New York Harbor Deepening Discussed

During Estuary Week in September of 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, took to the waters within the New York Harbor Estuary and hosted a “Partner Harbor Inspection” aboard the Corps vessel MV Hayward.

Attendees included the Corps senior military leaders, Brig. Gen. William Graham, Commander of the North Atlantic Division and Col. David Caldwell, Commander of the New York District and over 70 representatives from Federal, State, municipal, non-Government organizations, and academia.

The MV Hayward set sail early morning and traveled down the Hudson River into the New York Harbor, westward along the Kill Van Kill Channel and into Newark Bay, NJ where the bay is dotted with various port facilities.

Col. Caldwell made the introductory remarks as the vessel traveled along waterfront with agency heads, civic leaders and partners seated on the bow.

The MV Hayward traveled along the waterfront route as partners took to the microphone and spoke about accomplishments, future partnering, restoration activities, and methods to continue to work collaboratively.

Individual New York District representatives provided overviews about the Corps’ missions and programs of Civil Works, Operations, Sandy, and ecosystem restoration.

Specific briefings by Corps project managers and points of interest included the South Shore Staten Island Coastal Study, Hudson River Habitat, Liberty State Park, Harbor Deepening completion, Passaic-Hackensack Rivers-Newark Bay Superfund mission, Passaic Tidal, Passaic-Hackensack restoration, and Old Place Creek study.

A comprehensive overview of the Bayonne Bridge Raising Project was briefed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with briefings about the water syphon project by the City of New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Rebuild by Design Projects by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Col. Caldwell also spoke about the recent celebration of the completion of the New York Harbor Deepening, one of the largest Civil Works projects in the nation.

Discussed also was the 50 million cubic yards of dredged material from the harbor deepening that resulted in the restoration of more than 160 acres of marsh islands in Jamaica Bay, N.Y., the stabilization of the shoreline at Plumb Beach, N.Y, the restoration at Lincoln Park in Jersey City N.J., and placement of sand along the shoreline to protect beaches.

Also discussed was Corps and partners working together on post Sandy recovery projects making significant progress to restore beaches and expedite ongoing planning efforts to manage coastal storm risks and the implementation of 59 projects throughout the region.