Vulnerable to climate change, New York constructs seawall
After major storms highlighted New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates to protect it from rising sea levels.
[...]
The completed wall will reach as high as 16.5 feet, Foley said. The project will also include gates to prevent water from seeping into Manhattan, home of the densest population in the United States.
The wall between 23rd and 20th streets is already constructed, an area where the East River and residential housing are at their most narrow.
[...]
The city will also plant some 1,800 trees -- nearly double the number that the project's construction has destroyed, along with an additional 1,000 in the neighborhood, said Sara Nielsen of the New York City Parks Department. Some 500 new trees have already been planted.
[...]
But the project is far from enough: New York's some 520 miles of coastline faces forecasts of more than two feet rise in sea levels by 2050 and nearly six feet by the end of the century.
[...]