Going to the Wall

Coalition of Residents Files Suit to Halt BPCA Resiliency Plans

A coalition of Battery Park City residents is suing the Battery Park City Authority to halt the North/West Resiliency Project, which aims to create an integrated coastal flood risk management system consisting largely of flood walls and deployable gates stretching from First Place (near South Cove), running north along the esplanade, across to the east side of West Street, and terminating at a high point in Tribeca near North Moore and Greenwich Streets.

“In less than a year,” says resident Kelly McGowan, “the BPCA intends to commence a project that will permanently and irreversibly alter the distinct character of the neighborhood. Despite repeated requests, the Authority has withheld essential information and design details from the community, depriving residents of their right to meaningful participation in decisions that directly affect them.”

BPCA spokesman Nick Sbordone responds, “the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project was planned in full accordance with the law, and when complete it will reduce risk to residents, property, and infrastructure as part of New York City’s broader strategy for protecting Lower Manhattan. We remain focused on the urgent work of protecting our community from the escalating threats of climate change and future storms.”

Local resident John Dellaportas says, “this project threatens to destroy or significantly diminish many of Battery Park City’s most cherished assets, its parks, public art, and unobstructed waterfront views, and hundreds of healthy mature canopy trees constituting an irreparable loss to the community.”

The BPCA counters that the North/West Resiliency initiative will create more landscaped area (with an overall 30 percent increase in total plant coverage, and a 100 percent increase along the southern section of the esplanade) and enhanced public spaces, with universal accessibility and remediated circulation pinch points, along with increased and improved seating.

The North/West Resiliency Project, which is budgeted at approximately $1.6 billion, is expected to start construction in early 2026 and continue for at least five years. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project (a legally mandated review), predicts no significant adverse impact on the community in dozens of categories (such as air quality, hazardous and contaminated materials, public health, and community facilities). In its analysis of “natural resources” however, the BPCA acknowledges that it plans to cut down 435 trees, but classifies this component of the project as entailing no significant adverse impact, because it also intends to plant 450 new trees. When the Final EIS was issued in May, a four-month countdown began toward the deadline for filing an Article 78 petition, which is the legal mechanism via which private-sector parties can challenge decisions by government agencies. The legal action by Battery Park City residents was filed in New York State Supreme Court on September 29.

Jack Lester, the lawyer representing the residents and organizations signing onto the suit (including the Battery Alliance and the Battery Park City Neighborhood Association), says, “given the project’s scale, cost, and lasting impact, the BPCA is legally obligated to act with transparency, to consult with stakeholders, and to provide full disclosure of the design elements under consideration. Instead, the Authority has deliberately withheld critical details regarding the promenade, privacy walls, and other resiliency components, effectively denying the community a voice in shaping the future of the neighborhood.”

The Authority insists that planning for the North/West Resiliency Project “has benefitted from robust and comprehensive community feedback over the course of the past four years. Mr. Lester alleges, “the BPCA’s pattern of conduct reveals a disregard for its statutory obligations and the principles of accountability. Rather than engage in collaborative planning, the Authority has adopted a unilateral ‘you have no choice’ approach, advancing the interests of outside parties while marginalizing those most affected, the residents, workers, and families who fund and depend upon this community.”

Among other allegations, the lawsuit says that the BPCA’s EIS unlawfully segmented the North/West Resiliency Project from a related project (now nearing completion) at the community’s southern border, and thus illegally “failed to examine the cumulative impact on residents of Battery Park City.” The legal action also cites 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, which left Battery Park City mostly unscathed, arguing, “those few Battery Park City buildings that fall, in whole or in part, within the 100-year floodplain could be flood-proofed through basic measures (e.g., raising mechanicals, water-proofing basements, and sandbags) for a fraction of the cost and no loss of parkland…. Indeed, the BPCA in its EIS never considers the alternative of flood-proofing the buildings – the favored option in such flood-prevalent cities such as New Orleans.”

The Article 78 petition further assails the Authority’s position that hundreds of trees must be cut down because federal guidelines (published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) do not permit any trees, bushes and other vegetation (except grass) within 15 feet of each side of a flood wall. The plaintiffs argue, “a variance from the guidelines can be allowed if the project’s sponsor conducts a specific type of analysis and applies for a variance…. However, despite repeated requests, BPCA and its partners have not conducted any such analysis nor applied for a variance.”

Another issue raised by the lawsuit relates to the so-called Green Amendment added to the New York State Constitution in 2022, which says, “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” The coalition opposed to the North/West Resiliency Project contend that it will “deny Petitioners the constitutional minimums of a healthful environment,” and “subject local residents to prolonged construction activity resulting in dangerous noise levels… dust, toxins, rodents and excessive lighting for a period of at least five years.”

“The community cannot and will not be ignored,” Mr. McGowan says. “This action seeks judicial intervention to compel the BPCA to fulfill its legal obligations, to provide transparency, and to safeguard the rights and interests of those who live in and sustain this neighborhood. Only through such accountability can the unique character and integrity of Battery Park City be preserved for future generations.”