Op-Ed Letters to the Editor
Harbor fl ood plan insuffi cient
BY ROLAND LEWIS AND
KATE BOICOURT
As the world warms and rising oceans
threaten the future of the New York-New Jersey
metropolitan region, the US Army Corps
of Engineers is conducting the largest study
you’ve never heard about to reduce our risk
of fl ooding — without fully considering fl ood
risk.
Superstorm Sandy was a brutal wakeup
call for New York and New Jersey. The storm
caused loss of life and tens of billions of dollars
in damage, but it also launched a path forward
in the form of federal funding to help rebuild
and adapt our region. Part of this relief package
was an award to the Army Corps of Engineers
to formulate a plan—the New York-New
Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Study (HATS)
— to reduce the area’s risk for fl ooding. The
Corps has since developed fi ve alternatives
to do just that, ranging from a surge barrier
spanning the mouth of the Lower New York
Bay, to levees at strategic area shorelines, to
doing nothing.
Though it carries a potential price tag of
$119 billion and affects every community in
the metropolitan area, you may not have heard
about this study. That’s because the Corps,
working with limited funds allotted for public
engagement, has hosted nine public scoping
meetings, drawing only a few hundred participants
in a region of 16 million. The number of
participants in New Jersey? Less than 30. The
States of New York and New Jersey, supposed
partners on the huge project, have remained
largely quiet.
And, maddeningly, the study fails to look
at the whole problem: the fact that the seas
are rising inexorably as the planet warms and
causing fl oods unrelated to storms. The Corps
study looks solely at how to reduce risk caused
by a large storm. Sea level rise is included in
the study merely to gauge how high to build
gates and levees. The result is a manufactured
bias toward harder measures that offer few
other benefi ts.
There is a better way. Start with robust public
outreach and education about the options
and trade-offs to adapt our region to sea level
rise, and allow the Army Corps the fl exibility
to adjust to local input. Second, incorporate
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
cutting-edge science and authorize HATS—
and all coastal adaptation and infrastructure
projects—to prioritize strategies that reduce
fl ood risk caused by storms and sea level rise.
With scientists projecting that rising waters
will permanently fl ood most of Coney Island,
the Rockaways, Red Hook, Broad Channel,
towns bordering the Meadowlands, and other
areas by the end of the century, one thing is
quite clear: regardless of how much greenhouse
gas we are able to reduce, the waters
will rise. Any plan to mitigate fl ood risk must
address this.
We should learn from the City of Boston,
whose Green Ribbon Commission tossed out
the idea of a harbor-wide barrier in favor of
more cost-effi cient measures that better address
sea level rise and storms, such as the
purchase of fl ood-prone properties and proactive
investment in landward fl ood risk reduction.
The States of New York and New Jersey
must step up and fulfi ll their obligations as
project partners, and actively seek more input
from communities at the frontlines. Equally
important, our state and local offi cials need to
take a public stance when vetting the Army
Corps approach.
Given the stakes, this is no time for quiet
consultation.
As a region, we need federal funding to tackle
the challenge of adaptation, but we need to
get it right. Using better science to address all
types of fl ooding and a better public process
would give us a more fl exible, equitable, fi scally
responsible, and faster path. As the world
warms and the waters begin to swallow whole
communities, we need a better plan. Pronto.
Roland Lewis, president, and Kate Boicourt,
director of resilience, serve the Waterfront Alliance,
a nonprofi t dedicated to protecting and
revitalizing New York’s waterfront.
The verdict on
new Lumet bio
On the new biography out
about Lower East Side native
and fi lm director Sidney Lumet:
Being a fan of Lumet’s
movies, I got this book and just
started it.
The stories of Lumet’s childhood,
his bravado even as a
child, his early comic theater
performances, may feel familiar
to Lower East Siders and Villagers
who go for unique and
creative characters. The writing
is refreshingly candid and a
pleasure to read so far.
Regan Heiserman
Lamenting Hotel
Chelsea
Regarding construction at
the Hotel Chelsea: This Hotel
has so much wonderful history.
How I hope that the new owners
will honor it.
Dear Mr. Stanley Bard, may
he rest in peace, created such
an ambiance and welcomed
different and creative people.
So many talented people lived
there.
It is so very sad that things
can’t just be left alone to stay
the same. The older I get, the
more I appreciate the way
things used to be. I guess I’m
just a romantic.
Cindy Robinson
Thanks for
Tequila
About the recent holiday celebration
at Father Fagan Park:
Tequila Minsky’s captures the
spirit of our neighborhood with
a unique perspective. Her photographs
and story lines create
a compelling narrative and we
have enjoyed following her in
The Villager for the last decade.
Anna Nuchtern
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
Local News, read all about it!
TheVillager.com
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