Fishing for alternatives
COURIER LIFE, MARCH 6-12, 2020 5
DEVELOPMENT BY JESSICA PARKS
out of the building.”
While the risk of
building in a fl ood
plane — especially
as the federal Environmental
Protection
Agency prepares to
release new maps that
will place coastal communities
such as Manhattan
Beach in critical
fl ood zones by 2024
— may seem extreme,
Lotovsky has designed
his buildings with the
threat of tidal surges
in mind.
“They are going
to be completely prepared
for a fl ood,” Lotovsky
said. “They
will be able to live in
their homes for as long
as they want, as long
as they have food.”
The new buildings
feature mechanical
and electrical equipment
installed above
the designated fl ood
elevation — two feet
above the advisory
base fl ood elevation —
thereby lessening the
risk of power outages
during storms.
In addition to the
utilities, the builders
are raising their tenants
above the fl ood
plain as well, essentially
elevating domiciles
to second fl oors
and above as part of an
architectural strategy
called wet fl oodproofing,
which leaves residents
high and dry,
while creating space
for additional parking
below.
“People are actually
benefi tting from
this additional space,”
Lotovsky said. “It is
not as bad as it sounds
when you comply with
fl ood design.”
For larger structures,
developers are using
watertight materials to coat
fl oors below fl ood plane, in
addition to using thicker concrete
slabs able to withstand
high water pressures, Lovotsky
said.
The cost of developing waterfront
structures has certainly
increased in the wake
of Hurricane Sandy, but as
long as people continue to
seek out luxury housing along
Brooklyn’s coastal communities,
developers will continue
to build it for them.
“There are additional construction
costs that are fairly
reasonable,” Lotovsky said.
“But the only benefi t really
is for residents to live by the
water.”
CitiScape Consultants LTD
is currently seeking city approval
for a handful of developments
proposed for Sheepshead
Bay and Gerritsen
Beach’s high-fl ood risk areas
such as Emmons Avenue and
Keen Court that will all abide
by fl ood protection protocol,
Lotovsky said.
The fi rm is also awaiting
fi nal approvals from the
city Department of Buildings
for variances to construct a
14-story elder care facility
at 1508 Avenue Z that would
feature commercial space on
its ground fl oor and 88 living
units with 110 beds on fl oors
four and up that neighbors
fear will bring a massive traffi
c jam to the streets of Sheepshead
Bay.
After the federal government
abruptly abandoned
a $19 million feasibility
study of a storm resiliency
barrier off the coast of
southern Brooklyn, some
experts have begun to consider
smaller-scale, localized
techniques to protect
the borough’s low-lying
coastal communities from
fl ooding.
Here are some of the options
they’ve fl oated:
Wetlands
Studies show that coastal
wetlands prevented several
hundred million dollars
worth of fl ood damage to
properties located throughout
the nation during Hurricane
Sandy, by reducing
wave energy and offering
resistance to tidal surges.
Brooklyn currently benefi ts
from several coastal preserves
featuring wetland
habitats, including Brooklyn
Bridge Park, Marine
Park, and Paerdegat Basin
Park, and the Army Corp
of Engineers have already
applied natural solutions to
fl ood prevention, including
dumping sand and planting
sea grass at Plumb Beach
in order to protect the Belt
Parkway. By expanding
wetland habitats into existing
public properties along
the coast, city and state offi
cials could kill two birds
with one stone, effectively
inhibiting tidal surges,
while offering locals access
to new natural wonders.
Oyster reefs
These hard, natural
barriers comprised of oysters—
either living or old
shells — can absorb wave
strength which would otherwise
head to the shoreline.
As the oyster’s habitat
grows it also becomes
a sturdy shelter for other
marine life, which stands
in contrast to environmentalists’
worries that a
man-made seawall would
negatively impact marine
animals. A healthy oyster
population also has the
added benefi t of fi ltering
water for pollutants and nitrogen,
which an excessive
amount of can trigger algal
blooms that are known
to deter marine life. The
Billion Oyster Project has
planted over a million oysters
on shorelines around
Brooklyn including Coney
Island Creek in 2019, Bush
Terminal Park in Sunset
Park in 2016 and Brooklyn
Bridge Park
Levees and berms
Obstacles such as berms
and levees can be constructed
along shorelines to
block unwanted fl oodwater
from entering the business
and residential areas. Typically
constructed using
earthen material, the fl oodmitigation
technology is
heavily utilized in “The Big
U” resiliency plan for Lower
Manhattan. If implemented,
the “Battery Berms” would
create a continuous, upland
park from the Brooklyn
Bridge to the Battery while
simultaneously protecting
the heavily-populated area
from fl ood damage. Some
experts have warned of the
potential damage a community
could face in the event
that a levee or berm was demolished
by a suffi ciently
powerful storm, thereby resulting
in a massive fl ood
event that would inundate
coastal areas.
Evacuation
As the risk of sea-level
rise reaches critical levels,
some experts are seriously
considering the wholesale
evacuations of some highrisk
coastal areas. Federal
fl ood maps — and not to
mention, history — show
that areas in Coney Island,
Bergen Beach, Manhattan
Beach, Sheepshead
Bay, Marine Park, Mill
Basin, Red Hook Brooklyn
Heights, Williamsburg, and
Greenpoint are all subject
to intense tidal surges during
disaster-level storms,
and, while the idea of abandoning
several billion dollars
worth of real estate
sounds ludicrous, the prospect
may become less crazy
as the ice caps continue to
melt, sea levels rise, and
major storms become more
commonplace. What legal
mechanism would be used
to achieving these evacuation
zones is anyone’s guess,
although likely candidates
include eminent domain,
federal buyback programs,
or new zoning limitations
designed to scare off developers.
But what’s clear is
that any decision to evacuate
one of the most densely
populated regions on earth
is a choice between the
lesser of two evils.
Renderings show a fl ood-resistant mixed-use residential and commercial building
proposed for 2235 Emmons Ave. (top) and a multi-family, fl ood proof home
proposed for Keen Court in Gerritsen Beach (bottom).
Citiscape Consulting