Long Beach Breaks Ground on Coastal Restoration Project

It’s been nearly four years since Hurricane Sandy, and the recovering in Long Beach has been a slow and steady process. But the community took a big step forward on Wednesday with the official groundbreaking for the $230 million Long Beach Island Shore Protection Project, which will help the Barrier Island weather the next storm.

The project will include new stone for jetties, groin rehabilitation, 5 million cubic yards of sand fill and dunes approximately 14 feet above sea level across the length of Long Beach Island’s 7-mile shoreline, which extends from the East Rockaway Inlet to the Jones Inlet.

The groundbreaking ceremony was a attended by nearly every politician representing the area. U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Rep. Peter King, Colonel David Caldwell of the Army Corps of Engineers, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, State Senator Todd Kaminsky, County Legislator Denise Ford, Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino, Councilmembers Erin King Sweeney and Anthony D’Esposito and the City of Long Beach broke ground on the project.

“The Long Beach Protection Project’s groundbreaking should be celebrated by the many homeowners and businesses of Long Beach that have shown incredible resilience since Superstorm Sandy,” Schumer said. “This Army Corps project — decades in the making — will provide Long Beach with the armor it needs to weather the next storm and that’s why I fought tooth and nail to secure the funds needed to get it off the ground and put it on the path that has finally led to shovels in the ground. I have every faith that this project will prove to be beneficial to Long Beach in terms of mitigating future losses, and I hope it will give Long Beach residents some peace of mind in knowing their community is safe from natural disaster.”

The project is already underway. According to the Long Beach Herald, the Army Corps of Engineers has begun shipping 250,000 tons of stone to the beaches to repair jetties and construct new ones. The second phase -- trucking in sand to repair the dunes -- will begin next year, the Herald reported, and is expected to take two years.

“Superstorm Sandy unfortunately showed us just how vulnerable our coastline is,” King said. “The funding for this project will go a long way in not only completing Long Island’s recovery but bolstering our resiliency against future storms. I am proud to have worked with Senator Schumer on this critical funding.”

The Sandy Relief Bill that was signed into law required only that the feds pick up 65 percent of the project cost, but that amount could be increased if the projects met the criteria of “on-going construction” and are updated to make them stronger, more resilient and offer better protection against storms. Immediately after the bill’s passage, Schumer, working side by side with his Long Island House colleagues like King, began working with the Army Corps of Engineers and Office of Management and Budget to lay out a strategic pathway for this project, and others, to be considered as “ongoing construction” and modified to adapt to the changing climate and therefore eligible for full federal funding.

“We are at an extremely exciting time in the city’s history,” said City Council President Len Torres. “The Army Corps of Engineers project is something this City Council demanded, and we are thrilled to see this critically important, long-overdue project finally moving forward -- as we continue rebuilding a stronger, smarter and safer Long Beach.”

Hurricane Sandy devastated Long Beach, causing tens of millions of dollars in property damage, destroying the island’s infrastructure and iconic boardwalk, as well as washing away 294,000 cubic yards of sand that acts as a barrier along the oceanfront.

The first contract, consisting of stone work for the groins, was awarded in March. The second contract, consisting of sand placement for the dunes and beach as well as walkover/crossover structures, is expected be awarded in fall 2017.

Photos: Town of Hempstead.