Here come the warm jetties

 

Gothamist

Construction on six-miles of storm surge flood protection along the Queens waterfront began on Thursday. The work is starting eight years after Hurricane Sandy battered waterfront communities in the Rockaways and across New York City.

"It's a really, really exciting milestone to now see this work move forward, especially for a community that was so devastated by Hurricane Sandy," Jainey Bavishi, the director of the Mayor's Office of Resiliency told Gothamist. "We're now working to transform the waterfront, and build climate protection into it. And this is just one of many examples that we'll see come online."

The Rockaways were hit hard by the 2012 storm. More than 1,000 structures were destroyed, and 10 feet of storm surge flooded the area. Queens residents lived for months without heat and with mold in their homes from the water damage.

The first phase of the Rockaways — Atlantic Shorefront project includes building out or restoring nearly 20 stone groin structures—similar to rock jetties—into the ocean to keep sand from washing away on the beach.

Then, a network of dunes built after the 2012 storm will be reinforced with stone and steel to make them two-to-four feet higher. Then more sand will be added to the beach.

"All these elements will provide various layers of protection for the Rockaway peninsula," Bavishi said.

The federally-funded, $336 million project, runs from Far Rockaway to Riis Beach, and is supposed to be completed in 2024.

Boardwalk will stay broken for a long time

From NY1:

The city Department of Parks and Recreation just spent nearly $4 million fixing damage to the boardwalk from Hurricane Irene in 2011. Then Sandy came through, and now parks officials have to start again from scratch.

The worst damage occurred in the most widely used sections. And though it seems far away, parks officials are already looking at how to accommodate the millions expected to visit when summer rolls around.

The commissioner said the department cannot do a full reconstruction by next summer, and there is no estimate of what it will cost.

She said parks officials will discuss the long-term situation with elected officials and the community, including whether to use concrete or wood for a future boardwalk.

From CBS New York:

Beach replenishment advocates in the Rockaways are calling for a jetty field off the shore of Rockaway Beach to help prevent future damage similar to what was brought on by superstorm Sandy.

“Not having rock jetties in the Rockaways is equivalent to no levies in New Orleans. It’s exactly the same thing. It’s a massive problem and they’ve been kicking the can down the road. We need this more than anything. It makes no sense for people to put boilers in their homes in Belle Harbor if the water’s going to be coming down the block next week,” said Friends of Rockaway Beach co-founder John Cori.

The issue, according to experts, is the cost. A single rock jetty costs $1 million to build. Cori estimates 50 jetties are needed to help protect the Rockaways.