[Eidolon]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...549500542.html
Quinn Calls for Sea Wall to Shield City
MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL
November 13, 2012

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the front-runner in the 2013 race for mayor, outlined Tuesday a series of flood-prevention measures—including the possibility of building a storm surge barrier—that could cost upwards of $20 billion.

Speaking before a civic group two weeks after superstorm Sandy devastated the region, Ms. Quinn described flood protection as the "single most important infrastructure challenge of our time." Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration agreed at the council's request, Ms. Quinn said, to accelerate two studies to identify risks faced by different sections of the city and develop the best strategies for protecting those areas.

Ms. Quinn pointed to the steel gates that protect London from the powerful tides on the River Thames and the barriers that helped protect Stamford, Conn., from the wrath of Sandy last month. For years, Ms. Quinn said, there have been discussions, largely in academic circles, about whether these types of barriers would work in New York City.

"Well, the time for casual debate is over," Ms. Quinn said. "It's now crystal clear that we need to build protective structures. This will include both hard infrastructure, like sea walls, bulkheads or flood gates, and natural defenses, like sand dunes, wetlands and embankments."

Ms. Quinn's comments are a departure from one of her biggest supporters, Mr. Bloomberg, who has raised questions about the cost and effectiveness of storm-surge barriers. "You can't build a wall up to the sky," Mr. Bloomberg, who steps down next year after 12 years at City Hall, said on Friday.

Mr. Bloomberg reiterated those remarks on Tuesday, saying "building a barrier along the whole Atlantic coast is not something that even science can handle, much less the finances of our government."

As the race to succeed Mr. Bloomberg gets under way, his administration's response to the storm and proposals surrounding protecting the city from future storms will, no doubt, be a major issue on the campaign trail. On Monday, mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson, a former city comptroller, lambasted the Bloomberg administration's response to the storm, saying thousands of people in public-housing developments that still don't have power are "being ignored."

"Many seniors, families and city workers are trapped in the cold and dark," Mr. Thompson said. "This is not indicative of a world-class response to a crisis."

Ms. Quinn is the first of the candidates eyeing the mayoralty to deliver a major policy speech on the issue, speaking Tuesday morning before the Association for a Better New York. In the audience were some members of the mayor's administration and Joseph Lhota, the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, who Ms. Quinn lauded for his efforts to restore transit service quickly.

In her speech, the speaker said a storm surge barrier could cost $16 billion; the other measures she discussed could cost an additional $4 billion. The lion's share of these costs should be paid by the federal government, she said.

"We need the federal government to invest in New York's citizens, to help us build New York safer than before," said Ms. Quinn, eliciting a round of applause.