Remember when we published this map of what it would look like if our rivers' sea levels rose 20 feet?
Well, we can all breathe a sigh of relief about that particular worry.
On Thursday, Mayor de Blasio announced the city would fund a $100 million dollar project to shield lower Manhattan from major storms.
According to the New York Daily News, the project will stretch from the top of Battery Park around the tip of Manhattan and up to the Lower East Side.
It'll use methods like levees, flood walls, and more parkland to soak up storm water and protect the area.
[anad2]
"With a changing climate, the risks are growing," said Dan Zarrilli, director of the Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
Zarrilli also said this project will protect the area from the "absolute devastation," that befell lower Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy.
liv_delmar_ 2 years ... #hurricanesandy #coneyisland #hurricanesandynyc #sandyaftermath #ZoneA #Floodzone
The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is holding a national disaster preparedness competition, and the city hopes to win up to $500 million more to finance and even more ambitious project.
The funding for the contest is the last of the $1 billion of disaster aid allocated after Sandy.
dankaufmannyc Lower Manhattan is under water this morning. #NYCBlackout #NYCFlood #HurricaneSandy #FrankenStorm
The new flood protection system the city is currently designing is expected to take five to seven years to build. It will aim to shield the financial district and NYCHA developments that were most wrecked by Sandy.
The city will put out a bid next month for design and engineering firms to draw up specific flood projection measures.
[anad2]
Zarrilli said officials will prefer plans that raise elevation levels along the coast and add parkland so the project will enhance the community atmosphere.
"It's important to make sure we're not just walling ourselves off from the coast," Zarrilli said.
Since we think the rivers are extremely pretty, we tend to agree.
We love the idea of getting more parks, and we also love being safe. So yeah, this new project is excellent news all around.
This Is What NYC Would Look Like If Sea Levels Rose Just 20 Feet-- And No, It's Not Good News.
[via Inhabitat]