Full Proposal Narrative

Transcription

1 Full Proposal Narrative West Street Watershed Stormwater Project Area 2 - LEGACY PROJECT This project will expand the scope of the West Street Watershed Stormwater project funded in round 1 of the GCEF Large Grants RFP by 757,856 square feet of drainage area. The new project area, Area 2, is shown in the drawing below. It will extend the area of stormwater treatment and retention to Commercial Street on the north and McGuinness Boulevard on the east. As before, the project will capture stormwater to reduce the occurrence of combined sewer overflow events on the East River and Newtown Creek in Greenpoint. It will use captured stormwater to increase the quantity and viability of native plants on the residential streets.

2 Overview. The project is to implement green infrastructure in Area 2 to achieve maximum stormwater treatment and management throughout the residential areas of Greenpoint west of McGuiness Boulevard. The project will result in a further major decrease in the volume and frequency of raw sewage releases from the City s combined sewer system in this area by diverting over 5 million gallons of stormwater from the combined sewer system annually. It will further demonstrate the potential for using a sewershed- based approach to stormwater management at other locations in Greenpoint and along the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Please see the map below showing the Greenpoint sewersheds that release combined flows to the interceptors on West Street and Franklin Street and to CSOs (illustrated by red dots) on the East River and the mouth of Newtown Creek. The drawing on the preceding page illustrates our current project As Project Area 1. Area 1 is the surface watershed that drains toward the West Street and its combined sewer interceptor. Area 2 expands our focus from the surface watershed to the rest of the sewersheds that that drain to the West St and Commercial St combined sewer interceptors indicated by black lines on the sewershed map above.. The focus of this proposal is Area 2 where total impervious surface in the public right of way totals 1,034,413 sq. ft. We have calculated the annual rainfall on these impervious areas at 29,660,054 gallons. NYC DEP is implementing green infrastructure in roughly 276,557 square feet of Area 2, leaving 757,856 square feet for our work. The DEP installations will serve as match for the requested grant. This 757,856 SF area lies outside of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection s (DEP) priority areas where it is targeting its resources to satisfy a consent order with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

3 The map below shows locations of some of DEP s planned 204 installations in the sewershed that releases to the CSO outfalls under the Pulaski Bridge. This represents an investment in construction cost alone of $7.5 million. DEP expects construction to start in December Please see the uploaded DEP match start letter from DEP. The combined projects (Area 1, Area 2 and DEP s) will have a significant impact in reducing CSO events from Greenpoint at the mouth of Newtown Creek and a greater impact in reducing CSO events along the East River. They should make Greenpoint the NYC community with the lowest rate of combined sewer overflow events that originate from within the community. Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) has worked with the Greenpoint community since 2005 to plan the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway through dozens of public meetings and public planning workshops. The greenway has broad support within the community. Background. BGI and Regional Plan Association commissioned the West Street Sustainable Stormwater Study completed by WE Design in Its objective was to determine the potential to divert stormwater from the combined sewer system through the installation of a combination of green and grey infrastructure. The study also pointed out the potential to take a watershed- based approach to stormwater management that could cost- effectively divert the majority of stormwater falling on the public rights of way from the combined sewer system. During the design of the West Street capital project, BGI requested that DEP add effective stormwater management measures to the capital project scope. In conjunction with the pending construction of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway on West Street, NYC DEP is installing a high- level storm sewer between Eagle and Java

4 Streets that will divert 4.5 million gallons of stormwater annually from the combined sewer interceptor under West Street and send it directly to the East River. Groundbreaking on that project is expected in the next 12 months. In 2014, GCEF awarded BGI $1.9 million to install green infrastructure on the residential streets between Green St. Manhattan Ave., Calyer St. and Franklin St. NYC DEP s $5,030,000 high- level sewer installation on West Street was the match for this grant. To date BGI s technical team led by edesign Dynamics has prepared the GIS and AutoCAD files for the proposed GI installations including right of way bioswales ROWBS and stormwater greenstreets (SGS). The team determined potential ROWB and SGS locations within the project boundaries that met siting guidelines from New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). In accordance with DEP, these locations (totaling 5,258 SF) were documented using DEP s Tributary Drainage Area (TDA) spreadsheets and map format. The maps were submitted to NFWF in BGI s July 31, 2015 programmatic report. On 7/23/2015, the project team along with one representative from DEP, three representatives from DOT, and one representative from DPR, reviewed all proposed green infrastructure (GI) locations from the TDA analysis. DEP and DOT inspected the locations and dimensions to ensure that the sites met all necessary offset requirements. DPR reviewed proposed tree locations and recommended potential tree species. Based on the agencies guidance, five SGS and one ROWB were removed from the project list, and seven ROWB were added. This resulted in a reduction of the potential GI footprint to 4,501 SF, largely due to the decreased number of SGS locations. Given the larger size of SGS in comparison to ROWB, any loss of proposed SGS considerably affects the total footprint area. The current potential GI footprint is lower than the anticipated 4,845 SF footprint as presented in the project proposal. Given the stringent requirements for GI placement as per the agencies, the project team was often constrained by the streetscape, most commonly due to overhead tree canopy, narrow sidewalk conditions, and presence of doorways and vaults. After discussing the streetscape challenges with DOT, the project team obtained approval to revisit areas within the project boundaries adjacent to lower density residential properties for additional ROWB placement. These additional ROWB will assist in increasing our proposed GI footprint. While this will require a resubmittal of TDA documents and an additional agency walkthrough, the project team will advance this effort in parallel with our current set of approved locations to limit the impact on the overall project schedule. For the next quarter, the project team will finalize the preliminary ROWB and SGS locations (including the additional ROWB locations) and proceed with the geotechnical investigation and preparation for the subsequent surveying. Then, the the team will be

5 able to confirm the sites with the agencies that will move into design, the volume of stormwater storage each site will include, and the total volume of stormwater the sites should prevent from entering the combined sewer system annually On July 29, 2015, the team held a public meeting to which the broader community was invited to view the locations of potential GI installations and provide comment. Invitations were delivered door to door through BGI s and GCEF s newsletters and through social media. Approximately 30 people attended. Most signed on to support this application after receiving a briefing of the planned 2015 Legacy Application for Area 2. Area 2 Green Infrastructure Catchment Area is where the requested funding will be utilized. Sidewalks and streets between West Street, Commercial Street, McGuinness Boulevard and Calyer Street are the proposed locations for the installation of green infrastructure that will capture and retain a large percentage of the stormwater that falls there. Two forms of green infrastructure are proposed. DEP s standard x 4-5 bioswales (sometimes referred to by residents as stormwater gardens) will be installed on each block where they meet the guidelines for setbacks from buildings, driveways, street trees and other infrastructure. Stormwater gardens look like long tree pits that are intensively planted with salt tolerant and hardy, yet beautiful, perennials, native grasses, shrubs and trees. The planting soil in bioswales is specifically formulated to percolate stormwater to a stone filled reservoir below the planting soil that will retain the maximum volume of water while it slowly infiltrates into the subsoil.

6 The design of the stormwater gardens will follow the standards set by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) but will be inspired by other landscape design initiatives throughout the neighborhood, including the rain gardens at Transmitter Park and the native plantings in McCarren Park and at the Water Pollution Control Plant Nature Trail. In addition, Greenstreets will be installed at the ends of all blocks where they meet agency criteria and not conflict with existing street trees, hydrants, bus stops, etc. These Greenstreets are bulb- outs, where the curb curves out into the roadway to create a wider planting area. They offer a larger area for infiltration and at the lower end of the block that will receive the remaining stormwater flowing down the adjacent gutter. If the volume of water exceeds their capacity for retention, it will overflow to catch basins. Greenstreet bulb outs make crossing distances shorter for pedestrians improving the pedestrian environment. They will create attractive and inviting gateways into these residential blocks while calming traffic. Bioswales and Greenstreets offer further benefits. The trees and other vegetation in them sequester carbon. Tree canopies and other vegetation lower ambient temperatures, reducing the retention and radiation of heat from paved surfaces. They

7 create spaces for the restoration of native plant communities to areas that over time became devoid of native flora. Restoring native plant communities to areas adjacent to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is a key priority of BGI. BGI is restoring native species to multiple sites along the 14- mile greenway including the Naval Cemetery Landscape at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, three adopt- a- highway sites adjacent to the greenway, a new open space on Columbia Street and along new greenway segments on Van Brunt Street. Native plants are essential building blocks of a healthy ecosystem. Many insects are specialists. They have evolved in a symbiotic relationship with specific plant species. The most iconic of these co- dependencies is the monarch butterfly and swamp milkweed. Monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on milkweed. In the absence of milkweed there are no monarch butterflies. In the nation s agricultural heartland monarch populations have declined precipitously due to the extensive use of herbicides to control weeds in and around cropland. In northern Brooklyn, native plant communities had nearly vanished, displaced by aggressive invasive species such as artemisia (mugwort) and ornamentals. Please see the uploaded partial planting list for the right- of way bioswales and the stormwater greenstreets.

8 Installation of GI in Area 2 will further our goal of better connecting the existing and proposed parks and other open spaces into the center of the neighborhood. Many of Greenpoint s existing parks are along the edges of Greenpoint, including the East River waterfront, Newtown Creek and at the boundary with Williamsburg, such as McCarren Park. There are fewer, stepping stone parks within the inner blocks of Greenpoint. Please see uploaded file Concept Plan. The proposed garden swales and Greenstreets may be small but their collective impact as ecological connective tissue is significant. These stepping stone green spaces also provide important ecological and habitat connectivity. Greenpoint sits along an important migratory bird route - the Atlantic Flyway. The birds and other insects, such as the Monarch butterflies mentioned above, need places to stop, rest, and feed. These species can seek refuge within the center of Greenpoint, visiting these small habitat patches, while bringing joy to residents in seeing wildlife as part of their daily lives. Greenstreets and garden swales fall under the joint jurisdictions of NYC DOT, NYC DEP and NYC Parks. They are on DOT property. Stormwater is the responsibility of DEP and DEP has developed a design manual for right of way bioswales. Trees are the responsibility of Parks. This plan is the result of the combined input of the three City agencies, the BGI team, Open Space Alliance and residents of the area. Environmental Benefits Subject to the final approvals of DOT and Parks and the results of DEP- required studies including soil borings and surveys of underground utility infrastructure, we propose to install at least up to 54 bioswales and Greenstreets covering 4,150 square feet in Area 2. This will retain approximately 23% of annual stormwater volume on these streets, approximately 5,033,347 gallons as illustrated in the table. We will continue our existing methodology of proposing every possible bioswale and Greenstreet location (that meets the agency guidelines) for approval to proceed with geotechnical investigation. Of this approved list, the higher priority locations will proceed for geotechnical and survey investigation until the 54 final locations have been approved for design.

9 In the combined Area 1 and Area 2, 15,968,748 gallons of stormwater, or 32% of the total annual stormwater volume on public rights of way, can be diverted from the combined sewer

10 Project Need and Significance The Greenpoint community is challenged with poor water quality resulting from multiple impacts. A principal source of the area s water quality deficit is the frequent release of raw sewage into the waterbodies that surround Greenpoint on two sides, Newtown Creek and the East River. During heavy rains, the volume of stormwater entering the area s combined sewers exceeds the systems capacity, resulting in the release of raw sewage. The West Street watershed combined with Area 2 offers a unique opportunity to remove a major portion of annual stormwater volume that affects CSOs on The East River side of Greenpoint and in the mouth of Newtown Creek. The addition of Area 2 to previously funded West Street watershed stormwater improvements will further reduce the stormwater volumes affecting the 5 East River CSO s and will for the first time reduce flows to two CSOs on Newtown Creek. These combined projects can substantially decrease the probability and frequency of combined sewer overflows at these locations through the retention or diversion of 32% (15,968,748 gallons) of the watershed s annual stormwater volume. According to the 2010 census there were 9,726 people living in census tracts 563, 575, and 579, which cover Area totally, while Area 2 overlaps approximately one- half of 563 and a small section of 579. These are predominantly residential blocks within sewersheds that drain to the West Street Commercial Street and Franklin Street interceptors in Greenpoint. Workplan. The Team will first invite residents of the target area to a meeting to learn about the objectives of the project and the basics of green infrastructure. Then the team will survey the streets in detail to identify potential sites that meet all agency requirements. The team will submit maps identifying potential sites and other documentation required by the agencies and will schedule an agency walkthrough. Simultaneously, the team will hold a public meeting to invite comment from the residents of the area on the potential GI locations. Following the public comment meeting and the agency walkthrough, the team will issue RFP s to surveyors and soil testing firms and will conduct borings and surveys of the remaining potential sites. The team will analyze the results and submit them to the agencies for review. The team and agencies will determine if any of the sites must be eliminated. The result will be the final list of sites for design and construction.

11 The team will hold a public meeting to present the final list of sites and to show schematic designs and renderings of the sites. The team will complete plans and specifications for the construction of the sites and will issue a bid to qualified contractors. The team will select a contractor and award the construction contract. With the team s design and engineering consultants performing construction administration services and the team s construction manager supervising and coordinating day- to- day activities of the contractor, the team will complete the construction of each of the sites. The Contractor shall be responsible for procurement of all relevant permits though with assistance and guidance from the Team. The Team will review staging and scheduling along with all material submissions, shop drawings, health and safety plans, erosion and sediment control plans, traffic control plans, etc.. The contractor shall provide a Construction Superintendent in the field at all times throughout construction. As necessary throughout the construction process, the Team shall administer Contractor requisition approvals and payment. Upon completion, the Team shall confirm that all terms of the construction contract are fulfilled, confirm proper operations of new facilities, and shall host a walk- through of the entire site with any interested agencies present. Following completion, BGI staff will perform weekly maintenance of the sites for a three- year establishment period. Maintenance will include visits to each site no less frequently than bi- weekly during the growing season to weed, water as needed, mulch seasonally, remove litter and recruit and interact with citizen stewards providing them with the support and supplies and materials to adopt sites of their choosing. Maintenance will also include replacement of plants that die. Project Team Qualifications Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is a 501(c)(3) not- for- profit that has led local government, business and non- profit partners in the development of the 14- mile Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. One of BGI s objectives is the implementation of the greenway as the backbone for future sub watershed- based stormwater management systems. With funding from the NYS Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program under Title 11 of the NYS Environmental Protection Fund matched by private sector contributions, BGI has developing stormwater infrastructure design guidelines for fourteen priority greenway capital projects. BGI has completed community based conceptual plans for the greenway, design guidelines, a stewardship plan, the West Street Sustainable Stormwater Study, Stormwater Infrastructure Design Guidelines (Consultants We Design and edesign Dynamics), bid documents and concept plans for greenway open spaces. BGI is restoring the Naval Hospital Cemetery as a new native plant landscape and is pursuing the creation of other open spaces along the route. BGI is emphasizing the restoration of native plant communities on greenway open spaces and

12 on greenway segments and has recently established new sites on the Van Brunt and Columbia Street segments of the greenway. BGI is also pursuing the design of the greenway as a flood barrier in flood prone sections of Sunset Park and Red Hook. In partnership with NYC Department of Transportation, BGI has developed the first municipal Adopt- a- Greenway program under which BGI has adopted and will maintain the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Milton Puryear leads project development for BGI. He has coordinated planning and project development of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway since He is also the project manager for the restoration of the Mill River in Stamford, CT and the development of Mill River Park & Greenway. WE Design is a Brooklyn- based landscape and urban design firm with a practice in green infrastructure led by Tricia Martin, former president of the NY chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). WE Design began working with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative in 2008 on developing strategies for integrating green infrastructure into the framework of a Brooklyn Greenway plan. Since then, WE Design and BGI have secured two separate grants to expand our analysis to sub- watershed / neighborhood green infrastructure networks with the Greenway as the spine of the network. Our current project with BGI and in collaboration with edesign Dynamics is an extensive study that looks at design guidelines and typologies for integrating a sub- watershed wide green infrastructure system with the Greenway as both an important spine to this network which also optimizes climate change adaptation strategies. This study encompasses the entire 14 miles of the greenway with specific focus on Sunset Park and Red Hook. Other green infrastructure projects by WE Design include the water harvesting and rain gardens projects for the Henry Street Settlement Houses in Lower Manhattan, a green infrastructure community grant project with NYC Department of Environmental Protection for The Church of St. Luke and St. Mathew in Brooklyn, and a sustainable stormwater management plan and landscape design for an intergenerational playground for Pratt Towers in Brooklyn. Tricia Martin is invited to speak regularly on the topic of green infrastructure, is an adjunct professor at Columbia University where she teaches urban design with an emphasis on city- wide green infrastructure networks and is writing a book titled Greenways as Resilient Infrastructure for Island Press. edesign Dynamics is a NY engineering firm with a practice in hydrology and green infrastructure. Prior projects include the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 stormwater system, Gowanus Canal LID Study for CSO Control Plan, Fresh Kills, Staten Island Ecosystem

13 Planning and Design, PlaNYC, Bakersfield, Inwood salt marsh and freshwater wetland creation and many others. Eric Rothstein is a hydrologist with twenty years of experience working on ecosystem restoration and water resources planning within urban centers. He previously worked as a project manager for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation managing ecological restorations including salt marshes, fresh water wetlands, grasslands, and forests and developed naturalized stormwater management structures. Examples of Mr. Rothstein s built work can be found in all five boroughs of New York City and beyond. Since joining edesign Dynamics (EDD), Mr. Rothstein has managed numerous ecological and green infrastructure projects including some of those above. He has lectured on wetland restoration and stormwater management issues at the graduate level at Harvard, Columbia, and The University of Pennsylvania. He teaches continuing education courses to professionals through the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Eric has an M.S. in Soil and Water Engineering / Hydrogeology, Minor in Soil Science, The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1995 and a B.S. from the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Emphasis in Soil and Water Engineering / Hydrology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 1993, and he completed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Certification Training Program, Dr. Franco Montalto is a licensed civil engineer with a strong background in both applied and theoretical approaches to solving complex environmental problems. His 20 years of experience have included a variety of eco- hydrologic research, planning, and design projects, involving the restoration of wetlands and the use of constructed wetlands for wastewater and stormwater treatment, as well as work with green infrastructure and low impact development technologies. Formerly an adjunct professor at Cooper Union and a research fellow at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, he is now an Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, where he directs the Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory and oversees the monitoring of 25+ green infrastructure projects. This monitoring work has helped him to develop keen insights into how different GI facilities work under different climatic drivers, how they should be operated and maintained for sustained performance, and how they can be appropriately scaled to reflect a variety of different site conditions. He is the founder and president of edesign Dynamics LLC and is a licensed engineer in New York State and Pennsylvania. Recent work includes: NYC Department of Environmental Protection: Investigation of the Feasibility of Reducing Combined Sewer Overflows With Low Impact Development as part of New York City s Long Term Control Plan / Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Montalto served as the Senior Engineer for the development of a Rapid Assessment Method (RAM) for assessing the cost effectiveness of Low Impact Development (LID) measures (e.g. green roofs, porous pavement, and rainwater harvesting) to reduce the frequency of combined sewer discharges in New York City. He initiated research to scale

14 up findings to sewer service area scale. The project was eventually extended with U.S. Forest Service funds awarded to Dr. Montalto through Drexel University. Dr.Montalto holds a PhD, Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 2003; MS, Environmental Engineering and Soil Physics, Cornell University, 2000; BS, Civil Engineering, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, He is a registered Professional Engineer in New York and Pennsylvania and a member of American Geophysical Union, American Society of Civil Engineers, Water Environment Federation, The Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. Partners. NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) DOT is the owner of the property where the Greenstreets and bioswales will be implemented. BGI has worked closely with DOT in the planning, implementing and maintenance of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway since DOT approval of final design is required. NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) DEP regulates stormwater in NYC. BGI has engaged DEP in its stormwater planning and design for several years. DEP approval of final design is required. NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (Parks) Parks is responsible for the City s street trees and has an agreement with DOT for the creation of Greenstreets. Parks approval of final design is required. Open Space Alliance of North Brooklyn Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn (OSA) was formed in 2003 to raise private funds to expand and improve open space in North Brooklyn. OSA is modeled after other successful conservancies, working with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, elected officials, and the community to maintain, activate, enhance and expand local parks. Unlike traditional park conservancies, OSA is committed to improving ALL parks in Greenpoint and Williamsburg rather than focusing on just one. In doing so, less advantaged areas of the community can be improved by leveraging resources from more affluent parts of the district. In 2008, OSA signed a formal operating agreement with NYC Parks and hired an Executive Director who serves the dual role as the North Brooklyn Parks Administrator. Today OSA has six staff members including two maintenance workers and one gardener. OSA will serve as a principal outreach partner responsible for assuring effective public participation in the project.

15 Teresa Toro Teresa Toro, the local partner coordinator is a neighbor to most of the local residents and property- owner partners and is be the point of contact for project status and information. Teresa has a substantial career in transportation and public infrastructure working formerly for the Tri- State Transportation Campaign and Sam Schwartz Engineering. For many years, Teresa formerly served as the chair of the Transportation Committee of Community Board 1. Teresa has personally discussed the project with a large percentage of the property owners on the blocks in question and has formed a committee of block captains to extend communication about the project to as many residents as possible. Resident and Property Owner Partners The residents of the West Street watershed and the property owners on the blocks where the green infrastructure will be installed are the principal stakeholders and beneficiaries of this project. The team is committed to engaging with them throughout the implementation. We will work to reach as many residents as are interested in participating in the project. Communications A webpage for the project has been created on the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative website at greenway/stormwater- infrastructure/. All of the property owners and residents within the West Street watershed for whom we are able to secure addresses receive updates on the project progress. As this project is an important demonstration of BGI s watershed- based stormwater management strategy, BGI will promote it within NYC and NYS government and in the local and national media. It was already announced at a press conference with Borough President Eric Adams in January 2015 and will be featured periodically in BGI s newsletter. Our goal is that a successful implementation will lead to funding for similar projects in conjunction with other greenway capital projects. All publicity materials will acknowledge the support of the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund.