‘Sea-gate’ idea possible for Hutchinson River resiliency
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A storm resiliency plan that
would see the construction
of a sea gate barrier on a
borough river has local
environmentalists expressing
concern.
Members of the Hutchinson
River Restoration Project are
concerned about a proposal
to build a 20-foot-tall concrete
wall with a sea gate along the
Hutchinson River near where
it meets Eastchester Bay, in
the vicinity of the Pelham
Bridge.
The group believes that
such a structure could have a
drastic impact on plants and
wildlife.
The HRRP maintains the
Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary
opposite Co-op City
along the river, which is in
what is known as a tidal estuary
where saltwater from
Eastchester Bay and freshwater
from the river’s origin in
Westchester co-mingle with
one another.
The organization’s president,
Eleanor Rae, said that the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
is looking at the possibility of
the ‘sea gate’ and other con-
crete barriers along the river
as part of a larger study of resiliency
in both New York and
New Jersey called the New
York and New Jersey Harbor
and Tributaries Focus Area
Feasibility Study.
The study was commissioned
after Hurricane Sandy
to fi nd resiliency solutions if
another large superstorm hit
the New York area.
Rae said that even though
the completed study is expected
in late 2019 or early
2020, and work on any recommended
projects would be at
least two to three years way,
they are never the less vigilant
because it remained unclear
how such structures
would affect ecology, plants
and wildlife.
“I do think this is a terribly
important issue for all of us,”
said Rae, who said that members
of her group attended
a meeting on the project in
April at Hostos College.
Even if a ‘sea gate’ was
rarely closed for long periods
of time, most in the group
think it could have a major
negative effect on the intermingling
of water from both
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sources of the river, Rae and
several other members said.
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A barrier with a gate would
be necessary, said Carl Lundgren,
an HRRP member, because
the Hutchinson River
is an active waterway for commercial
barges that deliver
materials further up river.
Lundgren and Rae both
want to ensure that U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is aware
that the Thomas Pell Wildlife
Sanctuary is part of the river
and needs to be accommodated.
Matthew Umbro, HHRC
vice president said that a
structure so large, spanning
hundreds of feet in width,
would have a drastic impact
on what is a rather unique ecosystem,
especially since even
more concrete walls could be
constructed elsewhere along
the river, according to draft
proposals.
“Even the footprint on a
project (this size) along the
river would require clearing
some of the forest and building
on and through marshland,”
said Umbro.
Umbro said HHRC supports
natural solutions to the
prevent fl ooding.
Paul Mankiewicz, a biologist
from City Island, said that
a combination of plants and
marshes (natural barriers),
along with seawalls, could
stop water.
A spokesman for the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Michael
Embrich, said these ideas
are just concepts at this point.
The corps is currently in
the process of culling options,
and taking a look at the fi scal
and environmental implications
of proposals, before submitting
a fi nal report.
“We will be looking at and
working with our partners to
fi nd engineering solutions, as
we have done for hundreds of
years,” said Embrich.
Any comments or questions
can be addressed to
nynjharbortribstudy@usace.
army.mil
A group of advocates with the Hutchinson River Restoration Project are
concerned about issues related to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers idea
concerning a possible ‘sea gate’ on the Hutchinson River just north of
where it meets Eastchester Bay (pictured here near Turtle Cove). So far,
the wall is only part of a draft of ideas for resiliency.
Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
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