The local paper for the Upper East Side SLEEP AND THE CITY ◄ P. 2
WEEK OF MAY
25-31 2017
FLOODWALLS FOR MANHATTAN? ENVIRONMENT City outlines infrastructure options to combat downtown storm surge BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
The driver of a Honda Accord plowed through a crowded Times Square sidewalk last week, killing one person and injuring 22. Preventing similar attacks in New York City will remain a challenge, security experts say. Photo: Francisco Díaz De Azevedo
AFTER TIMES SQUARE: CAR ATTACKS REMAIN A THREAT CRIME Thwarting vehicular strikes remains difficult, experts say BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
Law enforcement officials say they will evaluate protections in place to defend against vehicle attacks after a driver plowed through pedestrians on a crowded Times Square sidewalk last week, killing one person and injuring 22 others. Richard Rojas, a 26-year-old Bronx resident with a history of drunken driving arrests, was heading south on Seventh Avenue in his Honda Accord shortly before noon on May 18, when he abruptly made a U-turn
near 42nd Street and drove onto the sidewalk. He drove northbound on the sidewalk at high speed for about three blocks, striking and dragging pedestrians along the way. Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old tourist from Michigan, was hit between 42nd and 43rd Streets and died at the scene. The vehicle came to a stop when it hit a metal bollard on the northwest corner of West 45th Street. Rojas was quickly taken into custody and charged with one count of second-degree murder, 20 counts of second-degree attempted murder and five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide. City officials said that though the attack appeared
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Nearly five years after Hurricane Sandy inundated much of Lower Manhattan with floodwater, causing billions of dollars in damage, city officials are seeking community input on how to best keep downtown streets dry during New York’s next superstorm. Representatives of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency outlined potential steps the city could take to combat storm surge at three of Lower Manhattan’s most vulnerable locations at a May 18 community meeting at St. Paul’s Chapel. The session focused on various options for new flood mitigation infrastructure that could be installed in the South Street Seaport area, near Pier A and the Battery, and in the northern area of Battery Park City near Stuyvesant High School. The public workshop was part of the community engagement phase of the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency project, part of the city’s $20 billion OneNYC resiliency program aimed at mitigating the impact of rising sea levels and severe storms, which are expected to increase in frequency in the next century. More than $100 million in city capital funding has been dedicated to improving infrastructure in Lower Manhattan, which is particularly vulnerable to flooding due to a number of low-lying waterfront areas. The problem of flooding is expected to worsen in the decades to come — by the 2050s, city officials say, sea levels are likely to rise one to two feet; by 2100, levels could rise by as many as three to six feet. Low elevations made the northern
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Flooding in the South Street Seaport area caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Photo: NYC Department of Small Business Services and southern ends of Battery Park City significant breach points for storm surge waters during Hurricane Sandy; much of West Street was flooded in the area by waters flowing from near Stuyvesant High School and Pier A. Planners outlined several measures that could be installed to protect crucial infrastructure in the area, such as subway lines, the Battery tunnel and various utilities. Near the Battery, planners said, a raised berm, potentially rising as high as ten feet above the surrounding terrain, could be installed between the sidewalk and the park area to hold back water during a flood. A bike path could be installed along the top of such a berm. Other infrastructure options were presented as better suited for the waterfront in the northern part of Battery Park City, such as raising the entire esplanade or installing a permanent wall along the street, set back from the waterfront greenway. The South Street Seaport area poses
its own challenges, such as the FDR Drive, where new flood intervention measures would have to be built around existing columns supporting the elevated highway. Planners outlined various types of barriers that could be installed under the highway overpass, including “deployable” walls, which could be stored elsewhere and installed prior to a storm. The planners urged community members to discuss tradeoffs between the various design concepts. For example, permanent walls would
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