The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has agreed to expedite the Rockaway and Jamaica Bay Reformulation Study in the Rockaway Peninsula, N.Y. The study looks to identify coastal resilience and flood protection projects for the peninsula. The decision comes after New York Sen. Charles Schumer and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio teamed up to secure $730 million in federal funds for the projects. The new projected timeline will have the report completed by November 2018, with project construction projected to begin early 2019, according to The Forum.
“In addition to the hundreds of millions [of dollars] we secured by reprogramming hundreds of millions in vital construction funds for this project,” Sen. Schumer said. “This agreement will mean that we can greatly accelerate the actual building of vital protections like a sea wall on the bay side, jetties and groins and more.”
The study was originally funded by the Sandy Supplemental Appropriation of 2013 in response to devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy on the east coast. USACE seeks to identify long-term erosion control solutions for coastal resilience through the study, which recently received additional funding. The originally relief bill covered 65% of the project by the federal government, but Schumer and Blasio collaborated with the USACE Office of Management and Budget to re-categorize the project as “ongoing construction,” thus making it eligible for full federal funding, as reported by The Times Ledger.
“New York City’s shoreline is our first line of defense against climate change,” Sen. Schumer said. “We are grateful that the USACE has agreed to accelerate its work to protect our coastal neighborhoods.”
