Flood-prone sections of lower Manhattan would be ringed with berms, bridges and public spaces that look like a futuristic High Line under a new plan to protect the city from super storms like Hurricane Sandy.
The $335 million project by the Danish designers BIG — dubbed “The Big U” — could be completed within five years, according to Mayor de Blasio.
It will include what BIG founder Bjarke Ingels called a “bridging berm” barrier to protect the low-lying areas from storm surges and rising sea levels.
Salt-tolerant greenery will be planted along the raised berms, which will provide both open and enclosed public spaces for sightseeing and recreation.
“The Big U is an example of what we call social infrastructure,” Ingels said in a press release. “The High Line shows how a decommissioned piece of infrastructure can be transformed into a public space and green landscape.”
When the weather is normal, people will be able to use the raised spaces as they do the High Line. But when a monster storm hits, the berms will block water and protect nearby neighborhoods.
The plan was among several announced this week by the federal government as part of a massive project to protect low-lying areas in the city and along the New Jersey coast, both hard hit by Sandy.
Another $20 million initiative will include a pilot project to secure a major food distribution site near the water in the Hunts Point neighborhood of The Bronx.
And a $60 million project will put a living breakwater barrier near the south shore of Staten Island.