Army Corps proposes $52 billion storm surge barriers for New York-New Jersey waterways

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a report Saturday detailing their proposed $52 billion plan to protect the New York City metropolitan area from storm surges and coastal flooding. It marks a major step forward in a long-delayed study initiated in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The Army Corps report provides significant new details for a proposal that was picked from a range of five options, as part of the NY & NJ Harbor & Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study (HATS). The tentatively selected plan, Alternative 3B, now proposes a 14-year construction project that would build 12 storm surge gates across some of the largest waterways around the New York City region.

It would also erect coastal barriers across more than 41 miles of the city’s shoreline, including extensive systems of seawalls and floodwalls in East Harlem, Lower Manhattan, southern Brooklyn, and the entire Rockaway Peninsula.

The Army Corps is soliciting public feedback on their report through January 6, 2023, in order to refine their proposal. It anticipates beginning its final designs for the plan in 2025 and starting construction in 2030. If approved, funded, and built, this proposal would create the largest and most comprehensive system of coastal protections in the region, while dramatically reshaping New York City’s waterfront.

All Things Considered host Sean Carlson spoke with environmental photojournalist Nathan Kensinger, who broke the latest news on the project for WNYC. Click "listen" in the player to hear their conversation, and visit Gothamist for more on the story.