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Storm Protection Measures Going Up Along Part Of Far Rockaway

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Reinforcements are going up along a stretch of the Rockaways that was decimated by superstorm Sandy.

The storm barrier of more than 7,500 bags filled with 20,000 tons of sand will stretch from Beach 55th Street to Beach 149th Street when the dune construction project begins next month.

At the end of Beach 133rd Street in the Belle Harbor section of Far Rockaway, a four-foot concrete wall is already being built.

Storm Protection Measures Going Up Along Part Of Far Rockaway

"It's primarily there to hold back the sand. It's not a wall that if Sandy came back would hold up on," Belle Harbor resident Hank Iore told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.

Iore, the president of the Belle Harbor Property Association, said he'd like to see several lines of defense in the Rockaways,  including double dunes and rock jetties.

Belle Harbor Storm Protection
Rose Klein, Hank Iore and Peter Larkin of the Belle Harbor Property Association (L-R) on the beach in Far Rockaway, June 19, 2013. (credit: Marla Diamond/WCBS 880)

"I don't want to live through another Sandy. I want to be able to see this community buttoned up," Iore told Diamond. "We're in hurricane season and at this point in time, we're in great jeopardy of having a storm come down and destroy everything we've tried to rebuild."

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his ambitious flood protection program for the city.

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