In more good news for the community, the Parks Department expects the project to be completed this Summer.

The roughly $15 million project began on June 24, 2005, after Fossella convinced a bevy of City, State and federal agencies that the badly-damaged walkway and seawall represented an imminent danger and should be given "emergency status" designation for immediate repairs. Fossella secured the long-sought agreement just weeks after hosting a walking tour of the area with the agencies and Community Board 10 Chairman Eaton to highlight the deteriorating conditions.

Fossella said, "A great deal of progress has already been made on restoring the seawall. In just a few short months, the people of Brooklyn will once again have access to this waterfront jewel. Once completed, this treasure on the water will be in perfect conditions for local families to enjoy. When I first brought agencies from all levels of government to the site, I stressed the importance of acting immediately to restore the seawall and walkway. We seized the opportunity and within weeks, we had secured an agreement for work to begin immediately. I want to extend my appreciation to Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioners Benepe and Lloyd and Community Board Chair Craig Eaton for their assistance in this important project."

Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe said, "The seawall has been replaced, sidewalks have been rebuilt and benches have been installed. One of Mayor Bloomberg's highest priorities has been to restore and expand our waterfront greenways, and we are pleased to announce that over 50% of the Shore Parkway Seawall is complete. We'd like to extend our thanks to our partners at DEP for helping to make this project a reality and we look forward to a ribbon cutting later this summer."

Community Board 10 Chairman Eaton said, "Community Board 10 has made the seawall replacement a top priority for many years. It was only after Congressman Fossella brought together the agencies and secured the agreement for the restoration that this project moved forward. The new walkway and bike path will be a tremendous benefit to residents across Brooklyn. I'd also like to thank John J. Natoli, Chief Engineer of the NYC Parks Department, and Marty Maher, Chief of Staff to Borough Commissioner Spiegel, as well as the Community Board Task Force Chair Thomas Colasuonno for their effort on this important project."

The following work has been completed since construction began, according to the Parks Department:

·46 of an estimated 60 barges of new rip rap seawall have been installed (each barge holds roughly 950 tons of boulders or about 200 linear feet of seawall).

·1,500 of 3,000 square yards of asphalt have been removed.

·2,500 square yards of 5,000 square yards of sidewalk have been removed.

·45 of 115 new benches have been installed.

The restoration project includes the removal of all loose material and grout from the seawall, the installation of a new rip rap boulder seawall, restoration of the original concrete wall, face blocks and coping stone. The walkway asphalt will be fully removed and completely repaved. In addition, 1,500 linear feet of new sea rail will be installed and eight sewers running below the seawall will be repaired.

The Shore Parkway Greenway was constructed in the 1940's to complement the Belt Parkway. It loops almost entirely around the borough's shoreline and features bicycle and pedestrian path for about 13 miles along the waterfront. From Bay Ridge Avenue to the Verrazano Bridge, the greenway a bicycle path and a separate but parallel pedestrian path.

Fossella previously announced that he has secured a $5 million federal authorization from the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to help offset the cost of the project. An authorization represents the first step in securing funding for a project, but does not represent an allocation of money.