{"id":60709,"date":"2025-12-04T14:16:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/60709\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T14:16:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:16:09","slug":"city-to-build-build-nature-based-flash-flood-protections-in-prospect-park-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/60709\/","title":{"rendered":"City to build build \u2018nature-based\u2019 flash flood protections in Prospect Park \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prospect Park, beloved for its wide lawns and woodsy trails, will soon offer another benefit to the neighborhoods around it: flood protection.\n<\/p>\n

The city will build Brooklyn\u2019s first \u201cBlue Belt\u201d<\/a> \u2014 a \u201cnature-based\u201d flood management system that aims to manage stormwater and improve natural spaces \u2014 in the park, building on the Prospect Park Alliance\u2019s ongoing Lakeshore restoration<\/a> projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work means faster drainage, new rain gardens, restored wetlands, and nature-based flood protections that keep homes and streets dry,\u201d said Jeff Roth, Deputy Mayor of Operations. \u201cThis is government at its best, using science, partnership and shared purpose to meet the challenges of a changing climate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"mapThe project will include new ponds and rain gardens throughout the park. Image courtesy of NYC DEP<\/p>\n

Design for the $68 million project has just begun, officials said, but the basic tenants are already in place after a year-long drainage study of the park and the surrounding neighborhoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most critical part of the project are improvements to the lake\u2019s drainage system so it can take on more water during large storms.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, there\u2019s kind of a rudimentary mechanism where there\u2019s like a six-inch plank that [the Alliance] lifts up and [the water] slowly lowers,\u201d said Sangamithra Iyer, Chief of Blue Belts & Urban Stormwater Planning at DEP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can take up to two weeks for the lake to lower significantly, she said, and large storms aren\u2019t often predicted so far in advance.\u00a0
\n\"geeseThe project will be designed to reduce flash flooding and protect and improve wildlife habitats. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann\n<\/p>\n

The project will increase the capacity of the drainage system, allowing the lake to be lowered in 36 hours. (The drain will be designed to be protective of wildlife, Iyer said \u201cso the turtles won\u2019t get sucked into it.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re able to do is, when a storm is coming, create space in the lake so the drainage flows into the lake rather than flowing out of the lake, which happens so often,\u201d said DEP commissioner Rohit Aggarwala.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Increased capacity in the lake will allow for the rest of the project to function. The Department of Environmental Protection and parks department will work together to build new ponds and rain gardens to help capture and channel rainwater into the lake, rather than pooling on the ground or running into nearby streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"blueThe improvements will allow the city to drain the lake ahead of large storms, said DEP commish Rohit T. Aggarwala.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

The new project will make use of some of the park\u2019s historic features. Prospect Park was designed so that all stormwater would flow into the lake, said Morgan Monaco, president of the Prospect Park Alliance. But a lot has changed in 150 years.<\/p>\n

Studies found that the soil in the park has become compacted and unable to absorb much water. During heavy rainfall, the water flows much faster than it used to, and much faster than the lake can contain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On top of that, climate change has brought more frequent, more intense storms to New York City \u2014 the four most intense rainstorms in the city\u2019s history have all been in the last four years, Aggarwala said \u2014 and the park\u2019s infrastructure can\u2019t stand up to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the new ponds will be constructed near Flatbush Avenue just north of the Prospect Park Zoo \u2014 which suffered catastrophic flooding<\/a> during a massive storm in October 2023. That plan was in the original plans for Prospect Park, Aggarwala said, but was later filled in. When restored, it will help capture rainwater from Flatbush Avenue and prevent flash flooding on the avenue and in the zoo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"renderingA rendering of the restored pond north of the Prospect Park Zoo. Image courtesy of NYC DEP<\/p>\n

Another pond will be constructed on West Drive, near the park\u2019s southern edge, to help \u201cslow and redirect floodwaters\u201d to protect nearby homes and streets, Aggarwala said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rain gardens along West Drive will further help absorb rainwater.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be really lovely park amenities with that, you\u2019ll be able to walk across those waterways and enjoy the newly-restored Bluebelt area,\u201d said Wendy Sperduto, DEP\u2019s assistant commissioner for engineering and planning. \u201cThat water will really slow down the west lake path and if it comes out of that area in extreme events, it should be routed to the lake, where the lake can now absorb the additional volume of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0The park\u2019s natural topography brings all water to the lake, and the improvements will allow that to happen more slowly, without flooding. The Blue Belt will filter the water before it reaches the lake, Aggarwala said.<\/p>\n

\"westAn image of the rain gardens on West Drive.Image courtesy of NYC DEP<\/p>\n

With design underway, construction is expected to begin in 2029 and wrap up in 2032. When the Bluebelt is complete, DEP will assess its impact by monitoring flooding on nearby streets using the city\u2019s FloodNet system, Aggarwala said.<\/p>\n

Karl-Henry Cesar, chair of Community Board 14 \u2014 which includes Flatbush, Midwood and Kensington \u2014 said the board had been advocating for flood protections in the area \u201cfor over a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parts of the district are particularly flood-prone, he told Brooklyn Paper. During heavy rains, intersections and street corners flood, and some storms have inundated homes and apartments with water, causing significant damage. In October, a 39-year-old man drowned<\/a> in his basement apartment in East Flatbush as a flash flood swept through Brooklyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CB14\u2019s efforts have yielded mixed results, Cesar said, but the Blue Belt felt like a victory.\u00a0
\n\"karlCommunity Board 14 Chair Karl-Henry Cesar said the board has been advocating for better flood protections for over a decade. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a beautiful thing that both of these agencies together, they\u2019re listening, right? And this work is starting,\u201d he said. \u201cIs it anywhere near the finish line? Not at all, but it\u2019s nice that the work is starting.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he hoped to see consistent transparency and engagement from DEP and parks as the Blue Belt is constructed and afterward. The project might not address all of the neighborhood\u2019s flooding issues, he said, and climate change could create new issues in years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that would make me feel real bad would be, OK, this project crosses the finish line and that\u2019s the end of the engagement,\u201d he said. \u201cThis energy and this collaboration, if we can maintain this and improve it and cultivate it even more, I think that\u2019s something that would be an important need for making sure that if additional measures need to be implemented \u2026 we have the environment to do that stuff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prospect Park, beloved for its wide lawns and woodsy trails, will soon offer another benefit to the neighborhoods…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[32449,98,100,99,7443,32450,32451,4663,10532,3242,32452,32453,32454,14236,32455,32456,7126,1637,15737,5883,9,24,369,12,370,63,10649,7127,15739,15740,32457,794,32458,32459,32460],"class_list":["post-60709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-blue-belt","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-climate-change","tag-community-board-14","tag-dep","tag-department-of-environmental-protection","tag-ditmas-park","tag-environment","tag-flash-flood","tag-flatbush-avenue","tag-flood-protections","tag-flooding","tag-jeff-roth","tag-karl-henry-cesar","tag-kensington","tag-lake","tag-morgan-monaco","tag-nature","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-parks-department","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-parks","tag-prospect-lefferts-gardens","tag-prospect-park","tag-prospect-park-alliance","tag-prospect-park-lake","tag-prospect-park-south","tag-prospect-park-zoo","tag-rohit-t-aggarwala","tag-wetlands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}