Wednesday, June 12, 2013

New Bloomberg strategy: propose things that will never happen


From the Politicker:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined a nearly $20 billion master plan Tuesday to shield the city from future Hurricane Sandys, complete with levees, sand dunes, bulkheads, flood walls and a proposed “Seaport City.”

The plan calls for the installation of removable “adaptable floodwalls” in riverfront locations across the city, including Hunts Point in the Bronx, along the East Harlem waterfront, the Lower East Side and the Financial District, as well as a new levee and floodwall system along the East Shore of Staten Island, with barriers that could rise as high as 15 to 20 feet.

The proposal, which the mayor is set to outline in a major speech at Brooklyn Navy’s Yard’s Sandy-damaged Duggal Greenhouse, also calls for the construction of a new dune systems in Staten Island and the Rockaway Peninsula, with a “double dune” planned for Breezy Point.

While the mayor has less than seven months left in office, he also proposed building a new “Seaport City” on the east side of Manhattan, similar to the existing Battery Park City near the Financial District. The new development, which could stretch all the way to Brooklyn, would be built on “a multi-purpose levee with raised edge elevations,” designed to protect the East River shoreline south of the Brooklyn Bridge, while creating a new mini-neighborhood.

Mr. Bloomberg, who has previously said that a sea wall plan was “not practical,” also wants to build a storm surge barrier at Newtown Creek and along Coney Island Creek, and announced plans to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the feasibility adding “surge barriers” across the mouth of Jamaica Bay to protect communities in Queens.


Meanwhile, people are getting creamed with insurance premiums and building costs.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I briefly read the proposal, and I am no engineer, but to throw a wrench in the works,----how is a rapidly assembled barrier going to stop the force of a storm surge---it moved cars, homes----it comes from the depth of the ocean, out of Davey jones locker----you cannot stop it----no only thing that saved new York was the tunnels and subways----if they did not slow down the water there would have been more damage, more deaths----------do not waste money on dimwit ideas----------------

Jerry Rotondi said...

A mater plan or another Bloomberg masturbator plan?

Anonymous said...

"Yes it could be expensive but over time it could be a great investment."

One of the reasons that our parks and the future of our communities are being turned over to developers.

All your taxes are being used to create infrastructure for development and not benefit your community or your family.

I especially liked the clip on how NY was helping each other after the storm - with no mention that the city had no resources for the same.

One of the biggest memories I had of Sandy was generous media coverage of falling oaks in Connecticut and gritted teeth glances at New Yorkers getting abandoned.

Anonymous said...

This is a joke. He thinks we're stupid. This isn't controlling a river flood, but an oceanic flood surge.

The water has to go someplace and a real Manhattan-protecting barrier would merely push it south and east to Brooklyn and Long Island, and west to Staten Island and New Jersey.

Anonymous said...

IMPEACH BLOOMTARD!

Oops. One of the other commenters said it was like closing the barn door after the horse is gone.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Good one!

He can't do any more damage. Can he? Troll!

Anonymous said...

"He thinks we're stupid."

Of course he does.
We elected him 3 times!

Anonymous said...

This is another veiled attempt to build more condos and high end shopping. Half of the images include shiny new buildings.

Jon Torodash said...

$20 billion is more than double the current 4 year capital budget. So even if we amortize this steadily over 45 years before the dreaded 2050 deadline by which the report estimates we'll face $90 billion more in Sandy-like damage, we're talking nearly 17% more debt taken on each and every year from now until mid-century.

The city's debt service is already growing at an unsustainable rate of about 7% annually. Then there are the other phases of PlaNYC completely unrelated to storm protection to consider.

Can we really take this?

Anonymous said...

Instead of learning from the mistakes wrought upon New York by the relentless overdevelopment of high rises along brownfield after brownfield of our toxic waterfront, destroying important drainage sites by an onslaught of concrete with no foresight into the eroding infrastructure all around us from a sensibly thought out engineering plan for the future,this moron wants more. More at Hunters Point South, more at the South Street Seaport, more in Williamsburg, more in Red Hook. Notice a trend here? All overpriced, tax-abated housing for the transplanted rich.

Our taxes have been funneled to the real estate industry for years as we pay for their lifestyle of excess and greed.This guy is to blame. No one else but him.

This plan will never get off the ground because this despot is finally leaving office and whoever comes in after him, will have the brains not to waste anymore of our taxes on this pipe dream of this plutocrat and his corrupt cronies.

The flooding will continue. It will continue and it will get worse. There is nothing anyone can do about it but get the hell out of here.

SPY VS spy said...

THE FIRST HALF IS GREAT, THEN YOU GOT OFF THE RAILS SO LETS HELP YOU GET BACK IN FOCUS.

Myth
This guy is to blame. No one else but him.

REALITY
EVERYONE HAS JUMPED ON - ALL THE POLITICIANS WHO GAVE HIM THE 3RD TERM, THE URBAN THINK TANKS RUN BY DEVELOPER FRIENDLY 'EXPERTS', THE COLLEGES THAT THEMSELVES ARE OCTOPUS IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES, THE MEDIA, JUST ABOUT ANYONE THAT IS ANYONE KNOWS THAT THERE IS MONEY FOR MOUTHING THE PARTY LINE.

Myth
This plan will never get off the ground because this despot is finally leaving office and whoever comes in after him, will have the brains not to waste anymore of our taxes on this pipe dream of this plutocrat and his corrupt cronies.

REALITY
DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE TOOTH FAIRY, EASTER BUNNY RABBIT AND THE JOLLY OLD ELF, TOO?

Myth
The flooding will continue. It will continue and it will get worse. There is nothing anyone can do about it but get the hell out of here.

REALITY
THERE IS PLENTY WE CAN DO - DEMAND THAT THE WATERFRONT STAY AS A BARRIER TO THE SEA IN THE FORM OF PARKLAND, LET THE CLUELESS HIPSTERS UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE RAISING THEIR CHILDREN NOT ON A PRETTY WATERFRONT, BUT ON A TOXIC SUPERFUND SITE, PATIENTLY DEMAND THAT OUR TAXES GO BACK INTO OUR COMMUNITIES EVERY TIME A POL TRIES TO THREATEN YOU FOR EXERCISING YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AND RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN, AND STAND UP TO DEVELOPERS EVERY CHANCE YOU GET (ONCE YOU GET THE HANG OF IT ITS ACTUALLY FUN TO WATCH 'EM SQUIRM.)

THE FUN IS JUST STARTING SO STICK AROUND ...

Jerry Rotondi said...

OUCH!
Now I know how a voo doo doll feels.
Stick another pin in my ass mister mayor.

November is creeping up and I still don't see a viable candidate I can hand over the NYC CEO job to.

Anonymous said...

SPY VS spy

You may want to read this.

No significant warming for 17 years 4 months
@ http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/13/no-significant-warming-for-17-years-4-months/

And before you blast me / them as deniers, even the NYTs, WaPO and BBC admit there's been no real warming for well over a decade.

Anonymous said...

YOu mean like those in 1969 who opted for Cat 4 funding because they said Cat 5 Katrina would never happen?

Anonymous said...

I thought the ocean's stopped rising when Obama was elected.