in Hoboken years of planning and construction are being celebrated today at the opening of the city's new resiliency Park it's a five-acre area that can detain up to 2 million gallons of storm water during heavy rainfall the city famously filled up like a bathtub during superstorm Sandy and the resiliency park has been in the works ever since senior correspondent Joanna gagas reports this park is a model for the communities across the country that are grappling to to deal with the impacts of climate change Hoboken mayor Ravi Bala joined with Governor Murphy and U.S senator Bob Menendez this morning to announce the grand opening of the resilient city park an outdoor space designed to protect Hoboken from flooding during storms this park will detain up to 2 million gallons of rain water to help combat chronic flooding borrowing from the Dutch this park was designed with an underground storage system that collects water from plants and Gardens throughout the park and from porous surfaces where rainwater drains into underground storage basins the idea started after superstorm Sandy ravaged this city here in Hoboken a 14-foot storm surge left most of the city underwater I'll never forget traveling to the city witnessing the devastation of flooded PATH stations towering debris and Rubble residents kayaking in the streets Senator Menendez acknowledged the brick Grant Federal funding that was allocated to Hoboken to rebuild its infrastructure in a way that would prevent future flooding that's expected to increase as sea levels rise administered by FEMA this grant is focused on resiliency efforts before disaster strikes the design also mitigates the harmful impact of flood water going back into the Hudson River by treating the water first before it's pumped out using this massive Pump Station there is treatment in the the park itself and then the pump station right now it pumps everything right back to our treatment plan what this is doing though is the million gallon storage tank is delaying everything so it's keeping all the water here on site until we can finish treating everything we need to treat at a storm rain ends and then we can turn on the pumps here to pump it back to the treatment there's still another phase of this project in the works excess storm water from the northern reaches of the city will soon be routed here where that too will be collected treated and then pumped back as clean water into the Hudson River gallon per gallon this reduces the amount of untreated Wastewater going into the river and that contributes to our achieving what after all is a principal goal set for us by the U.S EPA and the New Jersey dep a cleaner Hudson River but Beyond cleaning the river the parks intended to improve the community with recreational ball fields kid play areas and more open Green Space In This Very developed City this will serve as a reminder of the importance of environmental productivity while also providing a beautiful natural space that further embellishes Hoboken something these little ones seem to already understand this is already going to be a place where we're going to spend a lot of time for sure this park is a powerful example of how we can and should be preparing for the future projects a message from Governor Murphy that was nearly drowned out by protesters demanding a stop to other fossil fuel projects that they say run counter to the governor's clean energy goals the one that I get the most amount of heat on I think there's a very legitimate debate to be had because it's a backup generator in the East Ward of Newark which exists entirely to prevent what was a catastrophic environmental reality in superstorm Sandy when sludge and Sewer was spewed into this into the streets of the East Ward of Newark proof that the road to resiliency is long labored and sometimes as messy as the storm's it aims to prevent in Hoboken I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News