Southern Brooklyn Overview

The southern part of Brooklyn most impacted by Sandy is home to approximately 200,000 people, living in seven major neighborhoods. While the vast majority of homes are privately owned, most of the residential units are in multi-family buildings. The area is largely residential, with some key neighborhood commercial corridors, destination attractions, and large institutional presences. Southern Brooklyn also houses critical infrastructure for transportation and wastewater treatment. As a very brief overview of what happened during Sandy:

• Intense wave action and flooding occurred along the oceanfront and significant inundation also occurred via “backdoor” flooding involving inlets and creeks
• At the peak of the storm, the ocean met the bay in many locations, and as much as 350,000 tons of sand was displaced from the Coney Island/Brighton Beach coastline
• Damage was exacerbated where coastal protections were inadequate and old building stock was ill-prepared
• More than 80,000 housing units were located in areas that experience inundation, with impacted businesses employing more than 25,000 people
• Key infrastructure was significantly impacted with disruption to critical services

SIRR conducted ongoing briefings with elected officials, community boards, and community-based organizations in Southern Brooklyn and held two public workshops in the area, designed to acquire feedback directly from the residents.You can read more about these workshops by clicking on the links below:

Coney Island / Brighton Beach / Manhattan Beach / Sea Gate Public Workshop