(Posted Oct. 9, 2015) Three years after Hurricane Sandy, modifications large and small are still being made all around Lower Manhattan to prevent equal levels of destruction should there ever be another equally heavy-hitting super storm in the future.
As part of the ongoing effort, the Police Memorial in Battery Park City is now getting revamped electrical vaults, which will be located above ground between the upper and lower plazas outside the Gateway Plaza building at Liberty St. and South End Ave.
The original underground vaults were flooded during Sandy, debilitating the memorial’s water and light features.
At a meeting of Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee on Tues., Oct. 6, the new design for the two sheds was presented by Gwen Dawson, senior vice president of asset management at the Battery Park City Authority.
“It’s not huge. It’s only as tall as it needs to be to house the equipment so that it maintains the elevation above the flood plain,” she said, dismissing concerns about any heat, noise or vibration stemming from the structures. They will only house naturally ventilated electrical equipment and also power a portion of the North Cove Marina, as well as the adjacent playground and dog run.
“It will not impact any pedestrians on the plaza,” Dawson said.
Two trees lining both sides of the stairs from the upper to the lower plaza will make way for the sheds, which will have a wood and metal exterior and a slightly drooping roof. Construction will begin once a contractor is approved.
— YANNIC RACK
