New East River Park Should Rise Even Higher, Expert Says

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The massive storm protection project proposed for East River Park needs to be even taller than current plans call for, according to a consultant's report released Thursday.

Hans Gehrels, a third- party consultant hired by local politicians, says the city should consider adding two feet to its current storm protection plan, which calls for burying and rebuilding the East River Park 8 to ten feet higher under the $1.45 billion resiliency project.

"Based on the community's resistance to the removing of trees and vegetation," reads the report from Deltares, a Netherlands-based firm, "it is recommended including the additional two feet of fill to be considered in the current project, rather than leaving it as a future option."

The project, which will create a series of flood walls north and south of the East River Park and bury and rebuild the park itself, will protect the neighborhood from storms that have a one percent chance of happening under projections for the 2050s. City officials have said the park's project design is adaptable to be built two feet higher, particularly under worse sea level rise conditions than anticipated.

But Gehrels' firm Deltares says, "Including [the additional two feet] in the current project would avoid having to remove the mature vegetation around the 2050s, when sea level rise will likely reach a level that the two additional feet will be needed," according to the report, commissioned by Borough President Gale Brewer and East Village Council Member Carlina Rivera last month.

A spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio said the administration has received the report and is reviewing it now.

"We are confident in our ESCR design and phased implementation plan which will keep nearly half of the park open throughout construction," mayoral spokesperson Seth Stein said. "We look forward to continue working with local elected officials and community stakeholders as we deliver flood protection to the 110,000 residents living in the area."

The report recommended a phased construction timeline — which the de Blasio administration announced it would do last week.

The project is winding its way through public review with a City Council committee and then City Council vote in the coming weeks. The project has sparked fury among neighbors since it requires destroying the park, though city officials contend the construction plan is less disruptive to residents than a previous design and will protect the park itself from increasing flooding too.

Neighbors have called for an independent review, phased construction or scrapping the plan altogether. So far, the former two have been answered, though neighborhood group East River Park Action said Wednesday, "Even if it is done in phases, it's a bad plan."

Deltares also recommended more transparency from city agencies, which would "help rebuild trust and gain support of the community," particularly after a project overhaul that blindsided neighbors last fall.

The report called on the city to make public technical studies, monitor air and soil quality, investigate interim flood protection during construction, ensure more open space during the reconstruction, among other recommendations.

"Deltares brought their vast experience and expertise to the analysis of this project, and I implore the de Blasio administration to take these suggestions into account before any construction begins," Brewer said Thursday.

Rivera said the project, dubbed East Side Coastal Resiliency, "will set the tone for all future coastal resiliency projects."

"I look forward to carefully reviewing this report and the recommendations from Deltares and hope the de Blasio administration will do the same as they work to address our other outstanding demands," she said.

Read the 68-page report in full here.