DDC High School and College Interns Tour East Side Costal Resiliency Project Section 2

On August 8th, 2022, DYCD Summer Youth Employment interns toured the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project Section 2. The project represents a new class of resilient infrastructure for New York City. The tour was led by ESCR Project Senior Construction Manager Ahmed Ibrahim, and Deputy Director for Community Engagement and Costal Resiliency, Q. Amiri.

Q. Amiri, Deputy Director for Community Engagement and Coastal Resiliency, stated, “I am honored to be part of our agency’s internship initiative, providing a great opportunity to students as the future leading professionals of our industry. It was such a pleasure to host our interns at the ESCR construction site and educate them about the importance of building for the future and our Coastal Resiliency team’s efforts to implement critical resiliency measures for NYC. I’m very proud of all the students that joined us this year.”

“NYC is an urban landscape that is ever-changing and DDC responds to the needs of its people and the environment. The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is a perfect example of a world-class solution meant to address the very real challenges the city faces,” said Deputy Commissioner for Community Partnerships and STEAM Initiatives, Lee Llambelis.    

The DDC High School Summer Internship Program is organized in partnership with the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development through DDC’s STEAM Education Initiative, which was created in 2014 to establish a diverse and inclusive pipeline for New York City's youth to engage in architecture, construction, and engineering (ACE) industries. The goal of DDC’s summer internship program is to create valuable opportunities to expose the next generation to the world of the built environment and the many careers that support the work of DDC. Interns learn about the many other units that support the mission of the agency like Public Buildings, Infrastructure, Technology and Innovation, the Office of the Chief Architect, Program Management, Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs, Budget and Finance, Operations, ODIR, EEO, Human Resources and Administration.

Over the course of the year, the agency also hosts a summer internship program for college students, a middle school Young Engineers enrichment program, as well as numerous educational programs like Meet the Builder and Introduce a Girl to Architecture, Construction and Engineering. DDC STEAM has served 5,506 students across its various programs since its inception.

The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project will offer coastal protection to New York City's waterfront neighborhoods from devastating storm surge and regular tidal flooding, while also improving accessibility, increasing ecological diversity, and delivering improved recreational amenities to a vibrant and highly diverse community. The entire project — expected to be complete in 2026 — is also creating nearly 1,000 new jobs in New York City and has involved a multitude of city agencies, including the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks), the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ), the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), and the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT).

Asser Levy Playground is home to the northern end of the ESCR Project, a $1.45 billion project that will create a 2.4-mile flood barrier of berms, floodwalls, moveable gates and raised parkland that will protect 110,000 East Side residents — including 28,000 NYCHA residents — from future storms and tidal flooding. Of the $1.45 billion, $338 million of funding is being provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The entire span of the ESCR project — located within the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 100-year floodplain — will incorporate 18 movable gates from Asser Levy Playground (located along Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive from East 23rd Street to East 25th Street) down to Montgomery Street. The entire project is being installed in phases to ensure the community has access to recreational areas during construction. This project is a crucial part of the Adams administration's work to ensure that New York City is better prepared to withstand the impacts of climate change. 

Asser Levy Playground now features 320 feet of new floodwall, along with a new 79-foot-long, 45-ton sliding steel floodgate. The first protective flood gate — measuring 42 feet and weighing 16 tons — was installed as part of the flood wall near Stuyvesant Cove Park in February. Once ESCR is completed, the floodgate will be closed ahead of any future flooding event. The wall will protect the adjacent Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Campus and Hospital, as well as the park's recreation center and outdoor pool, allowing it to stay online after a major storm. The playground and basketball court areas have also been rebuilt with resilient materials and play equipment that has been designed to withstand future flooding. In the event of a storm, the playground will be able to reopen more quickly due to these new resiliency features.

About the NYC Department of Design and Construction
The Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager. In supporting Mayor Adams’ long-term vision of growth, sustainability, resiliency, equity and healthy living, DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, and new or upgraded roads, sewers and water mains in all five boroughs. To manage this $15.5 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative and environmentally conscious design and construction strategies to City projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.