Queens officials tour shoreline project in Howard Beach
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A side view of the 165th Avenue site in Old Howard Beach. Photo via New York City Economic Development Corporation
By Ryan Schwach
Local Howard Beach officials got a sneak peak this week at the start of a new city initiative aimed at raising shorelines citywide to prevent flooding during storms.
On Wednesday, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, along with City Councilmember Joann Ariola and Queens Community Board 10, did a walkthrough of a segment of Old Howard Beach where the the city’s Raise Shoreline Citywide initiative’s first project is being constructed.
At the site, which is on 165th Avenue in the South Queens neighborhood, new walls, bulkheads and storm sewers will be built to better protect the low-lying neighborhood.
The area of Howard Beach was heavily burdened by flooding from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, as well as flooding in December 2022.
A new manhole and two drainage structures will also be constructed in order to collect surface water.
"By fortifying the street ends like this, the EDC and Department of Transportation are taking proactive steps to mitigate future flooding in the area," Ariola said. "This neighborhood has been plagued with chronic flooding issues for years, and I am glad to see that steps are being taken to rectify that long-running problem."
The goal of the project is to address future sea level rise at low-lying street ends, which are a common entry point for tidal flooding into the neighborhood at-large.
Citywide, the project looks to address long-term sea level rise. Specific areas targeted for construction were found via an analysis of the more than 600 miles of city shorelines, according to the EDC.
“EDC is very excited to celebrate this important milestone, the first of many Raise Shoreline projects to start construction and with the goal of protecting the community from tidal flooding at Hawtree Basin and Shellbank Basin,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation Senior Vice President Jennifer Cass. “Protecting communities from climate change is a top priority for EDC and we know that neighborhoods like Old Howard Beach are already experiencing flooding from sea level rise and increased rain.”
Similar work is being done at 95th Street on Shellbank Basin, and also in Old Howard Beach, where a new crown wall will be added to protect against sea level rise that would otherwise inundate much of 95th Street.
The project began construction last month and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, EDC says.
