13 years post Sandy, NYC still needs protection

Tomorrow, October 29, will be 13 years since Superstorm Sandy flooded Lower Manhattan. The storm cost the city more than $70 billion in damages – the equivalent of $95 billion today – and served as a stark warning that our infrastructure was not sufficient to deal with the growing threat of climate change. Although we have made great progress in restoring and protecting our coastline since 2012, the need to continue to adapt remains.

This vulnerability reflects a broader national crisis. In 2024, the United States experienced 27 catastrophic weather disasters, resulting in hundreds of deaths and billions in damages. These events are now commonplace. Every summer, relatively mild storms flood our subways and streets. Along Manhattan’s West Side, high tides alone can flood parts of the neighborhood during a full moon.

That’s why the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) is leading two resiliency projects as part of the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency initiative. These are not theoretical solutions: they are being developed now, informed by years of conversation and already yielding results.

Too often, government gets stuck in red tape and ideas die in bureaucracy. At Battery Park City, we’re proving we can implement bold ideas before delaying disaster.

Wagner Park, one of the neighborhood’s most beloved green spaces, reopened this summer and is once again full of New Yorkers enjoying its lawns, walkways and views. Raised above the century-old floodplain, it now hides a flood wall, a modern stormwater management system and a 63,000-gallon reservoir for reusing rainwater.

The benefits extend beyond Battery Park City: They help protect lower Manhattan from a 100-year storm based on predicted sea level rise. The project was built to the rigorous standards of the Waterfront Alliance’s Waterfront Design Guidelines, which push projects to go beyond standard resiliency and environmental requirements.

Later this year, the City of North/West Battery Park Resilience Project will begin, creating a much-needed coastal flood risk management system. This engineering marvel will create a reliable, passive control barrier that requires no human intervention in the event of a severe storm. It will also preserve the waterfront, maintain open spaces and introduce universal access, while minimizing disruption to existing infrastructure.

This is not the first time that aspiration and collaboration have come together to bring public benefit. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, plans to rebuild Port Authority-owned land at the site were failing, due to competing visions, delays and budgetary issues. Ultimately, strong leadership allowed a new memorial to the World Trade Center and 9/11 to be built in time for the 10th anniversary. It remains one of the city’s shining examples of resilience and architectural ambition.

It’s not easy to renovate key public assets in a densely populated area, but when a plan is methodically developed, grounded in science, and shaped by community input, it is poised to succeed.

For years, the BPCA has been laying the groundwork with residents and businesses to gather their feedback and ensure final designs reflect local priorities. Coastal communities planning their own large-scale resilience projects should look to Battery Park City as a model.

Although complex in design, the south and northwest sections will provide many benefits to Battery Park City and Lower Manhattan. Together, they will protect the homes of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, the office buildings that drive the city’s economy, and critical infrastructure like the World Trade Center.

The shoreline improvement will protect against flooding, projected sea level rise and help cool the neighborhood from extreme heat. Removing Battery Park City from the flood zone will provide relief to homeowners, eliminating the need to purchase flood insurance for federally backed mortgages, and rebuilding approximately 1,200 feet of bulkhead will improve environments that support marine life, a vital part of our ecosystem. Additionally, the project is financially strong, generating over $2 in profits for every dollar invested.

The ongoing work in Battery Park City complements resiliency work on Manhattan’s East Side to harden low-lying edge areas against flood risks and sea level rise. It’s a monumental undertaking, but the new Wagner Park and completed phases of the East Side Coastal Resilience Project show that it can be achieved while transforming our public spaces.

As we reflect on Hurricane Sandy and its wake-up call for the city, lessons have been learned and we must now remain focused on what comes next. As neighborhoods around the city – and cities across the country – search for inspiration amid the bureaucratic quagmire and federal inaction, Battery Park City provides the model for how to get there.

Mann is president and CEO of the Battery Park City Authority. Ward is the interim president and CEO of the Waterfront Alliance.