The devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 led many concerned parties – those with a stake in the future of Manhattan – to reassess priorities. The long-term viability of everything from waterfront residences to mid-town commercial properties was called into question, spurring some deep thinking… and several significant climate prevention efforts.
In 2019, the city released a Lower Manhattan Climate Resilience Study, committing over $1.7 billion in capital investments toward coastal protection projects. One outcome of that study was the two-pronged Battery Park City Resiliency Project, which has become a near decade-long endeavor to literally elevate the entire environment to better protect residents, property, and assets from the rising threats of storm surge and sea-level rise. The project is two-fold: a Southern portion that has already revamped the now-open Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, and a North/West section still in construction which will cover much of the Battery Park Esplanade through just above Chambers Street.
The Waterfront Alliance is honored to recognize the entirety of the Battery Park City Resiliency Project as a 2026 Hero of the Harbor. We spoke with Raju Mann, president and CEO of Battery Park City Authority, about this remarkable commitment to climate preparedness and community engagement.
Current Events
Both the North/West and completed South portions of the project are WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) Verified.
“At the time of the projects’ inception, Chris Ward was simultaneously working at AECOM [engineering leader of the projects] and chairing the Waterfront Alliance Board of Trustees,” notes Mann. “That relationship was clearly important to us from not just a design but an engagement standpoint, so the WEDG approach was a natural one.”
Wagner Park and its surrounding area are already open to the public, elevated, and improved.
“People can walk and bike through, enjoy the views, enjoy themselves, enjoy the city,” says Mann. “And on the North/West side, we’re still grinding away, working hard as ever.”
The whole effort has been one of collaboration and community.
“It’s an agency ecosystem,” Mann explains. “The Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice has been a leader throughout the process, and the Department of Environmental Protection is a key partner. We obviously have brilliant landscape design and engineering collaborators… some of the best in the business have worked on these projects.”
The Waterfront Alliance has consistently served as a hub where all of these stakeholders can intertwine.
“You guys help bring all of it together,” Mann notes. “The conferences you hold, the discussions you facilitate… you steadily bring interested and interesting parties to the table to discuss what the future might look like.”
Next Steps
With much of the South portion of the project now accessible, the near-term plan for the team is to return public space in the North/West section back to the people.
“We want everyone to feel that we’ve made improvements to the neighborhood as we’ve protected it,” Mann says. “We want other neighborhoods to note that you can improve the physical environment in tandem with the social.” The feedback thus far regarding Wagner Park to the South has been a prime motivator.
“We’ve been holding myriad public events over the last two summers; music, arts, culture, dance… you get to see people who don’t live in the neighborhood come out and respond in real time.”
The ongoing construction in the North/West of the Battery has been significantly more challenging than that in the South.
“I would argue that it’s 10x as complex,” Mann admits. “It’s 1.4 miles of below-grade work that crosses multiple jurisdictions, thus requiring review by something like 30 to 40 separate agencies. ”
There’s also the added challenge that multiple residential property owners need to be consulted and must sign off on major construction surrounding their premises.
“Then there are additional surprises once you start digging,” Mann laments. “We’re going to have construction challenges at every point until we sew this thing up.”
Adding Value
Despite the difficulties of doing major construction in a bustling residential area, the benefits are apparent to anyone traversing the finished work.
“We’re revamping the landscaping and adding a ton of seating to that Battery Park area,” Mann notes. “There will be more shade; just generally more places to hang out. We’re expanding just to the north of Stuyvesant High School, widening that esplanade. The flood wall is threaded very carefully through the landscape, so people will notice the lushness before they notice the more functional improvements.”
Despite the aesthetic upgrade, protecting Lower Manhattan is and always has been the core of the mission.
“We’re helping to secure the next few generations of New Yorkers,” Mann says. “If you believe in this city, if you’re rooting for its longevity, and want these neighborhoods to be healthy and vibrant, we need to do work like this. We can’t stand still.”
Community Engagement
As noted, much of this construction has taken (and is taking) place in heavily residential areas. Even where people do not necessarily live, parks and other shared spaces maintain a heavy influence on a community’s sense of place. None of this has been lost on the project team.
“We have sought feedback and have taken seriously any quality-of-life impacts at every turn,” Mann notes. “It was always essential that on an average, non-storm day, that any engineering solutions would not obstruct the permeability of the neighborhood. People love their views of the water; we listened to what made this place essential to people, and sought to preserve – or even improve – those elements.”
Design teams on both the North/West and South portions of the project took great care to maintain the walkability of the heavily pedestrianized space.
“This never felt like, say, a 60s-era flood protection engineering effort,” Mann says. “This is a beloved neighborhood, but anybody concerned with climate change should be invested in what we’re doing here. And organizations like Waterfront Alliance highlighting the effort are definitely helping push us toward our goal line.”
Larger Lessons
Mann routinely returns to the notion that, despite storm preparedness being the core motivator at play, the design must also consider daily use. Most days will not involve clear indicators of climate collapse, and any work needs to reflect this.
“Projects of this scale will be near impossible to deliver if they’re not improving the day-to-day of a neighborhood,” he urges. “Yes, we are starting from a climate adaptation standpoint, but how will the average resident positively receive this on a normal Tuesday? That needs to be a core consideration.”
A Hero of the Harbor designation is a rewarding reminder that people are noticing and responding to this crucial work.
“It’s encouraging, and a nudge in the right direction that we should keep working, keep pushing, keep going,” Mann says. “These projects are many things, but they are not easy. And it’s important to know that people are watching and are supportive.”
While there are still four years of construction to come on the North/West element of the project, the positive response to the South installment remains motivational.
“We’re not just trying to improve the waterfront; we’re trying to carry our most successful design elements into the streetscapes… thread them through the neighborhood,” Mann notes. “Everything we do is aligned with the Waterfront Alliance mission to address the challenges we face today, not just the challenges that faced these neighborhoods when they were initially built. We’re creating a landscape that imagines a wholly different future while preserving what makes these places special.”
We are excited to share a wonderful night of celebration on October 14, 2026 recognizing our honorees the Battery Park City Resiliency Projects and Michael Stamatis, President & CEO, Red Hook Terminals for their contributions to a more resilient waterfront and future for all in the region.
Images credit: Whitney Browne and Elyse Mertz
