Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) refers to a range of

climate change adaptation Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...

strategies of

coastal management Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

to address impacts on the city in the wake of the extensive Hurricane Sandy flooding of 2012. A more localized alternative to the

New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier The New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier was a proposed barrier and floodgate system to protect the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary from storm surges. The proposed system would consist of one barrier located across the mouth of Lower New York ...

, it has some continuity with the centuries-long

Lower Manhattan expansion The expansion of the land area of Lower Manhattan in New York City by land reclamation has, over time, greatly altered Manhattan Island's shorelines on the Hudson and East rivers; as well as those of the Upper New York Bay. The extension of the ...

trend and seeks to compensate for the historical loss of wetland buffer zones, and would be integrated into the

Manhattan Waterfront Greenway The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a waterfront greenway for walking or cycling, long, around the island of Manhattan, in New York City. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is separate ...

History

After Sandy, Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

and Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

differed on their preferred infrastructure responses, with Cuomo favoring a storm barrier to protect the entire estuary, and Bloomberg localized protection for Lower Manhattan inspired by

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the north ...

. Several studies have been commissioned since, including the BIG U from

Bjarke Ingels Group Bjarke Ingels Group, often referred to as BIG, is a Copenhagen and New York based group of architects, designers and builders operating within the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and development. The office is currently involved in a ...

for a semi-circle of

berms A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/separation ...

that would allow small-scale controlled floods, in contrast with the more ambitious seawall proposals. Their 2014 plan largely involved constructing a series of

in Lower Manhattan, inland from the shoreline. but has been deemed inadequate in parts and too costly to maintain. Bloomberg's 2013 concept of "

Seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

City" has been replaced by the FiDi-Seaport plan, as part of the wider LMCR initiative by the De Blasio administration. It updates the BIG U with more substantial

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

that could be funded and finished, avoiding the occasional temporary flooding of the earlier plan and its maintenance costs. Initial plans focus on landfilling and building up

East River Park East River Park, also called John V. Lindsay East River Park, is public park located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, administered by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Bisected by the Williamsburg Bridge, it stretches ...

References

{{reflist Climate change adaptation Environmental issues in New York City Government of New York City Hurricane Sandy Lower Manhattan Proposed buildings and structures in New York City Climate change policy in the United States