Seven years after Sandy, city seeks approval for Rockaway plan

This aerial photo shows flooding and burned-out homes after an electrical fire caused by Superstorm Sandy. AP Photo/Mike Groll,

By Jonathan Sperling

Seven years after Superstorm Sandy unleashed flooding and fires along Queens’ Rockaway Peninsula, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the US Army Corps of Engineers say a project to fortify the narrow strip of residential communities is nearly underway.

Final approval of The East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay General Reevaluation Report would allow construction to begin on a beach erosion prevention project by 2020.

“We are moving rapidly to lock in the final approvals and get this vital resiliency project underway,” de Blasio said, noting the delays that have frustrated Rockaway Peninsula residents. “We are closing in on the final steps needed to make them a reality, and give these communities the safety and the peace of mind they deserve.”

The first phase of the project involves the construction of 13 stone groins — man-made structures designed to trap sand as it is moved down a beach.

The full project calls for a reinforced seawall/dune that will stretch from Beach 9th Street to Beach 149th Street — a nearly-seven-mile-long stretch east to west. An increased beach berm — a raised area of sand — will also be put in place to help reduce the impact of future coastal storms and provide additional resiliency for tens of thousands of Rockaway residents.

Hurricane Sandy caused more than $19 billion in damage when it struck New York City in October 2012. Communities along the Rockaway Peninsula and Jamaica Bay especially suffered hardship, due to storm-related flooding, electrical fires and power loss. In the years since, the USACE has placed over 3 million cubic yards of sand to repair beaches and increase resiliency.