Beautiful views off Breezy Point in the Rockaways could change; Connecting Queens all the way to Sandy Hook, New Jersey could be a barrier to shelter the city from flooding.
"This would save lives," said Bob Yaro of Storm Surge Working Group. "It will save tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars over its life in avoided flooding and disruption of the economy in the region."
Yaro's group calls not just for a barrier in the outer harbor, but also tying Queens to the Bronx near the Throgs Neck Bridge.
The group notes that New York lags behind London, the Netherlands, and even Russia.
"We're kind of standing down on the beach with our pants down around our ankles," Yaro said. "This is not how we want to protect this great city from these dangers."
And in a sign of its influence, a conference on the "urgent need for a regional barrier" is co-sponsored by the Port Authority.
But building a barrier isn't easy. The whole harbor system could cost $25 billion.
A rendering, seen in the video above, shows laying a highway on top to help pay, if it's given a permit.
Complicating matters further, Breezy Point is a private, gated community, whose residents aren't seen as exactly eager for interstate traffic to come through.
The group pushing the barrier says it's just an idea. Others question whether the barrier is needed at all.
