The first of two public meetings meant to collect community feedback for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project was held last night at Bard High School. Utilizing $335 million in federal funding, the city is planning to build a flood barrier and new recreational space in East River Park.
The turnout for the meeting was something less than spectacular, but there’s another opportunity Monday, March 23 at Washington Irving High School, 40 Irving Place (7 p.m.)
The session was led by Daniel Zarrilli, director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, Jeremy Siegel of the Bjarke Ingels Group, which was part of a group that won a federal design competition in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
One of the big priorities, they said, is to make sure what’s ultimately built does not “wall off” the community from the park while it protects low-lying neighborhoods from future storms. The teams are hoping to complete their design by next fall and then begin construction in the summer of 2017. The federal money will be used for an area between 23rd Street and Montgomery Street. Over the weekend, the mayor announced that several million additional dollars have been set aside to study flood protection below Montgomery Street.
In addition to the official city-sponsored meeting next week, there’s also a town hall meeting sponsored by LES Ready, a local coalition. It’s next Thursday night at Grand Street Settlement. See below for details.
