Photo Courtesy of Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato’s Office
Dan Mundy, Jr. (at lectern) and the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers will contribute to the Cove project’s marsh-planning efforts with support from the American Littoral Society.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced an allocation of $7 million for the restoration of Sunset Cove in Broad Channel.
The mayoral funding matches an existing $7 million for the restoration of Sunset Cove from a U.S. Department of Interior – National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant and State Department of Environmental Conservation Mitigation funding.
According to the City, the $14 million project is an important ecological restoration that will help protect the community from floodwaters and improve the health of Jamaica Bay. The project will remove contaminated fill, provide access to the park, and create a resilient shorefront that reestablishes native habitats for fish, birds and wildlife, and will restore critical tidal wetlands in Jamaica Bay.
“We are hard at work building a more fair and resilient city,” de Blasio said. “Not only will the residents of Broad Channel have better protection from storm surges, but they will also have a reinvigorated ecosystem and better access to their park. The City looks forward to working closely with our partners to get shovels in the ground next year.”
The administration noted that work will include the restoration of five acres of salt marsh and seven acres of coastal woodland; removal of contaminated fill across the site and replacement with clean sand; and the installation of a pedestrian pathway along a perimeter berm which will provide both access and storm protection.
The design for Sunset Cove was completed in May 2016. Following the design, the project received bids that were nearly double the available budget, effectively stalling progress. But the new allocation from the City allows the project to move forward immediately.
“Sunset Cove is such an incredible victory for this community, and I’m honored to have helped facilitate the process to where construction is set to begin next year,” said Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach). “There’s a balance, a true relationship, between the people of Jamaica Bay and the Bay itself. This community resource will not only show off the natural beauty of our water and its ecosystem, but will create the next generation of environmentalists to preserve and protect it. Thanks to everyone who’s been working so hard to make the Cove a reality.”
De Blasio also noted that the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers will contribute to marsh-planning efforts with support from the American Littoral Society.
Construction on the project is expected to begin in spring 2018 and completed in 2019.
