East Harlem Resilience

Along the East Harlem waterfront, Sherwood worked with Starr Whitehouse to develop a resiliency plan for the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC DPR). One of the main goals was to collaborate closely with NYC DPR, the Mayor’s Office of Recovery & Resiliency, and other agencies, as a multi-disciplinary team to re-engage the existing open and under-utilized spaces, as well as the connective corridors in between to create a social and environmentally resilient network.

The East Harlem neighborhood is vulnerable to storm surge impacts from the Harlem River and total surrounding urban runoff, putting additional stress on the already failing combined sewer system. Sherwood’s design addressed these issues, while also elevating the public space function and experience for the local underserved residents. Sherwood utilized our extensive experience in creating multi-functional green infrastructure in conjunction with an ambitious outreach program that engaged the community in the development of this resiliency plan. Our outreach program included facilitating multiple educational sessions and modules at the Dream School in Harlem; helping a new generation of bright students understand the challenges and participate in developing a resiliency plan.