Resilience Planning
The Issues
Flooding and Contamination
Flushing Waterways forms the foundation of Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP), one of NYC’s most flood-prone parks. FMCP is encircled by highways and overlain with hundreds of acres of parking lots. The impermeable surfaces of the highways and parking lots exacerbate a stormwater management crisis, where homes and streets flood during heavy rainfall and over two billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater pour into Flushing Waterways every year.
Impacts
The neighborhoods surrounding Flushing Waterways and FMCP fall into the 80th percentile and above in the nation for air toxicity and proximity to traffic. Much of the land is an urban heat island and vulnerable to flooding, and surrounding waterways receive some of the highest annual levels of raw sewage and polluted stormwater.
Our Initiatives
The Power of Planning
Climate resilient planning enables communities to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Climate resilient projects consider social, ecological, and socio-economic factors so that projects do not displace the communities they are designed to protect. To this end, GoFB is collaborating on the following projects:
Response to the Federal Harbor and Tributaries Study
With federal funding allocated after Superstorm Sandy, US Army Corps of Engineers’ Harbor and Tributaries Study (HATS) seeks solutions to address storm surge in NY and NJ.
As part of the Urban Tributaries Working Group and the NY/NJ Get the Flood Plan Right network, GoFB is deeply concerned that the tentatively selected proposal, Alternative 3B, could have devastating and lasting impacts on Flushing Waterways and its surrounding communities.
Learn more about the Urban Tributaries Working Group.
Harbor and Estuary Study Proposal 3B Impact to Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek
FMCP resilience planning
GoFB is collaborating with the Waterfront Alliance on ‘Flushing Meadows Corona Park: A Hub For Climate Resilience’, a planning process to develop capital projects and strategies to improve climate resilience in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Learn more about the project here and join our newsletter for project updates.
Flushing Creek Redesign
GoFB is collaborating with Riverkeeper and the ecological engineering firm Biohabitats to develop a restored wetland on the shore of SkyView Mall’s waterfront site. With the only publicly accessible waterfront park on Flushing Creek, the wetland site is a unique opportunity to restore habitat in a historically polluted section of the creek, pilot creative restoration solutions for complex sites and complement the Army Corps of Engineers’ restoration on Flushing Creek. See the initial design here.
Get Involved
Stay Updated
Want to weigh in on the FMCP resilience planning process or support our coastal resilience advocacy? Join our newsletter to receive updates and calls to action.
Join Us!
Learn more about becoming a guardian of your local waterways on our Get Involved page.
Find programs, workshops, boating opportunities and more on our Events Page.