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E 23 ST
E 42 ST
SANDY SURGE LEVELS
HOSPITAL ROW
BPC
SOBECA
CHELSEA
2050 100-YR STORM
2050 500-YR STORM
CLINTON
PROPOSED PIER 42 PARK
EXISTING AMPHITHEATER
BATTERY MARITIME BUILDING
WHIEHALL TERMINAL
BMB PLAZA
ELEVATED BIKEWAY
HARBOR MUSEUM
ECO-PIER
BIG BENCH
BATTERY PARK BERM
DELIVERY POINT FOR CON-EDISON
STUYVESANT COVE PARK
URBAN LIVING ROOM
SOUTH STREET PAVILIONS
GREEN STREETS
BIKE PATH
RAMP UP TO BRIDGE
HARBOR BATH
MIDBLOCK PED. BRIDGE
PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
BIKEWAY FLYOVER
PEDESTRIAN LOOKOUT
FLIP DOWN DEPLOYABLES
SUPERFIELD
BRIDGING BERM
HOUSTON FERRY LANDING
FISHING PIER
HISTORIC SHIP DOCK
COOPER STUYVESANT PAVILIONS
L.E.S. NORTH-EAST RIVER PARK
COMPARTMENT 1
C1
TWO BRIDGES/CHINATOWN
COMPARTMENT 2
C2
BATTERY-FINANCIAL DISTRICT
COMPARTMENT 3
C3
big team
SCHOOL OF CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENTS PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL
THE BIG U
C3COASTLINE
1.37 MILES
C3 FLOODPLAIN
151 ACRES (2050 100-YEAR)
182 ACRES (2050 500-YEAR)
C2 COASTLINE
.78 MILES
C2 FLOODPLAIN
75 ACRES (2050 100-YEAR)
95 ACRES (2050 500-YEAR)
C1 COASTLINE
2.19 MILES
C1 FLOODPLAIN
399 ACRES (2050 100-YEAR)
517 ACRES (2050 500-YEAR)
The Big U is a protective system that encircles Manhattan, responding to the
needs and concerns of the islands diverse communities. Stretching from West
57th Street south to The Battery and up to East 42nd Street, the Big U protects
10 continuous miles of low-lying geography that comprise an incredibly dense,
vibrant, andvulnerable urban area. The proposedsystem not only shields the city
against oods and stormwater; it provides social and environmental benets to
the community, and fosters an improved public realm. For Phase 3 of Rebuild
by Design, the Big U team created coordinated plans for three contiguous but
separate regions of the waterfront dubbed compartments. Each compartment
comprises a physically discrete ood-protection zone that can be isolated from
ooding in adjacent zones. Each presents unique opportunities for integrated
social and community planning. The compartments work in concert to protect
and enhance the city, but each compartments proposal is designed to stand
on its own. Proposed solutions for the components were designed in close
consultation with the associated communities and many local, municipal, State
and Federal stakeholders; each proposal has a benet-cost ratio greater than
one; and each is exible, easily phased, and able to integrate with existing
projects in progress.
RESEARCH
The Big U concept was the product of a research phase in which the BIG Team
studied the history of resiliency planning in the tri-state area and elsewhere.
The teams research demonstrated that resiliency plans typically account for
the existing city, but fail to anticipate the natural growth and transformation
of communities. In response, the BIG Team resolved to combine city-making
and resiliency planning to create coordinated, intelligent designs for growing
resiliency. The resulting designs propose to not only solve existing problems,
but prevent the formation of new ones, proactively enhance the city in many
dimensions, and channel its future growth in desirable directions. Such an
approach has many advantages. It creates possibilities to nancially leverage
incorporated projects and integrate them with existing plans. It creates
opportunities to work with communities to ensure that the resiliency measures
double as social, economic, and environmental assets. As a dynamic process,
moreover, growing resiliency enables planners to adapt on the y to emergent
developments such as global climate change and shifting policy priorities.
WHAT IS AT RISK?
The oodplain upland of Manhattans 10 miles of coastline is home to
approximately 200,000 people. This area contains some of the largest central
business districts in thecountry, which cumulatively form thecoreof an economy
with a $500 billion annual GDP, and inuence economic activity throughout the
world. More than 52 million annual visitors come to New York City to see the 9/11
memorial, The Battery, Wall Street, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. The
oodplain also contains 35,000 affordable housing units, home to over 95,000
low-income, elderly, and disabled residents, the majority of whom live in a highly
vulnerable area along the East River.
Superstorm Sandy devastated much of this area. Infrastructure was disabled,
homes were ooded, and people, many elderly or disabled, were trapped in their
apartments. The economic heart of the Financial District stopped for a week.
Many residents are still struggling with the aftermath. In public housing units
affected by Sandy, mold infestation has almost doubled, illustrating that global
climate change has increasedthe challenges of providing safe, livable, affordable
housing in Lower Manhattan. Rebuilding poses its own risks. In the worst case,
uncoordinated recovery actions could result in a chaotic set of atomized changes
that could prove destructive to the urban realm. A piecemeal approach would not
only cost much more than a coherent plan; it would also likely worsen economic
disparity in the city and leave low-income areas behind. Flood-protection
measures, if not intelligently designed, might sever communities connection to
the waterfront, an unacceptable loss.
The opportunities that rebuilding brings, however, are as great as the risks. This
occasion represents a priceless opportunity to rebuild better, to rebuild in such a
way that as the city grows more secure physically, it gains new social, aesthetic,
economic and environmental assets that enhance its reputation as the greatest
city in the world.
THREE CUSTOMIZED COMPARTMENTS
The resulting Phase 3 proposal envisions three compartments that function
independently to provide ood protection. Each responds to the problems
posed by a particular portion of the city, and to the needs and wishes of the
particular community concerned.
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Green infrastructure in the three compartments contributes to ood protection
while providing social amenities. Climate-change models predict more frequent
heavy precipitation events, leading to increased ooding and combined sewer
overows (CSO) problems exacerbated by impervious city streets. The urban
heat island effect will be worsened by longer heat waves. The Big Us native
species bioswales, rain gardens, and street plantings will absorb and clean
stormwater, cool the city, reduce air pollution, store carbon, buffer noise,
enhance recreational activities, improve mental health, and provide green jobs.
As a result, they will also reduce costs to both City and citizens.
SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The BIG Team proposes to rethink infrastructure as an amenity. The team
calls its reconceived model social infrastructure. Infrastructure in the United
States, as traditionally conceived, has not been built in a way that engages and
responds to the intimate needs of the public; rather, it has been imposed from
without on our cities on a large scale, dividing communities and fragmenting
the urban experience. The Big U approaches the mandate to create large-
scale protective infrastructure with a commitment to meaningful community
engagement and ne-grained urban experiences. It fuses Robert Moses hard
infrastructure with Jane Jacobs locally-based, community-driven sensibility.
The Big Us ood-protection will not look like a wall, and it will not divide
the community from itself or its waterfront. Rather, the very structures that
protect us from the elements will embrace those protected, becoming attractive
centers of social andrecreational activity that enhance the city andlay a positive
groundwork for its future.
The multivalent U consists of linked compartments, each built according to
its own scale of time, size, and investment. This compartmentalization allows
neighborhoods to tailor protective elements to t their own needs, with cultural
offerings, programming, and civic spaces as diverse as the Citys population.
Protection can be strategically phased: small, relatively simple projects will
provide immediate protection and maintain the post-Sandy momentum while
laying the groundwork for intelligent long-term solutions.
Upon selection by theRebuildby Design Jury for the3rdphaseof thecompetition,
the Big U concept was greeted enthusiastically by many stakeholders on
the West Side, at the Battery, and on the Lower East Side (LES). In order to
focus resources during the relatively short planning period, the BIG Team, at
the suggestion of the Mayors Ofce, decided to focus rst on the Lower East
Side. Here a large, vulnerable population (intended to be a major beneciary of
CDBG-DR funding), lives in the oodplain.
WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY
The communities of the Lower East Side have expressed their desires for the
waterfront in seven separate visioning processes over the past decade, including
the East River Esplanade Plan, A Peoples Plan for the East River Waterfront (a
direct response to the Esplanade Plan), and the East River Blueway Plan. Before
engaging residents in a new dialogue, the team reviewed these plans to better
understand local needs and desires.
On the Lower East Side (LES), the BIG Team worked intensively with LES
Ready!, an umbrella organization of twenty-six community groups focused
on coordinating emergency response and preparedness. With LES Ready and
RBDs support the team held a series of workshops at various locations in the
neighborhood. At the rst workshops, the community debated the merits of
various ood protection approaches, using the BIG Teams models of different
prototypical solutions. In the second series of workshops, the results of these
discussions were incorporated in two possible integral design solutions for
each compartment. These designs were also discussed at length by community
members, whose feedback was used to rene the nal designs. Over 150
community members attended these workshops; many returned to join the
team for a celebration at the end of the process.
Our major stakeholder, the City, saw the BIG Teams approach on the LES as
suitable for other sections of the Big U. After discussions with The Battery
Conservancy and the Downtown Alliance, the BIG Team expanded its design
efforts to include the Financial District and The Battery, where it began building
a coalition among the areas diverse stakeholders: City, State, and Federal
agencies, local elected and appointed ofcials, and public/private partnerships.
Across the project area, the BIG Team spoke with a vast array of ofcials,
planners, and agency representatives, whose invaluable input enabled the plans
to deftly handle a wide range of issues that concerned different entities and
geographies. The BIG Team would like to express its profound gratitude for the
kind attention and constructive criticism the proposals received. This feedback
fostered a ne-grained responsiveness in the Big U that the team always hoped
to achieve.
The component designs that emerged from this collaborative process have
captured the communities interest, contain protective elements that can be
implemented quickly, are well-positioned to pass permitting and regulatory
reviews, and have positive benet-cost ratios. Furthermore, they are designed
for growth: the designs are exible enough to accommodate further community
input and renement, as well as future adjustments necessitated by changes in
regulations, ongoing climate conditions, or other unforeseen needs. The designs
anticipate continued future growth, and provide physical and social elements to
support the city for decades to come.
IMPLEMENTATION
The Mayors Ofce has become a close collaborator of the BIG Team during
the development of this third phase of Rebuild by Design, and has expressed
enthusiasm for the emerging concepts of the Big U. As the intended grantee of
CDBG-DR funding for the Big U, the City of New York has the nal say regarding
the projects implementation.
Implementation can begin in any of the three compartments. The Big Us
essential exibility allows implementation to start swiftly, and facilitates
dynamic response to any emergent issues by shifting implementation focus
between compartments as necessary.
In the most vulnerable areas of the U, further outreach and collaboration with
public housing communities will be needed to craft a solution that fulls the
communitys needs and the Big Us objectives. To achieve this, the BIG Team has
developed a toolbox of resilience measures that provide multiple benets in
addition tooodprotection: social andcultural amenities, housing preservation,
greater access to economic opportunity, jobs, ecological function, and improved
public space. The team and community can work together to decide how best
to deploy these tools to create a rened, ne-grained, site-specic strategy to
address public housings towers-in-the-park.
The Big U tools constitute a framework for adapting to the inherent dynamism
of urban reality. As a result, the Big U is poised to respond to new opportunities
as they arise, embracing new regulations that might allow in-water resiliency
measures and soft shoreline edges; rising to challenges posed by affordable
housing legislation that could include new preservation imperatives; or simply
adapting protection heights in response to future sea level rise. The Big Us
exible kit of parts will allow it to respond to these and other conditions as they
emerge.
In order to support this adaptive framework and reap the benets it can
provide, there must be leadership structures in place to guide its growth. Part
of this proposal, therefore, is to develop a Big U Lower Manhattan Waterfront
Planning Leadership Council, which will streamline the adaptation of all
planning initiatives to preserve resiliency, and address the long-term needs and
possibilities of Lower Manhattan as these inevitably evolve. A high-capacity
public agency with both authority and resources must be identied to serve as a
coordinating planning and implementation agency lead for the Big U, supported
by an interagency Technical Working Group and a broadly representative
Community Advisory Committee.
The request for CDBG-DR funds, therefore, includes not only funding for
implementation of the three compartments, but also the funding for the Big
U comprehensive planning leadership structure and continued community
engagement over a long period of time. This is the only way to preserve the
effectiveness of resiliency measures such as those contemplated here, and it is
the only way tomaximize the funding leverage, benets, andpublic engagement
which form the essence of the Big U. The Big U thus serves as an exemplary
project: it shows how to integrate resiliency with city making.
8"
3'-2"
3'-10"
9'-0"
9'-8"
11'-4" 8'-0" 28'-11" 16'-0"
6'-10"
16'-0"
GREEN WALL GRASS BERM RAMP CAR ROAD BIKEWAY BALL FIELD
CONCRETE BLOCK
SLURRY WALL
TOP SOIL
CONRETE CAP WALL AND
SHEET PILE
COMPACTED EMBANKMENT
CLAY CAP
RECYCLED ASPHALT BIKEWAY
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE
+8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
G R A M
E R C Y P K N
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G R A M
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GRAND ST.BRIDGE DELANCEY ST.BRIDGE BERNARD BARUCH BRIDGE
HOUSTON ST. BRIDGE
LILIAN WALD BRIDGE
6TH ST. RIDGE
JACOB RIIS BRIDGE
10TH ST. BRIDGE
LEONARD ST
BAYARD ST
BAXTER ST
CANNON ST
ESSEX ST
BOWERY
BAYARD ST
ORCHARD ST
BIALYSTOKER PL
GRAND ST
BAXTER ST
BROOME ST CANAL ST LUDLOW ST
MULBERRY ST
ALLEN ST
PELL ST FORSYTH ST
ABRAHAM KAZAN ST
MANHATTAN BR AP
MOTT ST
PELL ST SAMUEL DICKSTEIN PZ
ELDRIDGE ST
MOSCO ST DIVISION ST DOYERS ST EAST BROADWAY
BOWERY
CLINTON ST
DIVISION ST
HENRY ST
J EFFERSON ST
CATHERINE ST
EAST BROADWAY
WORTH ST
HENRY ST CHATHAM SQ
NO NAME
EAST BROADWAY
FORSYTH ST
CHATHAM SQ
MADISON ST MONTGOMERY ST
EAST BROADWAY
HENRY ST
RUTGERS ST
PARK ROW
PARK ROW
MADISON ST
NO NAME HENRY ST PIKE ST HENRY ST MARKET ST
J ACKSON ST
MADISON ST
OLIVER ST
GOUVERNEUR ST
J AMES ST
CHERRY ST
MADISON ST
PEARL ST ST J AMES PL
CATHERINE ST
MADISON ST
CHERRY ST
MONROE ST
J ACKSON ST EX
WATER ST NO NAME
CHERRY ST GOUVERNEUR SL E
GOUVERNEUR SL W
RUTGERS SL
F D R DR
FDR DR W LA NO NAME
CATHERINE SL
F D R DR
PIKE SL NO NAME
MANHATTAN BR AP
SOUTH ST
CHERRY ST
SOUTH ST
MARKET SL
WATER ST
FDR DR ET SB FDR DR ENTRY RP
F D R DR
FDR DR ET SB
SOUTH ST
R F WAGNER SR PL
BK BR EN RP
DOVER ST
BK BR AP
BK BR EN RP
DOVER ST
BK BR EN RP BK BR AP
FDR DR EN SB
BROOKLYN BR
MANHATTAN BR
NEWWATER
-TAXI LANDING NEW PARK SPACE
SUPER FIELD
WITH SANITATION SHED
AND BASKETBALL CITY BELOW
DEPLOYABLE
BARRIER
OPT1
FLIP-DOWN
BARRIER
OPT2
BIG BENCH
OPT3
THE ELASTIC BERM
STRENGTHENED
URBAN GREEN CORRIDOR
COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING
DEPLOYABLE
BARRIER
BIKEWAY
YOGA
TAICHI
BUS STOP
SWIMMING POOL
ECO DOCK
PINGPONG
SKATE PARK
DOG RUN
BOOKWORMS BENCH
BASKETBALL
CITIBIKE
FOOD TRUCK
BENCH BREAKS
PRESERVE VIEWS
B
O1
O2
O3
D
C
B
PARKING
UNDERNEATH
COMMUNITY USES IN
GROUND FLOORS
RAISED MARTIN
F. TANAHEY PARK
STRENGTHEN
RETAINING WALL
RELOCATED
BALLFIELDS
AND GARDENS
12'-11"
18'-8"
16'-8"
96'-1" 36'-6" 43'-0" 201'-11"
BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN RAMP . CITY FLYING OVER PLAZA BATTERY MARITIME BUILDING
EXISTING PIER STRUCTURE
INTERLOCKING SHEET PILE
STABILIZATION SLAB
GOVERNOR'S ISLAND FERRY
PERMANENT FOUNDATION
DRILLED H-PILLING
EXISTING BULKHEAD
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE +8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
-6 SEA LEVEL
40'-0"
25'-0"
30'-0" 56'-0" 120'-0" 49'-0"
9'-0"
WATER NEW MUSEUM BATTERY BERM
SLURRY WALL
CLAY CAP
BATTERY PARK
UNDERPASS
COMPACTED
EMBANKMENT
TOP FINISH
CONCRETE SLAB
PIER FOUNDATION
EXISTING BULKHEAD
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE +8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
-6 SEA LEVEL
35'-0"
9'-0"
9'-0"
70'-0" 20'-0" 74'-6" 133'-6"
BATTERY PARK BOSQUE WATER BATTERY BERMAND SEEGLASS CAROUSEL BIKEWAY PROMENADE BATTERY BERMBOSQUE
COMPACTED EMBANKMENT
BROOKLYN
BATTERY TUNNEL
EXISTING GRADE
+6" AIR LAYER SLURRY WALL
CLAY CAP
BATTERY PARK
UNDERPASS
TOP SOIL
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE +8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
-6 SEA LEVEL
PLAZA
MAINTAINED EXISTING
SPORTS FIELDS
BIKEWAY ALONG
NEWBERMSCAPE
BERMNICHES
ALONG EXISTING TREES
RAMPS
GREEN BRIDGE
EAST RIVER PARK
THE BRIDGIND BERM
EXISTING SPACE WITH
NEWLY REQUIRED PROGRAMS
HARBOR BATH
10TH ST. BRIDGE
12'-11"
5'-0"
4'-4"
15'-8"
20'-0"
CAR ROAD BIKEWAY UNDER FDR VIADUCT ART WALK WATER
INTERLOCKING SHEET PILE
OR SLURRY WALL
FLIP-DOWN BARRIER
DRILLED H-PILLING
PERMANENT FOUNDATION
STABILIZATION SLAB
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE
+8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
-6 SEA LEVEL
12'-11"
5'-0"
20'-0"
4'-4"
15'-8"
PROTECTED SIDE FLOOD SIDE
PERMANENT FOUNDATION
FLIP-DOWN BARRIER
STABILIZATION SLAB
INTERLOCKING SHEET PILE
OR SLURRY WALL
DRILLED H-PILLING
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE
+8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
-6 SEA LEVEL
12'-11"
4'-0"
5'-0"
FLOOD SIDE PROTECTED SIDE
PERMANENT FOUNDATION
INTERLOCKING SHEET PILE
OR SLURRY WALL
STABILIZATION SLAB
DRILLED H-PILLING
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE
+8 FEMA 2050 100 YEAR FLOODPLAN
+5 SANDY
-6 SEA LEVEL
9'-0"
9'-0"
CAR ROAD SIDEWALK UNDER FDR VIADUCT BERM LANDSCAPE SWIMMING POOL HOUSING BUILDING
CLAY CAP
TOP SOIL SLURRY WALL COMPACTED EMBANKMENT
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE
4'-0"
9'-0"
SIDEWALK CAR ROAD HOUSING BUILDING BERM UNDER FDR VIADUCT
CLAY CAP
TOP SOIL SLURRY WALL
COMPACTED EMBANKMENT
+4 FEMA 2050 50 YEAR FLOOD PLAN
+9 FOOT SPLASH ALLOWANCE
F D R DR
W
ILLIA
M
S
T
U
N
N
A
M
E
D
S
T
BATTERY PK VI
FDR DR EN NB
SOUTH ST
STATE ST
WATER ST
SOUTH ST
SOUTH ST
W
H
IT
E
H
A
L
L
S
T
M
O
O
R
E
S
T
PEARL ST
O
LD
SL
BRIDGE ST
C
O
E
N
T
IE
S
S
L
W
ATER ST
S
T
A
T
E
S
T
STONE ST
STO
N
E ST
H
A
N
O
V
E
R
S
Q
B
R
O
A
D
S
T
S W
ILLIAM
ST W
A
LL ST
M
ILL LA
BATTERY PL
B
R
O
A
D
W
A
Y
PEARL ST
BEAVER ST
BEAVER ST W
A
S
H
IN
G
T
O
N
S
T
W
ATER
ST
B
R
O
A
D
W
A
Y
N
E
W
S
T
FRO
N
T ST
H
A
N
O
V
E
R
S
T
G
R
E
E
N
W
IC
H
S
T
M
A
ID
EN
LA
PINE ST
1 PL
SOUTH ST
MORRIS ST
W
E
S
T
S
T
F D R DR
W
ALL ST
EXCHANGE PL
F D R DR B
A
T
T
E
R
Y
P
L
W
E
S
T
S
T
W
ILLIA
M
S
T
M
A
ID
EN
LA
MORRIS ST
W
ATER
ST
2 PL
FLETCH
ER
ST
B
R
O
A
D
S
T
N
E
W
S
T
EXCHANGE AL
CEDAR ST
EDGAR ST
JO
H
N
S
T
PINE ST
T
R
IN
IT
Y
P
L
3 PL
W
ALL ST
PLATT ST
G
O
LD
ST B
E
E
K
M
A
N
S
T
FRONT ST
G
R
E
E
N
W
IC
H
S
T
JOSEPH P WARD ST
PEARL ST
W
A
S
H
IN
G
T
O
N
S
T
M
A
ID
E
N
L
A
F
U
LT
O
N
S
T
W
ATER ST
P
E
A
R
L S
T
N
A
S
S
A
U
S
T
B
R
O
A
D
W
A
Y
RECTOR ST
LIB
ER
TY ST
S
O
U
T
H
E
N
D
A
V
PLATT ST
W
EST THAMES ST
P
E
C
K
S
L
G
O
LD
ST
FDR DR EN NB W
ILLIA
M
S
T
JOHN
ST
CEDAR ST
CLIFF ST
G
O
LD
ST
RYDER
S A
L
SOUTH ST
B
K
B
R
A
P
BK BR EN RP
D
O
V
E
R
S
T
F D R DR B
K
B
R
E
N
R
P
B
K
B
R
A
P
F D R DR SOUTH ST LIB
E
R
T
Y
P
L
PEA
R
L ST
M
A
ID
E
N
L
A
LIBERTY ST
W
ILLIA
M
S
T
W
E
S
T
S
T
D
O
V
ER
ST
RECTOR PL
THAMES ST
BK
BR
EN
R
P
CARLISLE ST
JO
H
N
ST
FULTON ST
B
R
O
A
D
W
A
Y
R
F W
A
G
N
ER
SR
PL
T
R
IN
IT
Y
P
L
ALBANY ST
G
R
E
E
N
W
IC
H
S
T
D
U
TCH
S
T
FD
R
D
R
E
T S
B
FD
R
D
R
EN
TR
Y R
P
CEDAR ST
W
A
S
H
IN
G
T
O
N
S
T
ANN ST
FD
R
D
R
ET SB
G
O
LD
ST
ALBANY ST
BK
BR
EN
R
P
BK
BR
A
P
N
A
S
S
A
U
S
T
W
E
S
T
S
T
BK
BR
A
P
CORTLANDT ST
COMPARTMENT
BERM BARRIER
COMMUNITY
GARDENS
ELEVATED
PARK PROMENADE
BIKEWAY
PROTECTED
UNDERPASS VENTS
OUTDOOR
DINNING
SHRUB
GARDEN
TREE
GARDEN
ELEVATED
GARDEN
WOODLAND
GROVE
ELEVATED
BOSQUE
BATTERY NEW BERM
CASTLE CLINTON
NATIONAL MONUMENT
BATTERY MARITIME BUILDING
FLYOVER PLAZA
WHITEHALL TERMINAL
FLOOD WALL
SOUTH STREET
FLYOVER WAY
BIKEWAY
SEAPORT CITY
DEPLOYABLE POCKET DOOR
PAVILIONS
COMPARTMENT
DEPLOYABLE BARRIER
NEWHARBOR
MIDDEL SCHOOL
EAST COAST
MEMORIAL
REVERSED
AQUARIUM
MUSEUM
RESTAURANT
NEWLANDING FOR
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
FERRY
FINANCIAL DISTRICT
URBAN LIVING ROOM BENCH
WITH DEPLOYABLE BARRIER
THE BRIDGING BERM
10TH STREET CONNECTION
1: FLIP-DOWN DEPLOYABLE MOUNTED UNDER FDR
2: THE BIG BENCH - +4 PERMANENT FOUNDATION
WITH DEPLOYABLE EXTENSION TO +9
NEWBMB PLAZA
THE BATTERY BERM
HARBOR BERM - THE REVERSE AQUARIUM AND HARBOR MIDDLE SCHOOL
FLIP-DOWN IN FLOOD EVENT POSITION
3: THE ELASTIC BERM - +4 OPTION AND
+9 OPTION, WITH INTEGRATED AMENITIES
C2 PLAN: NEAR AND LONG-TERM OPTIONS AT TWO BRIDGES - CHINATOWN
C1 PLAN: THE BRIDGING BERM AT EAST RIVER PARK
C3 PLAN: THE NEW BATTERY
COMPARTMENT 2 ELEMENTS: TWO BRIDGES - CHINATOWN
COMPARTMENT 1 ELEMENTS: L.E.S. NORTH - EAST RIVER PARK C1
C2
C3 COMPARTMENT 3 ELEMENTS: BATTERY - FINANCIAL DISTRICT
COMPARTMENT 3 (C3)
BATTERY - FINANCIAL DISTRICT
The unifying theme in compartment C3 is the enhancement of the tourist
infrastructure in Lower Manhattan. A sequence of attractive urban spaces on the
waterfront will protect the city while serving and pleasing the millions of visitors
and thousands of workers in the area.
Berms in the Battery, strategically located so as to protect the ducts of the
infrastructure below, create a continuous protective upland landscape. In place
of the Coast Guard building, the plan envisions a new building programmed as a
maritime museum or environmental education facility. This signature building
features a Reverse Aquarium; its form is derived from the ood protection at the
water-facing ground oor, as well as a new Harbor Middle School. Continuing east,
a oodwall connects through the Staten Island Ferry building and aligns with the
FDR Drive at the Battery Maritime Building (BMB). An elevated plaza brings the
surroundings level with the monumental mezzanine oor of the BMB. This plaza
connects to an elevated bikeway and footpath, which in turn connects to a series of
pavilions which provide ood protection in conjunction with deployables that swing
down from the underside of the FDR Drive.
The ood protection in the Financial District protects $1,900,000,000 in potential
damages (NPV), including the critical infrastructure underneath. With a design
height of 15ft, the system has a benet cost ratio greater than 5.0.
COMPARTMENT 2 (C2)
TWO BRIDGES - CHINATOWN
At Two bridges, the relative lack of space between the residential areas and
the waterfront favors a mixed ood-protection strategy. Limited-height ood
protection shields the area against most recurrent oods while allowing for views to
the waterfront. This is complemented by systematic measures to raise generators,
etc., in a so-called wet-feet (building waterproong) strategy that will allow the
community to deal with the much rarer, bigger ood. The BIG Team has given special
attention to ensuring that the resiliency measures add much-needed amenities for
public housing.
Moving south from Montgomery Street, in front of thePier 36Sanitation Department
facility, deployables will be attached to the underside of the FDR Drive. These
deploybables, in part a public art project, are designed so as to provide lighting and
security in these now-dark spaces. Opposite the Smith Houses, this ood protection
gives way to a system of benches, skate parks, tai-chi platforms and a pool, the
latter enclosed in glass from 4 feet up. The ood protection enlivens the Smith
Houses waterfront and provides recreational amenities such as laundromats,
shops, and spaces for community functions. One of the ground oors is fortied
and will house a Co-Gen plant serving the entire campus. A new public housing
project compensates for the evacuated apartments.
As a nal possibility, the team has also looked at the potential for The Elastic Berm:
a gently raised landscape element winding its way through open space upland,
simultaneously protecting the area while protecting views tothe water andproviding
new amenities for the NYCHA campuses. Each of the options for Two Bridges
Chinatown have different benets, and choices will need to be developed through
continued in-depth discussion with the community.
The ood protection in Two Bridges - Chinatown protects $237,000,000 in potential
damages (NPV). With a design height of 10 ft, the system has a Benet Cost Ratio
of 1.02.
COMPARTMENT 1 (C1)
L.E.S. NORTH - EAST RIVER PARK
The northern compartment protects a deep oodplain containing a large residential
community bounded to the east by the FDR drive. Beyond the FDR, bordering the
water, lies East River Park. A protective berm, easily accommodated by the relatively
wide park, will shield the residential area from oods; New pedestrian bridges will
connect the now-isolated park to the community.
The compartment connects to Hospital Row at 23rd Street with a deployable barrier.
Under the FDR Drive at Peter Cooper Village, a series of pavilions are placed. At
the land-side, these can be programmed with the commercial functions and other
amenities the area now lacks. On the water side, they can be programmed with
recreational amenities that enhance the adjacent park. Between the pavilions,
deployables maintain the relationship with the waterfront. Around the Con-Ed
plant, a new yover with an integrated levee provides a link between sections of the
waterfront.
At East River Park, an undulating berm at the location of the existing service road
provides ood protection. Shaped so that the existing sports elds are maintained,
the berm provides topographic relief and new vistas for the back of the park. New
landscape also increases the resiliency of the park through more diverse, salt-
tolerant trees and plantings. Generous landscaped bridges connect East River
Park to the community, enhancing existing bridges and adding additional bridges
between major streets. Generous ADA accessible ramps bring visitors gently down
into the park from atop the bridges, where plazas make connections to a new, scenic
bikeway and out to the water for a series of new waterfront programs. The ood
protection continues to Montgomery St. by fortifying the new Pier 42 Park, where a
deployable will help maintain the on-ramp to the FDR Drive.
The ood protection in L.E.S. North - East River Park protects $780,000,000 in
potential damages (NPV). With a design height of 15ft, the system has a benet
cost ratio of 2.08.
FROM EAST 23RD STREET TO MONTGOMERY ST.
FROM MONTGOMERY TO THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
FROM THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO THE BATTERY
THE BRIDGING BERM - EAST RIVER PARK
FLIP DOWN DEPLOYABLE PANELS AS ART! - TWO BRIDGES
EXISTING - EAST RIVER PARK AND FDR
THE BIG BENCH LOCAL PROGRAM - A PLATFORM FOR TAI CHI!
THE BATTERY BERMS
HARBOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND MUSEUM THE REVERSE AQUARIUM
BRIDGING BERM ALONG FDR
THE BIG BENCH - DAILY RECREATION THE BIG BENCH - SWIMMING POOL
LONG TERM - COVERED FDR, NEW TRANSIT OPTIONS FOR THE L.E.S.!
SOUTH STREET PROGRAMMED PAVILIONS
FLYOVER PLAZA FOR THE BATTERY MARITIME BUILDING
10TH STREET HARBOR BATH
ALTERNATIVE USES - FLIP DOWN WINTER MARKET!
NEW TOPOGRAPHY AND VISTAS
FLIP DOWN DEPLOYABLE PANELS - THE STORM