Boston council panel reviews $2.5 million in coastal resilience grants for Moakley Park

BOSTON — February 23, 2023 — Boston's city council environmental panel reviews $2.5 million in Moakley Park-area climate grants. The Committee on Environmental Justice, Resiliency, and Parks, chaired by District 6 Councilor Kendra Lara, heard testimony Thursday from Environment Commissioner Alison Brizius on two dockets: a $1,633,500 FEMA earmark called the Resilient Moakley Connectors Project, which funds two to three years of pre-construction coastal planning north and south of Moakley Park, and a $870,000 Barr Foundation grant split over three years to fund staff and microgrid pilot work under the Climate Ready Boston initiative. Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty pushed for offshore levee and breakwater discussions, warning that flooding threats to Day Boulevard, Morrissey Boulevard, and the Red Line could "choke off the neighborhood." Brizius said a prior harbor-wide barrier study conducted with the Army Corps of Engineers concluded coastal defenses were still necessary regardless of any offshore structure. No votes were taken; both dockets advance to the full council.