East Side's Storm Protection Plan Gets Advisory Group, Mayor Says

EAST VILLAGE, NY — In a bid to win over east siders on the sweeping plan to rebuild East River Park to protect from the impacts of climate change, the de Blasio administration says it will create a new community advisory group, the mayor's office announced Monday.

The advisory group of local stakeholders would give input to the city about design and construction progress on the park — which is expected to be reconstructed as a part of a $1.45 billion storm protection plan to bury-and-rebuild it eight to 10 feet higher and requires the beloved east side park to be nearly half-closed for about five years.

"The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project will protect New Yorkers for years to come, and at every step of the way, we will continue to ensure the community is kept informed of progress and that their voice is heard," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

It remains unclear who would be a part of the "community advisory group," but de Blasio's office announced it would be formed in coordination with the City Council and local officials.

City officials would meet with the group ahead of the planned March construction start date through its completion in 2025, according to the administration.

De Blasio made the announcement after an independent review from the Dutch firm Deltares commissioned by local pols recommended creating the advisory group to oversee the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, which runs from Montgomery to 25th streets.

"ESCR is a critical project to protect lower East Side neighborhoods from the effects of climate change and future storms," said Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Lorraine Grillo.

"We take feedback very seriously, and working with local officials and residents have configured the construction schedule to keep large parts of East River Park open throughout the project without delaying the crucial flood protection the project will provide," she said, referencing a new timeline that would prevent the entirety of the park from closing during construction.

The city also made public a technical hydraulics study about the project's design, which the report recommended.

Other advice — like building the park another two feet higher — are still being reviewed, the de Blasio administration said in a news release.

Emergency Management, the Office of Resiliency and the DDC will look into whether the east side could get interim protections from storm surge flooding — similar to temporary barriers placed further south beneath the FDR Drive — and the new park design would seek a sustainability check under a certification called Envision Platinum, per the announcement.

De Blasio's announcement comes as a council subcommittee planned to vote on the project Monday afternoon before going to another committee vote and, eventually, City Council.

East River Park ACTION and East River Alliance, which are opposed to the plan, rallied ahead of Monday's subcommittee vote calling for a previous plan that was overhauled last year to be re-examined and holding off on the vote until it can be further reviewed.

The local politicians who represent the area, Council Members Keith Powers, Carlina Rivera and Margaret Chin, encouraged the subcommittee to approve the project and said de Blasio's announcement "helps restore confidence" that the project is the "best plan to move forward with for protecting our communities as quickly as possible from the next Hurricane Sandy."

"The three of us, having personally experienced the devastation that Hurricane Sandy wrought on the neighborhoods we serve, understood that the City needed to ensure this project was done quickly, but also correctly," they said in a joint statement.

"The success of ESCR will lay the groundwork for future resiliency projects around the City, which is why we have been so adamant in our advocacy around this project," the pols said. "While community engagement in this process has not always been sufficient, we also appreciate the City's acknowledgment of its own failures and its recommitment to transparency and the community."

City Hall did not immediately respond to questions about when the members of the advisory group would be announced or other details about the announcement, but Patch will update this article as more information becomes available.

Read Patch's previous coverage on the East Side Coastal Resiliency project:

• New East River Park Should Rise Even Higher, Expert Says
• East River Park To Be Half-Closed Until 2025 For Resiliency Plan
• Mayor Blows Off Resiliency Meeting With Pols For Walk In The Park
• Flood Plan That Rebuilds East River Park Draws Dozens To Meeting
• Community Board 3 Approves East River Park Resiliency Plan

This article has been updated with a statement from local politicians.