NEW YORK, N.Y. — Construction has started on a $35.7 million project in the north end of Central Park in New York that is meant to ease flooding in Harlem and East Harlem and cut the park’s use of city drinking water, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
The North End Recirculation Project will rework how stormwater is handled in the northern part of the park. During heavy storms, more rain will be held in the park instead of rushing into the combined sewer system that also serves nearby blocks.
Once finished, the system is projected to keep roughly 132 million gallons of stormwater out of neighborhood sewers each year. It will also recirculate water to refill three park water bodies, including the Harlem Meer and the Loch, saving about 175 million gallons of drinking water annually that is now used to top them off.
Mamdani said the city has spent one of every three days this year under a flash flood activation. Central Park Conservancy chief Betsy Smith called it the group’s most ambitious infrastructure job so far.
City funding tops $19.6 million, with $14.2 million of it from the city Department of Environmental Protection. The state is adding a $10 million Green Resiliency Grant paid for by the 2022 Environmental Bond Act. Council Speaker Julie Menin put in $2 million, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal $500,000 and Council Member Gale Brewer $100,000, while Conservancy donors covered $3.5 million.
All five community boards around the park back the plan, and the city Public Design Commission signed off on the final design in December 2024. Work is scheduled to wrap up in fall 2028.
Section: More New York NY politics news
Filed under: New York NY Politics News
