Today, Brooklyn Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) and Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) announced a major new federal shoreline protection and beach replenishment project on the western edge of Coney Island and Sea Gate, a vulnerable area that is still devastated after Superstorm Sandy.  Jeffries, the current representative of Coney Island, joined Nadler, the senior Northeastern Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the former representative of Coney Island, in heralding the formal movement on this longstanding U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project to construct a series of T-Groin rock jetties to protect the peninsula and prevent further erosion.  Nadler has supported these efforts since 1992, providing $18.9 million in federal dollars between fiscal years 2003 and 2010.  The project is part of the Army Corps’ emergency response to Superstorm Sandy, with an estimated total cost of $30 million, all of which will be borne by the federal government, saving the City and State roughly $10 million.  In late 2013, the Army Corps plans to begin work at the peninsula’s western edge, in the community of Sea Gate.

“Especially in the wake of Sandy, this beach erosion and replenishment project is truly critical to protect the area’s residents from future storm damage and erosion, and to safeguard Coney Island’s famous beaches,” said Nadler.  “After 20 years of working with the Army Corps, the State, the City and the Sea Gate Association to make this project a reality, I’m thrilled that we are finally going to begin construction.”

“I applaud Representative Nadler for his dedication to this project and twenty year commitment to the residents of the Coney Island Peninsula, and commend the Army Corps of Engineers for their active engagement,” said Jeffries. “The T-groin rock jettie construction project and sand replenishment effort will help fortify our hard hit community and mitigate damage from future extreme weather events. As this project illustrates, we will not rest until our neighborhoods have been completely restored, rebuilt and brought back to life.”

Information on the project can be found in the Army Corps report to Congress, HERE and HERE.

The project will:

• ·       Construct four steel-stemmed T-Groins with stone heads;
• ·       Construct three stone reinforcement sections abutting the West 37th Street T-Groin,

and repair the end of the T-Groin; and,

• ·        Remove and place approximately 124,000 cubic yards of sand from Gravesend Bay to reinforce the beach.

(YWN Desk – NYC)