Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency


Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency refers to a range of climate change adaptation strategies of coastal management to address potential impacts of climate change on the city. The need to protect the city against major storms and sea-level rise became more urgent in the wake of the extensive Effects of [Hurricane Sandy in New York|Hurricane Sandy flooding] in 2012. The Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency projects involve constructing flood barriers, as well redesigning and elevating waterfront public spaces to reduce the risk of flooding from coastal storms and sea level rise in Lower Manhattan. The projects focus on Battery Park City, The Battery, the Financial District, South Street Seaport, and the Two Bridges neighborhood.
A more localized alternative to the New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier, it has some continuity with the centuries-long Lower Manhattan expansion trend and seeks to compensate for the historical loss of wetland buffer zones, and would be integrated into the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway.
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History

In 2006, New York City established the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and released PlaNYC in 2007, a comprehensive sustainability strategy. PlaNYC aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate potential effects of climate change, and included coastal flood resilience measures such as wetlands restoration.
In 2008, Mayor Michael Bloomberg established the New York City Panel on Climate Change to assess potential risks of climate change on New York City. The panel issued its first report in 2009, projecting a rise in mean global temperatures and sea-level rise, and in New York City there would be increased precipitation, coastal storm surge and extreme storm events over the next decades, increasing long-term coastal flooding risk in low-lying including Lower Manhattan. The NPCC estimated that the mean sea level in the New York metropolitan region could rise approximately 7-12 inches by the 2050s and 12-23 inches by the 2080s. The NPCC also evaluated a “rapid ice-melt” scenario that could be possible depending on how polar ice sheets respond to warming. In this scenario, sea level could rise by 41-55 inches, providing an upper-bound estimate.

Hurricane Sandy impacts

While PlaNYC measures implemented prior to 2012 helped reduce the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, severe flooding and significant damage still occurred when the hurricane struck the city. At the Battery, storm surge reached 14.1 feet above mean lower low water, while the mean tidal range was 4.53 feet, causing flooding around the Battery, in the South Ferry subway station, along West Street, at the entrance of the Broolyn-Battery Tunnel, as well as around the South Street Seaport and other parts of the Financial District and Lower Manhattan.
In December 2012, the city established the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency to assess the impact of Hurricane Sandy and evaluate enhanced flood protection and long-term climate adaptation strategies.

Project proposals

After Hurricane Sandy, the Rebuild by Design competition solicited design proposals for projects to mitigate the impact of future storms and flooding. Proposals submitted included the BIG U, developed by Bjarke Ingels Group, which envisioned a semi-circle of berms, inland from the shoreline, along with expanded recreational space around Lower Manhattan, designed to absorb storm surge and provide public space. The original BIG-U proposal was criticized as inadequate in parts and too costly to maintain.
In contrast to localized flood protection measures like the BIG U, some academics and engineers suggested more ambitious storm surge barriers and seawalls across New York Harbor to protect the entire estuary. Governor Andrew Cuomo publicly supported evaluating such systems, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers examined larger-scale coastal storm risk management approaches including storm barriers.
Bloomberg's 2013 concept of "Seaport City" was another proposal for extending the shoreline through land reclamation to protect the Financial District and South Street Seaport areas. This has been replaced by the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Plan, as part of the wider LMCR initiative by the De Blasio administration. It updates the BIG U with more substantial land reclamation that could be funded and finished, avoiding the occasional temporary flooding of the earlier plan and its maintenance costs. With subsequent planning and community feedback, the BIG U proposal has evolved into the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency and East Side Coastal Resiliency projects.

Project components

The Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency project is divided into multiple components, including:
Extending north along the East River, is the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, which extends from Montgomery Street to East 25th Street, and involves the reconstruction and elevation of East River Park. Construction for the East Side Coastal Resiliency began in 2020. Project completion is expected in 2026, with sections of the East River Park re-opened in 2025.
There also are separate project proposals for redeveloping parts of the Brooklyn waterfront, including around Red Hook to add housing and improve flood resiliency.

Construction

Initial plans focused on landfilling and building up East River Park, where construction began in 2022.
In 2022, the Battery Park City Authority announced plans to demolish and rebuild Wagner Park in Battery Park City, as part of the South Battery Park City Resiliency project. Wagner Park reopened in July 2025, with an elevated lawn area and terraced stepped seating and paths that lead down to the esplanade level. The park also includes a new pavilion building, set to open in 2026.
A groundbreaking for a LMCR barrier at Battery Park took place in May 2024.