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Red Hook Flood Protection System Gets Locals' Scrutiny Next Week

By Nikhita Venugopal | January 13, 2016 3:26pm
 A child stands astride his bicycle on flooded street in Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage in the area on October 30, 2012.
A child stands astride his bicycle on flooded street in Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage in the area on October 30, 2012.
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

RED HOOK — More than three years after Hurricane Sandy submerged most of Red Hook and left the community reeling, residents are being asked to weigh in on a multi-million dollar project that would strengthen the neighborhood against coastal flooding.

The system — which will cost roughly $200 million and cover 370 acres when completed — could include features such as raised streets, flood walls, improved drainage and pumping facilites, officials said in Dec. 2014 when ideas were first sought through a Request For Proposals.

A public meeting will be held Jan. 21 — one of many upcoming discussions — on the proposed "integrated flood protection system" in the neighborhood, according to Community Board 6.

It will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Miccio Center, located at 110 W. 9th St. in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resilience and the city's Economic Development Corporation.

Both city and state governments have allocated a total of $100 million toward the creation of the system in Red Hook that would "make the waterfont community more resilient and better protected against future storms."

During the meeting, officials will provide updates on a feasibility study that kicked off in November, a spokesman for the EDC said. There will also be time for community feedback.

Thousands of the neighborhood residents, particularly those living in NYCHA's Red Hook Houses, were left without heat, water or electricity after Sandy devastated homes, businesses and local infrastructure.

The public housing complex is still using temporary boilers and it will reportedly be at least a year before permanent ones are installed.

While it may be years before Red Hook sees its own flood protection system, locals came up with their own preparedness plan in 2014 in case of another storm. The Red Hook Ready plan focuses on what to do in the 72 hours after a disaster hits and outside help may not be available.