$10M flood protection plan slated for Long Beach's north shore 

Long Beach city officials say a bulkhead project planned for the city’s north shore will offer partial protection from storm surges and flooding from the bay.

The Long Beach City Council voted Wednesday 5-0 to approve a nearly $10 million contract to start construction of the north shore bulkhead project, which will protect public land on the city’s bayfront facing Reynolds Channel.

The city awarded an 18-month, $9.9 million construction contract to Bayville-based Woodstock Construction Group to build more than  a mile of bulkheads from the city's West End, along West Bay Drive and public land, through the east end canals along Doyle and Heron streets.

The project is funded through the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), which will issue payments for the city to pay the contractor as the bulkheads are completed. Acting City Manager John Mirando said he hopes construction can begin by the end of November once plans are approved with engineers.

“This is one piece of the puzzle that will protect those areas from erosion and prevent flooding even during normal high tide, given the condition of the existing bulkheads,” Mirando said.

The new bulkheads will be 3 feet higher than the bulkheads there now. The project came $1.5 million under budget, and the extra money could be used for additional projects, Mirando said. The city is planning to meet with residents near the canals before work begins.

“The bulkheading in the canals is in absolutely terrible shape,” Mirando said. “This will also allow us to redo the roads. To redo the roads now would be a waste of money without the bulkhead being secure.”

The city’s initial bulkhead plan had to be retooled after the state told city officials in 2017 that their $28 million plan to include private homes would not be covered.

Long Beach was awarded $12.5 million in 2013 from GOSR to build bulkheads using vinyl sheeting, steel tie-backs and concrete anchors.

The private bulkheads would have required work easements and agreements with residents to build on private property. The City Council may still need to amend city code to require residential bulkheads to be built at the correct base flood level elevation, Mirando said.

In lieu of city or state funding for private bulkheads, the city is offering to build residential bulkheads through a 20-year financing program using city bonds. Homeowners will pay a tax surcharge. The city has about 25 participants already enrolled, Mirando said.

The city is also planning to issue $20 million in bonds to build a half-mile of neighboring steel bulkheading to protect critical infrastructure on the city’s north shore.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated funding to reimburse the city for bulkheading to protect the city’s wastewater treatment plant, the water purification system, electric substation and the Long Island Rail Road station.

The city’s infrastructure on the bayfront was flooded during superstorm Sandy in October 2012. Long Beach is part of an intermunicipal agreement with Nassau County that will eventually transfer sewage to Bay Park and convert the city’s treatment center into a pump station.  

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.