Adams Administration Plan Includes Over $75 Million Investment, Urgent Infrastructure Improvements in Area Plagued by Excessive Flooding and Sewage Problems That Have Gone Unaddressed for Decades
City Agencies and Community Leaders Will Kick off Community Planning Process to Prepare Comprehensive, Long-Term Plan for Affordable Housing and Economic Opportunity
New York City Mayor Eric Adams today kicked off the Jewel Streets Neighborhood Plan, an effort to deliver much-needed quality of life improvements — including infrastructure improvements to alleviate flooding as well as new affordable housing — to the “Jewel Streets” neighborhood, also known as “the Hole,” on part of the Brooklyn/Queens border. Backed by more than $75 million in initial funding, the Adams administration’s planning process aims to bring resiliency measures to this chronically flood-prone area, improve street infrastructure and pedestrian safety, and create new, affordable housing and economic opportunity for residents of this community that has long suffered from flooding and been deprived of public investment.
Building on more than a year of engagement with elected officials, community members, and local organizations like the East New York Community Land Trust and the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and other city agencies, will present ideas to the community for alleviating flooding, build stable and affordable housing on vacant city-owned land, and create economic opportunities.
“The decades of government ignoring this community and leaving residents to fend for themselves against regular flooding ends now,” said Mayor Adams. “The infrastructure, quality-of-life improvements, and economic opportunities we are prepared to deliver for this community would be a game-changer. We are excited to bring this plan to the residents, get their feedback, and chart a path forward together.”
Flooding on Amber Street in the Jewel Streets neighborhood. Credit: New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
New York City Department of Environmental Protection workers making construction improvements on drainage upgrades in the Jewel Streets neighborhood. Credit: New York City Department of Environmental Protection
The Sweet Brook Bluebelt on Staten Island, one kind of tool being considered for the Jewel Streets area. Credit: New York City Department of Environmental Protection
“No community in our city should suffer from the chronic flooding and lack of basic infrastructure that has persisted in the Jewel Streets neighborhood for years,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “With the city’s planning effort, we will make critical investments in resilient infrastructure and facilitate the creation of jobs, housing, and community services to ensure that this is an inclusive ‘jewel’ of an area for years to come.”
“The community of Jewel Streets urgently deserves the basic infrastructure foundation and reliability that the rest of New York City takes as a given: proper drainage after storms and a connected sewer system,” said Deputy Mayor of Operations Meera Joshi. “The time is now to meet these needs and go beyond by also developing affordable housing and economic opportunities. Working together within government and with the community, we will build a stronger and broader world for the current and future residents of Jewel Streets, rendering the infamous name ‘the Hole’ a distant memory.”
“Residents of the Jewel Streets have endured conditions no New Yorker should have to face, and the city is honored to work with them to build the neighborhood they deserve,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “Following through on the housing and homelessness blueprint’s vision to keep New Yorkers safe in their homes in a changing climate, the Jewel Streets plan will be a model to create a climate resilient future for the city.”
“When we talk about investing in the Jewel Streets, what we’re really talking about is treating Black and Brown New Yorkers with dignity and respect. Having visited the Jewel Streets myself, I’m outraged at the deplorable conditions people live with right here in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, and we have the opportunity to change that now,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “In collaboration with the impacted community, we are working on immediate infrastructure solutions and a master plan that is driven by how best we can serve these New Yorkers, reverse decades of environmental injustice, and build more affordable housing and a better quality of life. Rather than being called ‘the Hole,’ the Jewel Streets must be a shining example of resiliency and heathy living. I look forward to the first workshop later this month.”
“The Jewel Streets neighborhood sits in a bowl roughly 10 to 15 feet below the surrounding streets, which makes building a functional drainage system challenging, but the short-term upgrades we have made over the last year have provided some real relief to residents,” said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. “We will continue to work with our partners and the community as our engineers study the feasibility of other longer-term drainage solutions, including the use of green infrastructure or more traditional sewer upgrades.”
“Jewel Street residents know far too well the impacts that climate hazards such as flooding can have on housing, safety, and quality of life,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Acting Executive Director Victoria Cerullo. “We look forward to our continued partnership with elected officials and community members on resilient stormwater infrastructure, affordable housing, and economic opportunity to advance environmental justice and deliver on our PlaNYC initiatives.”
The effort to bring quality-of-life improvements and economic opportunity to the Jewel Streets neighborhood delivers on a key strategy in “PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done” to implement multilayered strategies for flood resilience. It also builds on central planks of Mayor Adams’ “Housing Our Neighbors” blueprint focused on fostering resilient neighborhoods and keeping New Yorkers safe in their homes amid climate change.
The Jewel Streets is a 12-block neighborhood that straddles East New York in Brooklyn and Lindenwood in Queens. Because the neighborhood is a low-lying area without comprehensive stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure, residents experience year-round flooding, even on sunny days. Most streets in the neighborhood today contain open industrial uses or overgrown, vacant lots, including a 17-acre city-owned site. And though wild plants grow tall along street edges, industrial uses and septic tank leaks have contaminated the land and groundwater. Pedestrian safety has also been an ongoing challenge, with few sidewalks or crosswalks available for pedestrians and tractor trailers, recreational vehicles, and other abandoned vehicles frequently stored on the street.
Beginning this month, the Adams administration will kick off a holistic community planning proposal where residents will be able to weigh in on a series of tools to address flooding, including a bluebelt and a drainage pond to divert rainwater from sewers; green infrastructure, like rain gardens to provide additional capacity to absorb rainwater; upgraded sewers with expanded capacity to serve as the first line of defense against flooding from rain events; and additional supportive tools such as raised streets. Community members will also have an opportunity to share perspectives on ways the city can make streetscape upgrades to improve safety and connectivity to nearby neighborhoods, create affordable housing on city-owned land, stimulate the creation of good jobs and community amenities, and develop a long-term land use and zoning plan.
In partnership with the community, the Adams administration will develop targeted resiliency strategies for the respective areas north and south of Linden Boulevard. The city has received $2.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds that will go towards planning work around resiliency measures and affordable housing creation. For the northern area, the administration is investing $72.8 million in new and upgraded resiliency infrastructure. In the southern area, community engagement will inform efforts to redirect water to Jamaica Bay and reduce current and future flood risk, explore green infrastructure to further reduce flooding, build new affordable housing, and create retail space and good-paying jobs.
The planning process, which will cover both sides of Linden Boulevard, is organized around five core goals:
- Build resilient, green infrastructure and improve community resilience.
- Outline a community-supported vision for city-owned land, including a 17-acre vacant lot.
- Improve street infrastructure, pedestrian safety, and connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods.
- Facilitate the creation of jobs, community services, and amenities.
- Develop a long-term land use plan for the Jewel Streets.
This stage of the process will begin with the first of five public workshops on June 24, 2023, with the Adams administration planning to bring final recommendations to the community by early 2024 and a final neighborhood plan in place later in 2024. Community members will have additional opportunities to learn about the process and share feedback both in person and online. Anyone interested in participating can find more information or submit questions or comments online.
Since April 2022, the Adams administration has been working closely with a community coalition led by New York City Councilmember Charles Barron, the East New York Community Land Trust, and the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation to develop solutions to the long-term challenges facing residents of the Jewel Streets. Since then, DEP has completed projects in 2022 and 2023, installing new storm sewer infrastructure and catch basins both north and south of Linden Boulevard. Photos of the project completed this year are available online.
In addition, the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) are working jointly to tow illegally parked cars and conduct targeted clean-ups of vacant lots. Since February 2023, the agencies together have removed more than 400 vehicles in 26 coordinated joint agency operations. Overall, the NYPD this year has towed 220 large trucks parked illegally overnight on residential streets across the city.
“This administration is committed to equity, and DOT is proud to join in this effort to deliver services to the residents of the area,” said New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “We look forward to this planning process and working with our partner agencies to enhance resiliency and accessibility in the Jewel Streets area and to continue delivering projects in historically underserved communities.”
“The NYPD fully embraces our city’s ongoing mission to foster safe and secure environments that enable communities to prosper,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “Our officers work tirelessly to ensure that New Yorkers are safe and that they feel safe, too. And this seamless, multiagency effort advances the very best of our cohesive public-safety vision.”
“New Yorkers who live in the Jewel Streets neighborhood deserve clean, safe streets, and ‘New York’s Strongest’ have been proudly running targeted clean-ups of this area throughout 2023,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “Mayor Adams’ investment will make a meaningful difference in the quality of life of this long-ignored community.”
“This interagency effort is starting to correct the mistakes of the past and is charting a path towards a better, brighter future for this community,” said New York City Department of City Planning Director and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick.
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