Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Battery Park City residents rally as Wagner Park overhaul project looms
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Sep 7, 2022
Modified Sep 8, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Catalina Gonella
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Sep 7, 2022
Modified Sep 8, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A group of Battery Park City parents and their kids gathered at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday to protest a resiliency project that would involve the demolition and reconstruction of the greenspace to protect the area from flooding.
The park’s overhaul is part of the $221 million South Battery Park Resiliency Project, which aims to protect the coastline from storm surges and rising sea levels in the face of climate change. The proposal was drafted as a response to the catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Protesters called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state public benefit corporation known as the Battery Park City Authority to halt construction at the park, citing concerns that the overhaul wasn’t completely necessary and would disrupt the matured trees throughout the park.
“I have lived in Battery Park City my entire life, and places like Wagner and Rockefeller Park have been essential to my upbringing,” 13-year-old Azalea Torres said on Wednesday as a lineup of teenagers and toddlers spoke about what the park meant to them.
The reconstruction of the park, which is set to begin in a matter of weeks and last about two years, would elevate the public space 10 feet and include a buried flood wall.
A spokesperson for Hochul did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Nick Sbordone, spokesperson for the Battery Park City Authority, pushed back against the assertion that trees would be lost, saying the plan would bring a net increase of more than 100 trees to the area, including 91 more in Wagner Park than presently. He also said his group considered community input and incorporated it into revisions of the plan, increasing the amount of lawn space by 74% compared to earlier renderings, for example.
“After more than three dozen public meetings on the project held over nearly six years, we’re proud to move forward with a plan that prioritizes science, has broad local support, and is shaped directly by this community feedback,” he said in a statement.
The set of revisions arrived in August after the authority took heat from elected officials representing the area, including state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and state Sen. Brian Kavanaugh. Both lawmakers heralded the revisions as welcome news for the residents living around the park.
“I am excited and heartened to see that the BPCA has adjusted its plans to add nearly 13,000 square feet of green space and additional trees in its new design,” Niou said in a statement in August. “I look forward to continuing the conversation on other elements of this project, and I thank Community Board 1 and other neighborhood organizations for their tireless work to fight for a community-centered design.”
Battery Park City resident Betty Kay said the state agency has been communicative about the process since it was first proposed six years ago.
“I think they’ve been very responsive,” Kay said. “Did everyone get everything they wanted? Of course not.”
Thad Pawlowski, a professor and managing director at Columbia University’s Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes told Gothamist that projects that reimagine the coastline are key to protecting the communities that live near them.
“New York city's coastline is gonna change because of climate change and we can either be proactive about it or just suffer more consequences like Hurricane Sandy,” Pawlowski said.
He also said the back-and-forth between residents and developers does not need to be so contentious, adding, “I feel like we've gotta get better, collectively, not just government, not just the Battery Park City Authority, but community groups also have to get better at talking to each other about how they get this done in a way that doesn't sow more discord and misinformation.”
Tagged
battery park
manhatta
Wagner Park
Catalina Gonella
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .