While Howard Beach residents welcomed Gov. Cuomo’s announcement last Friday that $50 million in federal funding has been approved for a resiliency project along a 150-acre span along Spring Creek and Jamaica Bay, they stressed that flood mitigation efforts need to be implemented in additional vulnerable areas in the neighborhood.
The project, which aims to better protect homes and businesses from destructive storm surges, such as the one that occurred during Hurricane Sandy, will use an initial $3 million for engineering and design work and, once approved, approximately $47 million towards resiliency efforts.
“Like several other communities located by water, Howard Beach suffered incredible damage from storm surges during Superstorm Sandy,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “…As the state continues to work with local communities to identify and implement strategies to make at-risk areas more resilient to extreme weather, this project is another example of how we’re building back better to better protect New Yorkers’ homes and businesses.”
Cuomo’s office said the flood mitigation efforts will occur along Spring Creek’s eastern shore and Jamaica Bay’s northern shore. The project site is bounded by the Belt Parkway to the north and, to the southeast, 78th Street, 161st Avenue, 83rd Street, 165th Avenue, and Cross Bay Boulevard.
The project will feature low- and high-level vegetated salt marshes, dune complexes, grasslands, and maritime forests. Additionally, approximately 765,00 cubic yards of material will be excavated at the project site and reshaped to create higher inland contours. About 40,000 cubic yards of sand will be imported and spread across the project area to create a six-food cover for planting purposes.
According to Cuomo, the project will restore more than 150 acres of maritime habitats, including dunes and forests; 49 acres of low marsh; 10 acres of high marsh; and six acres of tidal creek.
Though residents, including members of Howard Beach’s New York Rising Committee, said this is certainly good news for the area, they stressed that residents must continue to advocate for storm barriers, dunes, and resiliency protection for Old Howard at Charles Park and Hamilton Beach, as well as for movable storm gates and locks for Shellbank and Hawtree basins.
By Anna Gustafson
