At the Water’s Edge: Resiliency for Lower Manhattan - New York - 12:30 PM, Friday, 25th September 2026 - New York City’s identity as a global capital of finance and culture is rooted in its origins as a seaport. At the epicenter of over 520 miles of waterfront is Lower Manhattan, where the city started over 400 years ago with the arrival of the Dutch.  Since then, the boundary of where land meets the water has changed – in some cases dramatically. Learn from experts what is at risk and what is being done to protect Lower Manhattan from tidal flooding and coastal storms, and to ensure that all New Yorkers continue to have access to the jobs, subways, and infrastructure that thrive in this central hub. With 19 of 28 subway lines, 512,000 riders per day and 10% of all jobs in NYC, resulting in $74 billion in annual GDP (8% of the City’s total), downtown is indispensable to New York’s future.  A range of current resiliency initiatives will be reviewed, including East Side Coastal Resiliency, Lower Manhattan Coastal Protection, and Battery Park City flood protection and water management systems. Discussions will also include how changes at NOAA, FEMA and the insurance sector may impact response and recovery to the next climate event, and its impact on the real estate and financial markets.Following the symposium, experts from the NYC Economic Development Corporation, Battery Park City Authority, and The Battery Conservancy will conduct a tour of completed and on-going resiliency work at Battery Park. Speakers:Alexander Mirescu, PhD, Head, Extreme Weather, Zurich Resilience SolutionsPatrick Geelan, North/West Project Director, Battery Park City AuthorityPaula Recart, President, The Battery ConservancyAlexis Taylor, Vice President for Climate Resilience, NYC Economic Development CorporationMolly Bourne, RLA,  FASLA, Principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape ArchitectsModerator: Raju Mann, President and CEO, Battery Park City Authority

The BIG U - 2014 - “The BIG U is a protective system around Manhattan that shields the city from floods and storm surges while providing social and environmental benefits to the community.”

The BIG U is presented as a 10-mile climate‑resilience system designed to protect Lower Manhattan from coastal flooding, sea‑level rise, and extreme weather. The project is divided into three compartments, each able to operate independently during a storm. The design emphasizes community‑driven planning, integrating flood protection with parks, recreation spaces, ecological restoration, and improved waterfront access. The website highlights the project’s origins in the Rebuild by Design competition after Hurricane Sandy and frames it as a model for how cities can combine infrastructure, public space, and climate adaptation.

Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park - 1996 - Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park occupies a unique site, characterized by its relatively small area located at the center of colossal surroundings. The main function of this public place—and the reason for its existence—is the privileged viewing of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor. 

Superstorm Sandy - 2012 - Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy was the deadliest, the most destructive, and the strongest hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm inflicted nearly $70 billion in damage and killed 233 people across eight countries from the Caribbean to Canada.In October 2012, Sandy originated from the western Caribbean and paralleled the southern Atlantic coast into Oct. 28, before making the abrupt left turn toward the New Jersey coast. Areas from coastal central New Jersey to Long Island and the New York City area, which were located just north of Sandy's landfall, experienced the worst coastal flooding and damaging winds.High pressure to the north helped to funnel winds in from the east and direct Sandy westward. The shape of the coast of northern New Jersey and Long Island helped to funnel the Atlantic Ocean water. Sandy was the second costliest hurricane in United States history with damage at $75 billion. More than 200 people lost their lives from the Caribbean through the U.S.

Rising Currents: Projects for the New York Waterfront - 2010 - As part of its 2010 exhibit “Rising Currents: Projects for New York`s Waterfront,” the Museum of Modern Art commissioned ARO to re-imagine Lower Manhattan in response to rising sea levels. This proposal rethinks the relationship of the built city to the water`s edge, creating a network of tidal salt marshes and parks to protect the urban infrastructure from storm surge. Two years later, after Super-Storm Sandy hit New York, the prescience of the project and the importance of its ideas came to the fore.The Museum of Modern Art invited Architecture Research Office and dlandstudio to participate in this 2010 exhibition. Based on ARO's previous research into climate change's impact on the city (with structural engineer Guy Nordenson's Latrobe Prize fellowship team), the exhibition presents the work of five teams of design teams who have each reinvented sites throughout New York City in response to rising sea levels. The site assigned to ARO and dlandstudio is Lower Manhattan. ARO's proposal consists of two basic components that form an interconnected system: porous green streets and a graduated edge. Their new conception of what a “street” is will not only provide productive park space within the city, it creates a network of absorptive green surfaces. On the edge of the island, three interrelated high-performance systems are constructed to block higher sea levels and mitigate storm surge force and flooding: a productive park network, freshwater wetlands, and tidal salt marshes. The above- and below-ground performance of the city can be supported by a newly integrated and mutually beneficial infrastructure.

Hog Island destroyed in the 1893 hurricane - 1893 - Hog Island was the name of two islands near Long Island, New York until the 1890s. One is the present day Barnum Island, which includes the villages of Island Park and Harbor Isle in Nassau County. The other was a mile-long (1600 m) barrier island that existed to the south of Rockaway Beach in Queens. Barnum Island, once used by Native Americans for pig farming, was purchased by Sarah Ann Baldwin Barnum in 1874. Although not related to P.T. Barnum, she bought the land for $13,360 to establish a farm for the poor and then sold it to Queens County. The county later closed the almshouse and sold the land to developers in 1898 for $40,000.

FDNY Marine 9 Barracks - 2013 - The new marine firehouse and adjacent harbor were commissioned as part of a nationwide focus on port security. Working within the confines of public pier access and zoning-view corridors, the new facility was designed using sustainable materials and strategies as a model for future New York City projects. Respectful of the tradition of firehouse architecture, the design is a study in public and private spaces rendered in shifting volumes of red and white.

Dutch Kills Green - Spanning the length of 8 city blocks, Dutch Kills Green transformed the space at the end of the Queensboro Bridge where three subway lines, two elevated routes, and congested streets surrounded a parking lot, leaving a harsh and disorienting pedestrian realm. Officially called Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian Landscape Improvement Project, Dutch Kills Green is now a park nestled within an improved traffic network, which makes room for people, plants, and water among the layers of train structures, streets, vents and utilities. Through a major road realignment, the design disentangled circulation, introduced bikeways in green corridors, and improved pedestrian conditions. The green infuses the former leftover spaces with layers of vegetation that frame seating areas, clean the air and stormwater, and mitigate ambient noise. Once a no man’s land, the green is now an asset for the surrounding community and is contributing to a resurgence in real estate value.

Pier 42 - 2012 - Pier 42 completes a critical missing link of public access along Lower Manhattan's East River shoreline. MNLA's master plan for the park envisions a spectacular transformation of this eight-acre site. Landforms along the FDR Drive provide both a buffer and flood protection as well as greater experiential opportunities within the park. The entire water`s edge is softened by removing the bulkhead and by restoring marsh habitat and wave deflection. The pier itself is separated from land, creating an island connected by bridges over the new resilient shoreline. Phase I of the master plan removes a former warehouse shed on the pier and restores the upland as a tranquil landscape within an already populous and growing neighborhood.

Randall’s Island Connector - 2013 - Working closely with city agencies and two local community-based project partners, MNLA led a team to define the route and character of the South Bronx Greenway within the Hunts Point and Port Morris neighborhoods. A central premise of the project is balancing quality of life improvements for residents and workers alike and demonstrating that community and industry can coexist through careful planning and design. During the planning process, five priority projects were identified, each of which is now constructed. The shared use path from Port Morris/132nd Street in the Bronx to Randall's Island in Manhattan directly links residents of the South Bronx to the exceptional sports fields across the Bronx Kill strait. Representing a strategic repurposing of industrial infrastructure, this quarter-mile link lies underneath a railroad trestle that carries high-speed passenger trains. The multi-modal path is remarkable for obtaining approval for an ADA-accessible at-grade rail crossing by designing a track-triggered gate mechanism that closes the path during freight rail deliveries. While providing important active lifestyle and health benefits, the project also uses green infrastructure and a sustainable stormwater management plan to avoid site impacts to the Bronx Kill and its tidal ecosystem.

Billion Oyster Project - 1715 - An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, providing crucial ecosystem services by clarifying water and removing pollutants, including nitrogen. This is significant for marine ecosystems, as excessive nitrogen can trigger harmful algal blooms that deplete oxygen and create "dead zones" . Additionally, oyster reefs offer a complex three-dimensional habitat that supports hundreds of species .Historically, massive oyster reef systems in New York Harbor served as natural defenses against storm damage by softening large waves, reducing flooding, and preventing erosion . These reefs were integral to the harbor's biodiversity and resilience, providing both ecological and protective benefits.

Last Oyster eaten in NYC - 1927 - Harvesting of oysters in New York Harbor continued until the turn of the last century, with over a billion oysters being taken annually, leading to unsustainable practices. However, over-harvesting was not the sole factor contributing to the decline of oysters. The natural habitat of oyster beds along the Manhattan shoreline was significantly altered by extensive landfill projects and the construction of numerous piers and pylons. Furthermore, until the 1970s, New York City was discharging millions of gallons of untreated sewage into its waterways daily, severely degrading water quality and further contributing to the demise of the oyster population.