coastal areas
The Commission recommends that the State act immediately to repair damage from Sandy in the coastal communities of Long Island, New York City and the
Figure L-07: Thick iron reinforced seawall in the Rockaways broken by force of storm surge (NYSDEC, 2012)
Lower Hudson Valley. By wiping out defenses, Sandy left many communities more vulnerable to future storms. Despite the scale and cost of these protections, these are vital, non-discretionary investments. Immediate action will improve short-term resilience, and restore the coast to its pre- Sandy condition or better, and enable the State to rebuild for the future from a position of strength. Specific measures should include the following:
Restore damaged dunes, beaches, and barrier islands
Superstorm Sandy wiped out dunes and beaches across the region. In Rockaway and Long Beach, the State should immediately rebuild the dunes and beach to provide a level of temporary protection exceeding that which existed before the storm for the 300,000 residents who are now vulnerable. This will require dredging sand from adjacent inlets, shoals, and offshore sources and using it to create new dunes and elevated or wider beaches. Other priority dune and beach projects demanding immediate attention include Westhampton, Shinnecock, Fire Island, and the Seagate portion of Coney Island. The popular Jones Beach State Park and Robert Moses State Park lost significant beachfront which should be replenished before the summer season.
On other barrier islands along the Long Island coast, the State should preemptively prevent breaching by future storms by filling low spots in dunes, focusing on Jones Beach Island eastward. The State and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could implement this emergency action in coordination with other dredging actions. The State and Corps must also quickly assess vulnerable sites, estimate the quantities and identify whether sand will need to be dredged or trucked in. Prevention of breaches will minimize the likelihood of additional flooding impacts on the mainland of Long Island without significant long-term impacts, but may not be the preferred long-term solution. Long- term solutions will need to consider the benefits of breaches in specific areas.
Figure L-08: Immediate actions along barrier islands that are required in response to Sandy. (NYSDEC, 2012) The breaches at Cupsogue and Moriches
Inlet on Fire Island have already been closed. The State should monitor the impact of the Fire Island Wilderness breach on the barrier island, the bay, and the mainland to determine whether or not to close that breach in the near future. Limited monitoring to date suggests that the inlet is stable or closing slightly. This has resulted in improved water quality in Great South Bay and created a platform for new eelgrass and wetland growth, which may actually reduce flooding in certain cases (i.e., when winds blow from the west).
The State should dredge sand from the Fire Island Inlet and use it to restore the beach and dunes in front of Ocean Parkway.
Once the protective dunes system has been restored, additional measures should be implemented to restore traffic flow to the two-mile section that was damaged. While repair of Ocean Parkway makes sense at this time, options should be considered to establish redundancy over the long term, through alternative traffic routes and modes of transportation.
Repair and strengthen critical hard infrastructure along the coast
Sandy heavily damaged bulkheads, riprap shoreline, levees and seawalls from Montauk to Manhattan, including the shoreline riprap at Mt. Loretto Unique Area on Staten Island. The storm surge overtopped and compromised the levee at Oakwood
Beach and the Asharoken Seawall, which protects Asharoken Avenue and protects the mainland to Eaton’s Neck. The bulkhead at Roberto Clemente State Park in Harlem was heavily damaged. The State should repair and improve these structures. The State should also assess whether new levees or seawalls are necessary to protect the Staten Island shoreline.
Repair and protect wastewater infrastructure
Sandy heavily damaged dozens of wastewater treatment plants across the region, necessitating nearly $200 million in repairs. The damage led to the release of hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into nearby waterways over the
course of the week,3 causing the closure of
numerous commercial shell fishing beds. Because wastewater infrastructure is a pillar of public and environmental health, these repairs and mitigation efforts must be performed and they are already underway. The section titled “Strengthen wastewater infrastructure” recommends intermediate to longer term actions for the State’s wastewater infrastructure.
Repair important public recreational infrastructure
The State should help to bring damaged public recreational infrastructure back to full operation before the summer season where possible. The Jones Beach boardwalk sustained $40 milliona of
crippling damage from Superstorm Sandy. Riverbank and Gantry Plaza State Parks sustained significant landscape, amenity, structural and utility damage. Other parks across Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley lost hundreds of trees, trails, and support facilities. Structures and piers at the Hudson River Park in Manhattan sustained significant damage to structural, electrical, and mechanical equipment damage and distribution systems. Some of the Park’s recreational amenities, such as floating docks and playing fields, were also destroyed by the storm surge.