FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 14, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
City closer to plan to protect beaches along the Rockaways
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
When Hurricane Sandy crashed into
the Rockaways seven years ago Tuesday,
it obliterated the famous boardwalk and
burned down more than a hundred
homes and businesses in Breezy Point.
Residents along the peninsula had their
homes destroyed by fl ooding and an
extended power loss went on for weeks
at a time and the A train bridge was devastated,
eliminating the only transit connection
to the rest of the city.
Rockaway also lost many of its beaches
during the superstorm and in the years
since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
has placed millions of cubic yards of
sand to repair beaches, fortify dunes and
increase resiliency. On the seventh anniversary,
the de Blasio administration and
USACE New York District announced
that they are in the process of receiving
fi nal approval for the East Rockaway
Inlet to Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay
General Revaluation Report.
Pending fi nal approval, construction of
the fi rst elements for the project, focusing
on groins that will prevent future beach
erosion, is expected to begin next year.
“We are moving rapidly to lock in the
fi nal approvals and get this vital resiliency
project underway,” de Blasio said.
“For years, residents of the Rockaways
have called for these measures to protect
Seven years after Hurricane Sandy a $600 million infrastructure project is near to slow beach erosion and protect communities in the Rockaways from fl ooding.
against future storms. We are closing
in on the fi nal steps needed to make
them a reality, and give these communities
the safety and the peace of mind
they deserve. Th e Army Corps has been
a tremendous partner, and we are grateful
to the Corps, our federal offi cials and
everyone who has fought to bring the
Rockaways back aft er Sandy.”
Th e beaches are vital to the economy
of the entire peninsula. Th at came into
focus when the city was forced to close
an 11-block stretch of Rockaway Beach
just days prior to the start of the 2017
summer swim season due to beach erosion
that created unsafe conditions for
beachgoers.
Local business owners were so livid
they held a mock funeral on the beach
and lawmakers voiced outrage over the
decision, saying offi cials were warned
about the constant erosion problem for
years, because the beaches lacked the
infrastructure to keep the sand in place.
Th e full $600 million project, with
100 percent federal funding, calls for a
reinforced seawall/dune that will stretch
from Beach Ninth Street to Beach 149th
Street, an increased berm width with 1.6
million cubic yards of sand for initial
replacement, the extension of fi ve groins
already in place as well as the construction
of 13 new groins, all designed to
help reduce the risk from future coastal
QNS/File
storms and provide additional resiliency
for Rockaway residents.
“Since Hurricane Sandy, we have
worked diligently with the Army Corps
of Engineers to fortify our shores and
prevent damage from future storms,”
Congressman Gregory Meeks said. “Now
we are on the fi nal steps of confi rming
that resilience project to build dunes and
groins that can prevent erosion, fl ooding
and the damage we’ve seen in the past. I
thank the mayor and the Corps for their
continued cooperation, and look forward
to seeing the project fully underway
so all the families and businesses along
Rockaway can rest assured that our shore
is protected.”
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