New York will invest $ 500 million to protect the tip of Manhattan from the risk of flooding due to climate change, the municipality said Thursday.
This area was one of the most affected during the passage of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, which killed around 40 people in New York.
A study by the New York City Economic Development Group (NYCEDC), released Thursday, indicates that by 2050, 37% of buildings would be at risk of flooding.
The municipality will immediately allocate $ 500 million to finance four projects designed to protect areas at risk.
The measures range from the acquisition of an inflatable and movable dam (Tiger Dam) to a permanent protective wall located south of Battery Park City, a neighborhood in the far southwest of Manhattan.
It is also planned to elevate the gardens located at the far end of Manhattan so that they constitute a natural barrier against water in the event of overflow.
“The challenge we face is unprecedented,” said municipal risk prevention and management officer Jainey Bavishi at a press briefing. “In New York, it is a threat to our very existence, as Hurricane Sandy so dramatically demonstrated.”
Since this event, which was a turning point and prompted the city to invest heavily in flood risk prevention, several projects have already been launched, and some have already been completed.
In Staten Island and Far Rockaway, two neighborhoods heavily affected by Sandy, more than 15 km of dunes have already been installed to protect the coastline.
In mid-February, funding of $ 615 million was completed for a dike project of more than 7 km in Staten Island, thanks in part to federal funds.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday that the envelope needed to effectively protect lower Manhattan was estimated, in total, at ten billion dollars.
A significant portion of this budget has yet to be completed, presumably with the support of federal funds.
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