Interboro Team
Long Island, New York
Winning Project
$125M
Interboro / Apex / Bosch Slabbers / Deltares / H+N+S / Palmbout / IMG Rebel with Center for Urban Pedagogy, David Rusk, NJIT Infrastructure Planning Program, Project Projects, RFA Investments, TU Delft
How do we keep Long Islanders safe in the face of future extreme weather events and sea-level rise? How do we ensure that the next big storm won’t be as devastating to the region as Sandy? And what can we do to improve the water quality and quality of life in the region? What can we do to make “bay life” safer, healthier, more fun, and more accessible?
These are the questions we address in Living with the Bay, our comprehensive regional resiliency plan for Nassau County’s South Shore. The goal of the plan is to make the communities around the South Shore’s bays more resilient in the face of future extreme weather events and sea level rise, but also strengthen what makes living near the bays great in the first place.
Because the region faces multiple water-based threats, there is no “silver bullet” solution. A surge barrier might protect Long Islanders from storm surge, but it won’t do much to keep us safe from nor-easters and other rain events that routinely flood our communities. Withdrawing or retreating from the coast would result in less flood damage, but the South Shore is certainly not going to throw in the towel. And neither should it. There’s a reason why people live on the South Shore: it’s a great place to live!
We think there is a better way to live with the bay!
Our preferred “buffered bay” scenario presents a range of integrated adaptive measures that keep Nassau County residents safe, and add to the economic, ecological, and social quality of the region. These measures include mitigating the damage from storm surge, storm water runoff, and sea level rise by recovering the sediment system and strategically deploying protective measures like constructed marshes, dikes, and cross-structures along the urbanized edge; managing storm water in order to mitigate the damages from common rain events as well as improve the water quality in the bay; and expanding housing options in high and dry areas near public transportation.
Acknowledging that there are no “silver bullet” solutions to coastal protection, we propose an integrated, multi-pronged approach, which includes planning and design at the scale of the region, five sub-regions, and specific sites.
Strategies For The Barrier Island: The Smart Barrier
Due to their location and topography, Long Island’s barrier islands are among the region’s most vulnerable zones when it comes to sea level rise and storm surges. Here we propose protective infrastructure that doubles as a landscape amenity to provide access to the bay-shore, and as storm water landscape, where storm water is stored, cleaned and replenished.
Strategies For The Marsh: The Eco-Edge
While Wetlands — and in particular, saltwater marshes — play a critical role in buffering coastal communities, urban development has negatively impacted Nassau County’s wetlands. We propose new marsh islands that reduce wave action, improve the bay ecology, and afford new recreational opportunities.
Strategies For The Lowlands: Slow Streams
The areas around Southern Nassau’s north-south tributaries are threatened both by surge water flooding and storm water inundation. We propose to address these threats — along other challenges such water quality, ecological recovery and aquifer recharge — through a set of interconnected interventions, transforming rivers into green-blue corridor that both store and filter water, provide public space as well as room for new urban development.
Download a PDF of the team’s final competition boards here.
View a PDF of the team’s full proposal here.
View a video about the Living With the Bay project here.
Stakeholders
Adelphi University Environmental Studies Program, Association of Marine Industries, Baldwin Civic Association, Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment, City of Long Beach, Community Development, Corporation of Long Island, CRZ, Empire Justice, ERASE Racism, Garden Club of Long Island, Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery and New York Rising, Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Hofstra University Suburban Studies Program, LIVOAD Long Term Recovery Group, Long Island Housing Partnership, Long Island Index, Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, Long Island Regional Planning Council, Nassau County Executive Office, Nassau County Department of Public Works, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Office of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, Office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Office of Senator Chuck Schumer, Operation SPLASH, South Shore Estuary Reserve, Stonybrook University Department of Geosciences, Sustainable Long Island, The Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Town of Hempstead Department of Conservation and Waterways, Town of Hempstead Department of Engineering, Trout Unlimited, Village of East Rockaway, Village of Freeport, Village of Lynbrook, Village of Rockville Centre, Vision Long Island, Western Bays Coalition
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