Coastal Resiliency Report

We have all heard of the city that never sleeps, one of the most important cities in the world : New York City. This is because “the New York metropolitan area is responsible for almost 10 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and is the largest financial hub in the world” (Goodwell). basically , this little piece of land is the economic center of the US and the World and contains millions of people from different parts of the world. Now, many people are aware that all of NYC is located at the mouth of the Hudson river and next to the Atlantic Ocean. However what people do not realize is that the current climate change is increasing the sea level and will eventually flood the city. While there are those that suggest that the city raise barriers to

The first is one that the city is currently pursuing “… called the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, an undulating 10-foot-high steel-and-concrete-reinforced beam that will run about two miles along the riverfront” (Goodwell). In other words, it is a huge barrier running along the lower east side of Manhattan that will stop the rising waves in the event of a hurricane. Now while I agree the the idea makes sense in theory since it will stop the rising waves before it touches the coast, there is the problem that this wall is only going to cover one specific section of the entire city and will provide absolutely no protection to any of the surrounding boroughs and areas such as New Jersey and Long Island. The second proposed idea involves “...elevating the Lower Manhattan coastline … then waterproofing utilities in vaults under the sidewalks, raising and redesigning streets to allow them to hold water during floods, and transforming the waterfront of Lower Manhattan with salt marshes and wetlands...”(Goodwell). Ultimately, the city to could potentially alter its entire infrastructure in order to put it at a higher elevation so that the sea