The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project – a 2.5-mile stretch of flood and storm protection along the East River in Manhattan – is highlighted in a Bloomberg story tracing the project’s history back to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rebuild by Design competition in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. In the feature, reporter James Russell speaks with many voices involved in the project, including BIG Associate Jeremy Siegel; Matthijs Bouw, founder of One Architecture & Urbanism; Eric Ilijevich, Director of Coastal Resiliency at New York City’s Department of Design and Construction; and Molly Bourne, Partner at Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA). ESCR is designed by BIG, MNLA, ONE Architecture & Urbanism, and AKRF in collaboration with residents of the Lower East Side. The project weaves together flood barrier walls and gates, bridging berms, and pedestrian bridges with open lawns, picnic areas, tennis and basketball courts, and other amenities – building social infrastructure alongside a more resilient waterfront. Sections of the project are now open, with the remainder slated to open in 2027.
