The Battery Coastal Resilience

The Battery Coastal Resilience Project will rebuild and elevate The Battery wharf, a public esplanade along the park’s waterfront edge. The wharf, a concrete deck structure supported on piles (not on solid ground), was constructed in the 1940s and is in such poor condition that it needs to be entirely replaced. The new elevated wharf will also serve to reduce the park’s risk from future tidal flooding and low-level coastal storms, while maintaining the character and uses of the promenade and the rest of the park. The Battery Coastal Resilience Project is one of several projects, which together are known as the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) Project.

The New York Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) projects up to 6.3 feet of sea level rise by 2100. If the wharf is not raised up, the future high water level including sea level rise would result in twice daily flooding that reaches 2.5 feet above the existing wharf. The wharf will be elevated up by 5 feet to rebuild the existing structure and prepare for sea level rise over the next 80 years. New ferry berthing slips will be created at two levels, to allow ferries to load and unload passengers at both the current and future low and high tides.

The park design incorporates sustainable and resilient features to help withstand and recover from future flooding, including:

• Salt-tolerant trees and plantings
• Enhanced drainage system
• Permeable pavements

Sea level rise refers to the increase in sea levels both globally and locally. Storm surge, unlike sea level rise, occurs when a storm approaches the coast. Storm Surge is the rise in water above the normal tide that occurs when winds from a storm push water towards the shore.

Raising the Battery wharf to a level high enough to prevent flooding from a 100-year storm in the future would require a wall or structure several feet higher than the new Battery wharf and the current tidal range. A higher structure/wall would make Statue of Liberty ferry docking and passenger loading nearly impossible and also eliminate views to the harbor and Statue from the interior of the park, completely changing its historic context. Instead, protection from major storms will be provided further inland, by other components of Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency: South Battery Park City Resiliency now under construction and by the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan, now in development. The Battery itself will be adapted to withstand and recover from flooding from occasional major storms in the future by protecting critical infrastructure, improving drainage and installing more salt- and wind-tolerant trees and plantings.

The project is funded by the City (“City Capital” approved by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB) and the Budget is $200M

The Battery Conservancy, NYC Parks’ non-profit partner that helps bring resources and programming to the park, has provided guidance on design, materials, and planting throughout the design process. Local stakeholders were engaged through the planning and design process, regular project updates are provided to the community via Community Board 1, and construction notices are distributed widely. Anyone interested in learning more or following progress on this project can email the project team at info@batterycoastalresilience.com and request quarterly updates. Information for the public is also available on the project’s website here

Construction is split into two Phases and expected to last 2.5 Years, with completion in mid-2026. Phase 1 includes reconstruction of the Battery Wharf and Gardens of Remembrance Promenade from the South End of Pier A to the Southern Tip of the East Coast Memorial. Phase 2 includes reconstruction of the Battery Wharf and Gardens of Remembrance from the Southern Tip of the East Coast Memorial to the View Restaurant. Much of the park is open throughout construction and ferry service to the Statue of Liberty will not be interrupted. Please visit our Construction Notices page for up-to-date information for accessible areas of the Battery.

The Battery Park City Authority, a state agency, is constructing the South Battery Park City Resiliency project (SBPCR), one of projects that comprise the LMCR program. That project is an integrated flood barrier system extending from approximately the Museum of Jewish Heritage (MJH) to the northern edge of The Battery along Battery Place. Part of this project will rebuild the Battery Bikeway and landscape along the northern edge of the park. The Battery Coastal Resiliency project will connect into the SBPCR at Pier A Plaza. More information on that project can be found at https://bpca.ny.gov/sbpcrp/

Up-to-date information for accessible areas of the Battery Can be found in our Construction Notifications Page: Construction Notices. Much of the upland park remains open including key destinations such as Castle Clinton, the Playscape, the Bosque Fountain & Gardens, the Battery Urban Farm, the Battery Woodland, Sea Glass Carousel, the Battery Labyrinth, and public restrooms which are available at Castle Clinton, north of the Labyrinth, and the View Restaurant.

During the project’s design phase, we consulted extensively with the operators of the View restaurant at the southeastern corner of the Battery. The restaurant will remain open during Phase 1 construction until its license agreement with NYC Parks expires on July 29, 2025, which also coincides with the start of Phase 2 construction. In recognition of the impact to the restaurant’s operations of the relocated NPS security tent and ferry passenger queuing, NYC Parks is amending the View’s license agreement to reduce the license fee. NYC Parks intends to issue a solicitation for a new license for the restaurant after Phase 2 construction is complete.

Yes! In acknowledgement of this space as a critical local resource, our construction manager was able to adjust the site fencing and an off leash area is provided within the area known as the Oval lawn. We are working closely with The Battery Conservancy to keep the park as open as possible.

Yes! Maintaining critical maritime functions was a key consideration during the planning process, and ferry services to Statue of Liberty are still available throughout construction. Tickets may be purchased online https://www.cityexperiences.com/new-york/city-cruises/statue/ or at Castle Clinton. Passenger screening and ferry docking during Phase 1 will take place at the southern end of the park near The View Restaurant. During Phase 2, screening and ferry docking will return to the area near Castle Clinton. For more information visit the following website: https://www.nps.gov/stli/getinvolved/new-screening-battery.htm

Currently, there are ferry services to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island from the Battery. Parks will continue those operations and is open to discussing other activations with local stakeholders, including Community Board 1. Any new vessel services, such as historic ships, would need to be evaluated on a case by case basis.

The newly constructed Battery wharf will allow for sweeping views of the New York Harbor, and include improved accessibility to the wharf, seating, lighting, and gardens. Ferry service to the Statue of Liberty will continue to depart from the wharf during and after construction. Architectural renderings of the Project can be found on our Gallery Page.

After 9/11, New York City and the National Park Service (NPS) agreed that Statue of Liberty ferry passengers must be screened before boarding ferries to Liberty Island, and the tent on the wharf near Castle Clinton was erected by NPS to handle that. NPS would like to improve the pre-boarding experience for Statue of Liberty visitors and reduce impacts to the park. While NPS has studied other locations and means to screen passengers, a suitable available site has not yet been identified. Relocation of the screening continues to be a long-term goal of NPS and the City.

The American Merchant Mariners Memorial sculpture and Finger Pier will be restored as part of this project, but no work is planned for the Finger Pier. As the sea level rises, a part of the pier and memorial will be underwater at high tide, but the memorial was designed to be viewed at different water levels. The organization that maintains the monument is the NY Maritime Association; more information can be found at www.nymaritime.org

The following monuments are being protected and/or refinished/restored as part of the project and therefore inaccessible:

• Admiral George Dewey Memorial
• American Merchant Mariners Memorial
• East Coast Memorial (partially inaccessible)
• Emma Lazarus Memorial Plaque
• Garden of Remembrance Plaques
• Korean War Veterans Monument
• Netherlands Memorial Flagpole
• Norwegian Veterans Memorial
• Peter Caesar Alberti Marker
• The Immigrants
• Walloon Settlers memorial
• River that Flows Two Ways

The Environmental Review includes the Archaeological Assessment and is publicly available (https://a002-ceqraccess.nyc.gov/ceqr/ search CEQR number 20DPR002M). Per recommendations made in the Phase IA Archaeological Assessment, an archaeological unanticipated discovery plan (UDP) and protocol were developed and will be utilized during the construction phase to prevent potential impacts to the identified archaeological resources. The UDP and protocol developed by an archaeologist are included in construction documents and be in effect during all construction-related excavations. LPC and SHPO guidance are incorporated into the UDP.

The UDP protocol is summarized here:
-if an unanticipated archaeological resource is discovered, work immediately stops within the area of the discovery
-the construction manager records the discovery and location with photographs and mapping
-the project archaeologist may visit the site to assess the significance of the findings
-if the find is determined to be of no archaeological significance, work can resume.
-if the find is significant, plans should be made to avoid by redesign if possible or document prior to impact according to established archaeological procedures
-in the unlikely event that human burials or remains are encountered, established protocols with the NYC Medical Examiner and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Director of Archaeology will be followed

You can email the project team at info@batterycoastalresilience.com and request quarterly updates. Please also see the project website here.