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THE BATTERY, Manhattan (PIX11) — There’s more to a new structure in Lower Manhattan than meets the eye.

A new stone wall surrounding Wagner Park and The Battery has been designed not only as a landscape feature but also as a critical line of defense against future flooding.

On a sunny October day, visitors may notice the wall’s design and texture before realizing its true purpose. The structure is part of a broader effort to protect Lower Manhattan from storm surge and rising sea levels.

Nikki, a neighborhood resident enjoying the park, said she’s happy to have the space back after years of construction.

“This is my backyard. Having Wagner Park back, to come here and see the sunrise, it’s beautiful,” she said while sitting on the lawn.

That lawn serves a dual purpose. In addition to being a gathering space, it also functions as a stormwater collection basin.

The wall itself is designed to become a flood barrier when severe weather threatens the area. Mechanical gates built into the sidewalks can be raised and locked into place to block incoming water.

“It feels like it’s part of the park,” said Raju Mann, president and CEO of the Battery Park City Authority. “If there’s a heavy storm event that pushes water in, the gate will flip up and lock in place and will protect the neighborhood.”

The project is one piece of a multi-billion-dollar effort to strengthen flood protection throughout Lower Manhattan. City, state and federal agencies are overseeing different portions of the work, depending on property ownership and location.

Along the East River, new parkland has been created as part of resiliency projects, while additional flood protection measures continue to be built along the waterfront.

The Battery Park City Authority is also preparing for the next phase of construction north of Wagner Park. That project will create a different type of flood barrier along the neighborhood’s esplanade. The roughly two-mile section is expected to take about four years to complete.

By comparison, the newly completed wall at Wagner Park stretches less than half a mile.

As part of the project, Wagner Park was elevated approximately 10 feet, creating both a recreational destination and additional protection from storm surge. New ramps and entrances are designed to help shield the neighborhood from flooding.

The improvements were inspired in part by the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, when floodwaters inundated Lower Manhattan, including the nearby Battery Park Underpass. The tunnel has since received protective flood doors.

Some residents and businesses are dealing with the construction-related inconveniences. People hope the result will be a safer and more resilient waterfront community.

“We’re trying to do it very carefully and not make it a big piece of engineering, but part of the landscape,” Mann said.

The project also includes a new bike path connection that fills a missing link between Lower Manhattan and Manhattan’s West Side.

Together with other resiliency projects underway from Tribeca to the East River waterfront, officials say the improvements will create a more continuous barrier against future coastal storms while maintaining and enhancing public access to the waterfront.

A flood mitigation project in South Battery Park City could not have been completed at a better time — right before a major storm hit the NYC metropolitan area throughout the weekend.

The Battery Park City Authority, Battery Conservancy, elected officials and community partners celebrated the completion of a major coastal resilience project, including the reopening of a scenic bike path around Manhattan’s southern tip on Sept. 24.

Dubbed the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project (SBPCR) the $221 million project adds flood protections stretching from the Museum of Jewish Heritage through Wagner Park, Pier A Plaza and the northern edge of the historic Battery.

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A spokesperson for the Battery Park City Authority told amNewYork the project, which includes new flood walls and landscaping features, helped secure the area from this weekend’s nor’easter, which battered parts of NYC with 33 mph winds, intense rain and flooding.

“Battery Park City has not been impacted by this weekend’s storm,” the spokesperson said. “ With an elevated Wagner Park, fortified Battery Bikeway and a coastal flood risk management system in place, SBPCR has strengthened the area’s long-term protection for more severe storms while delivering exceptional public spaces.”

Although Battery Park City was safe, a coastal flood warning remained in effect throughout the city until 6 p.m. on Sunday.

A new line of defense against flooding: The SBPCR

Meanwhile, the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project aims to significantly improve the area’s flood infrastructure, with certain areas of the project zone sitting at the lowest elevation in the park and needing robust flood protections, officials said.

The city, state and federal government have committed to funding the project, along with several others, as part of the overall Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) Master Plan, announced in 2024.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the completion of the SBPCR project will help protect the coastline.

“The completion of the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project delivers critical flood protection while creating a more vibrant public space for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy,” she said. “As we continue to build a more resilient Lower Manhattan, projects like this will help safeguard our coastline, support quality of life and prepare New York for the future.”

There are several food mitigation components to the resiliency project. It raised Wagner Park and Pier A Plaza above projected flood levels and added flood walls, gates and improved drainage systems to help protect the area, officials said. It also includes a new zero-carbon pavilion, updated landscaping and plazas, a stormwater storage tank, improved security along Battery Place and upgrades along the waterfront.

“With completion of the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project we’re proud to deliver an integral component of the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency initiative,” Battery Park City Authority Chair Don Capoccia said. “The work represents a vital and historic investment in downtown Manhattan – in its people, its infrastructure, and its public spaces. I thank the BPCA team, our partners at the Battery Conservancy, our local elected officials, and the range of community stakeholders who have come together to effectuate a more resilient future.”

In June, NYC completed the first phase of a separate part of the LMCR strategy that also included raising the waterfront in Battery Park.

A brand-new bike path

Local officials and Battery Park community members reopened the Battery Bikeway last week as part of the celebration of completing flood mitigation. The restored bikeway is a dedicated cycling path with scenic views for riders traversing Manhattan’s southern tip.

“From the unveiling of Wagner Park last July to the official reopening of the Battery Bikeway today, SBPCR represents years of hard work to make Lower Manhattan more resilient, and we are excited to celebrate its culmination with our partners and supporters,” Battery Park City Authority President & CEO Raju Mann said.

Council Member Chris Marte, who represents the area, applauded the reopening of the bikeway and completion of the flood mitigation project.

“The completion of the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project brings new flood protection to our waterfront, from the Museum of Jewish Heritage through Wagner Park and along the Battery,” Marte said. “With the Battery Bikeway reopening, residents, commuters, and visitors will also regain a dedicated cycling connection along the southern tip of Manhattan.”

Construction is finished on the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, a $221 million coastal flood protection system in Battery Park City, Manhattan. Designed by AECOM with a pavilion by Thomas Phifer and Partners and developed by the Battery Park City Authority in partnership with The Battery Conservancy, the project spans from the Museum of Jewish Heritage through Wagner Park, across Pier A Plaza, and along the northern border of the historic Battery. The system integrates open and buried floodwalls, deployable flip-up gates, upgraded storm drainage, and a storm-water retention cistern beneath an elevated landscape.

The Battery Park City Authority marked the milestone on September 24 with the reopening of the Battery Bikeway, a dedicated cycling path along Manhattan’s southern tip.

Since our last update in May, when the project’s storm surge walls were taking shape, the remaining program has been delivered in sequence. Wagner Park reopened to the public on July 29, 2025, elevated roughly 10 feet above its former grade, followed by the unveiling of the Wagner Park Pavilion rooftop last fall and the completion of the Wagner Pavilion Classroom earlier this year. The rebuilt 3.5-acre park includes a 1,200-square-foot venue for community use and a rooftop garden with views of the Statue of Liberty.

The pavilion, designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners, is a red-hued cast-in-place concrete structure defined by arched vaults and two circular volumes rising from its roof. The two-wing building houses a community room and park storage in its north wing and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant with park- and street-level dining in its south wing, and is certified as a zero-carbon facility by the International Living Future Institute.

The Battery Bikeway connects the Hudson River Greenway to the East River Esplanade and runs the length of Battery Park City, forming part of an uninterrupted 31-mile waterfront bicycle path around the perimeter of Manhattan.

Work is already underway on the follow-up North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project, which will extend the flood protection system from the Museum of Jewish Heritage to Greenwich Street in Tribeca. That effort, led by the Turner Construction Company–SPC Construction Co. joint venture and designed by Arcadis, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, and SCAPE Landscape Architecture, carries a $631 million budget and is anticipated to be completed at the end of 2030, per the authority’s construction schedule.