BY GABE HERMAN | Anti-flood barriers can repel storm surges and look good while doing it, too.
Winning designs were announced earlier this month for the Seaport Community Mural Project, which will install designs on structures that are part of the city’s Interim Flood Protection Measure (IFPM). The announcement was made by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and New York City Emergency Management.
Thirteen designs were selected for the mural project. The chosen illustrations relate to various aspects of Lower Manhattan, including its history, architecture and connection to marine life, plus the project’s goal of protecting the area from floods.
The designs will appear on structures to be installed along South St. The murals will be printed on vinyl and installed late this summer or in the early fall and stay up for around one to five years.
The $3.5-million IFPM program will include the city’s Emergency Management installing “just-in-time” water-filled dams if a storm is imminent, along with pre-deployed sand-filled barriers. The protections will be installed along a section slightly more than one mile long in the Seaport area and parts of Two Bridges and the Financial District. They are intended to defend against a 10-year flood — meaning floods that have a 10 percent chance of happening in any given year.
