NYC Completes First Phase of Battery Coastal Resilience Project to Protect Lower Manhattan from Rising Seas
New York City has completed the first phase of the Battery Coastal Resilience project, a major waterfront protection effort designed to help safeguard Lower Manhattan from rising seas, stronger storms and future flooding.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, NYC Parks and the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice announced the milestone on June 8, 2026. The project represents a $200 million investment in long-term climate protection for one of the city’s most historic and heavily visited waterfront areas.
The first phase rebuilt and elevated a portion of the wharf promenade in The Battery, helping protect the iconic public park from projected sea-level rise through 2100. The Battery sits at the southern tip of Manhattan and is both a beloved public space and a critical part of the city’s shoreline.
“The Battery is one of the most treasured public spaces in New York City, but it is also on the front lines of the climate crisis,” Mayor Mamdani said in the announcement. “We cannot treat climate resilience as something we can put off until tomorrow.”
The Battery Coastal Resilience project is part of more than $2.7 billion in Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency investments. Once completed, the broader strategy is expected to help protect more than 100,000 residents, 300,000 jobs and 12,000 businesses.
City officials said the work is about more than flood protection. The project also improves public access to the waterfront and preserves The Battery as a public space for residents, workers and visitors. Once complete, the reconstructed Battery wharf will feature improved accessibility, seating, lighting, gardens and sweeping views of New York Harbor.
The project also includes important environmental benefits. According to the city, the use of low-carbon and reclaimed materials, including granite, wood and bronze, helped reduce embodied carbon by more than 50 percent. By moving construction materials by barge through the city’s Blue Highways network instead of relying heavily on trucks, the project removed more than 2,000 truck trips from Lower Manhattan streets and reduced transportation-related carbon emissions by more than 90 percent.
The second and final phase of the Battery Coastal Resilience project is expected to be completed in 2027. That phase will reconstruct and elevate the remaining portion of the wharf. The full project is expected to support 400 construction jobs.
For Lower Manhattan, the project is part of a growing network of coastal protections that includes other resilience efforts in Battery Park City and along the waterfront. Officials said these investments are meant to create a stronger, more connected line of defense for residents, businesses, infrastructure and public spaces.
The Battery also carries deep historical meaning. Visitors to the park can experience more than a dozen monuments, including the Gardens of Remembrance, which honor those who died on September 11, 2001, and the thousands of survivors who escaped by ferry from The Battery.
As climate change continues to reshape shorelines across the country, New York City’s work at The Battery shows how cities are trying to prepare for the future while preserving public spaces that hold history, beauty and community meaning.
The completion of phase one marks a major step toward protecting Lower Manhattan while keeping one of New York City’s most important waterfront parks open, accessible and resilient for generations to come.
