protection and climate change management for major North American cities, and doing it in a way that enhance recreation and enhances neighborhoods instead of just walling them in.”
Thomas Foley – New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner
The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project originated from the Rebuild by Design competition, where New York City received HUD funding to implement the initial phase of the Big U concept. This plan envisions a comprehensive coastal flood protection system along the lower Manhattan waterfront, covering 2.5 miles of the east side. It includes the development of four parks, an esplanade, and over 60 acres of open space.
“These critical enhancements to the east side’s waterfront parks represent a landmark investment in lifesaving flood protection for over 110,000 residents on the Lower East Side. Thanks to this innovative project, Murphy Brothers Playground will reopen with improved recreational spaces, new measures to increase climate resiliency, and additional amenities that will keep our urban landscapes vibrant and green for all New Yorkers.”
Sue Donoghue – New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner
East Side Coastal Resiliency
East Side Coastal Resiliency is a project which is creating a flexible, 2.4-mile-long flood barrier on the Lower East Side from Montgomery Street up to Asser Levy Playground between East 23rd Street and East 25th Street – is designed to protect New Yorkers 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 project uses an adaptive design that can accommodate the addition of two more feet of elevation should sea levels in the coming decades rise faster than projections anticipate.
The project has been designed to improve waterfront access through reconstructed bridges and entry points and will also upgrade existing sewer systems to capture and manage precipitation during storms. The first floodgate – which is 42 feet long, 10 feet high, and 32,000 pounds – was installed in February 2022. Flood protection will become effective at the end of the project, which is currently projected for the end of 2026. ESCR also has a companion project to its south called Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience, which is also due to be completed at the end of 2026. Together, the two projects will protect 3.22 miles of coastline from the Brooklyn Bridge north to Asser Levy Playground at a construction cost of close to $2 billion.
ESCR is making improvements to five recreation areas in total. Stuyvesant Cove Park has been rebuilt with new amenities and a combination of floodwalls and floodgates along its western edge. Murphy Brothers Playground, which reopened this week, has new flood protection, a basketball court, a new dog run, two new ballfields, new lighting, a new playground area and swing set, new trees, and new grading and landscaping. The 2.44-acre Asser Levy Playground – now intersected by a new floodwall and sliding floodgate – was partially rebuilt with extensive landscaping and new playground and basketball areas using resilient materials. Corlears Hook Park, still in construction, will also see improvements such as new landscaping, plantings, lighting, and playground equipment. The first ballfields in the new East River Park opened in September 2024 along with the new larger and more accessible Delancey Street Bridge spanning the FDR Drive.
East Side Coastal Resiliency – Phase 1
Location: Lower East Side Manhattan, New York, USA
Design Team
AKRF, Arcadis, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA), BIG, Munoz, KS Engineers, CH2M Hill, Boomi Environmental, Fitzgerald & Halliday, One, Hazen & Sawyer, Wesler Cohen, Hardesty & Hanover, Siteworks
NYC Teams
The Mayor’s Office of Resiliency (MOR), New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of City Planning (DCP), New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Department of Design and Construction (DDC).
Construction Team
HTNB-LiRo, BuiStudio, SI Engineering, Entech Engineering & Consulting, Indigo River Consulting, Hershy Engineering & Consulting, SND Partners, NV5 Global, Langan, Melissa Johnson Associates, CAS Group, Tristate Planning & Engineering, Liriano & Associates, Ota Ade Oni Consulting, Gaco Engineering, Hunt, Guillot & Associates, Laland Baptiste, Carringtons Specialists Consultants & Engineering, JED Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C., Mirabal Engineering, AEIS, Preferred Environmental Services
Images Courtesy of Department of Design and Construction (DDC)