Coastline LES - Ayo Harrington

Flood protection is a looming issue for the Lower East Side which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy on October 29, 2012. Almost seven years later, no measures have been taken to protect the neighborhood from another devastating storm. After five years of gathering community input on flood protection plans, the City abruptly reversed course, creating a new plan that calls for the closure of the entire East River Park for a period of at least 3.5 years.

East Broadway will be covering this urgent issue by interviewing community and political leaders, city agencies and experts over the next several years to keep our neighbors informed and involved.

In this issue, we feature an interview with Ayo Harrington, co-chair of LES Ready and a steering committee member of the East River Alliance.

The NYC Department of Design and Construction declined our request for an on camera interview.

Links for information & to get involved:

Community Organizations

- LES Ready http://www.lesready.org/

- East River Alliance https://eastriveralliance.org/

City of New York websites:

- East Side Coastal Resiliency Project https://www1.nyc.gov/site/escr/index.page

- Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project https://www.nycedc.com/project/lower-manhattan-coastal-resiliency