User:Hochru/East River Park

copied from East River Park

Hurricane Sandy and renovation
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded the East River Park and the Lower East Side in 2012, with waves reaching heights of over 12 feet, prompting the city to consider flood mitigation plans that would alter the park.

East Side Coastal Resiliency
Following the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, East River Park became the subject of a long series of proposals and discussion about how to best use the park to protect the nearby communities.

Rebuild by Design, 2013
In June, 2013 as part of the national discussion on how to rebuild infrastructure following Hurricane Sandy, then-secretary Shaun Donovan, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched Rebuild by Design, a competition which called for experts to develop solutions for neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Out of almost 150 teams proposals, ten were selected as finalists, and seven of the proposals eventually received a total of $930 million in federal grants. The largest grant, totaling $335 million, was granted to a proposed project known as the Big U proposal, which targeted to increase the coastal resiliency of Lower Manhattan, resulting in a U-shaped plan along the bottom of the city. One of the largest segments of the Big U was known as the East Side Coastal Resiliency project (ESCR), and would work to improve the resiliency of East River Park and the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood. The Big U team pursued a participatory design model, undergoing multiple rounds of public outreach to connect with residents around each segment, including residents of the Lower East Side about the proposed plans, and getting community input. The resulting plan, supported by local residents, elected officials, and advocacy groups, included an 8-foot berm that would be built along FDR Drive from East 23rd Street down to Montgomery Street, which would decrease the severity of, but not completely stop, flooding from impacting the surrounded area from 2015-2018 city agencies continued the process of participatory design that the Big-U architects began, ahead of the eventual land use considerations that were set to begin in 2018.

Value Engineering Review, 2018
Starting in early 2018 the city underwent a months long internal "value engineering review", in which they met with designers and planners to determine the feasibility of the proposal. A FOIA request for documentation of this review process revealed several roadblocks to the original plan, including the parks departments concerns about maintaining a park that would still be flooded, as well the location of high-voltage Con-Edison power lines. The power lines lie directly beneath where the berm was slated to be built, and would have required construction of a tunnel for their relocation, which would have been costly and time consuming.

Value Alternative LI-29 Plan Announced, 2018
In September 2018 the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that, based on the findings of the internal value engineering review, that the plans for the park had been changed, completely getting rid of the proposed berm. Their statement said that the new plan would provide faster and less disruptive construction, by moving the bulk of the construction away from residents directly alongside FDR Drive, and placing the renovations alongside the water. The new plan, referred to by engineers as the "Value Alternative LI-29" plan, would “Elevate park high enough to eliminate wall.” The review determined that this plan would be not only be more effective than the original plan, but it would also be cheaper and faster, a concern that addressed the 2022 (now extended to 2023) deadline associated with the initial HUD funding for the project. The new plan was announced under the same name, ESCR.

Aftermath and Current Plan
Following their announcement, the plan had to be approved by Community Boards 3 and 6, and then the City Council. In July, 2019, the new plan was presented to Community Board 3 by the Department of Design and Construction (DDC), following several months of input with residents about changes the city needed to make if they wanted the approval of the neighborhood. The City Council tends to follow rules of member deference, in which land use decisions such as the park follow the votes of the incumbent council members, in this case Council Members Margaret Chin of District 1 and Carlina Rivera of District 2. Both Councilmembers demanded numerous accommodations from the city to improve the plan as much as possible. As stated by Council Member Rivera, following the "horrible" communication from the city, "what we're trying to do now ... is figure out how we can create a plan that truly takes into account all our needs and what we deserve". Amongst other things, Rivera made repeated demands to secure phased construction and alternative sources of greenspace for the community for the duration of the construction. The plan was approved by the City Council in 2019, and began construction in 2021.