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Sandy Resilience Plan for Public Housing in Coney Island

Rebuilding to blend social resilience and economic success in New York City

  • $200M

    Investment

  • 1,500

    Unit Complex

  • New York, New York

    New York, New York

Our restoration plan for social housing sets the stage for community and environmental resilience

When Superstorm Sandy slammed into the northeastern US in 2012, flooding hit New York City Housing Authority properties on Coney Island especially hard. 1,300 dwellings lost heat, power, and elevators for weeks. Working with Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, we developed a $200-million rebuilding plan to protect community facilities from future disasters, upgrade damaged housing, and lift the entire neighborhood.

Our recovery plan begins with new community facilities designed to withstand floods and serve as staging areas for rescue in severe weather. New lines of defense include flood barriers at each building, green infrastructure to reduce flooding, and essential systems such as energy-efficient boilers, flood-protected elevators, and backup generators. But a long-term vision addresses community-wide issues—such as social resilience, economic stability, and job opportunities—with new types of affordable and mixed-income housing. We also provided new income-generating activities, a multimodal approach to transportation, and better architectural design.

In short, we reached beyond simple planning to help a community of vulnerable residents move towards a safer, more stable future.

At a Glance

Offices
Meet Our Team

Caitlin DiDonato, Senior Associate

Continuous communication with clients is key, especially when working on projects that are moving at a quick pace.

Eric Smith, Senior Principal

Working in a city with many unique opportunities allows us to leverage our experiences and provide the right solutions for our clients.

Evan Wilbert, Principal

Leveraging relationships to make a project the best it can be is my passion.

Caitlin DiDonato

Senior Associate

Eric Smith

Senior Principal

Evan Wilbert

Principal

We’re better together

  • Become a client

    Partner with us today to change how tomorrow looks. You’re exactly what’s needed to help us make it happen in your community.

  • Design your career

    Work with passionate people who are experts in their field. Our teams love what they do and are driven by how their work makes an impact on the communities they serve.

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