Plans for a promenade on Flushing Bay were approved by Queens Community Board 7 in 1987, but were delayed due to a lack of funds. In 1994, a Key House Appropriations subcommittee authorized the money for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to study dredging the Flushing Bay near where the dike was built. The measure of this plan was drafted by Rep. Thomas J. Manton and was aided by Rep. Nita Lowey. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey sought final approval during the summer of that year from the City Council to build the $41-million safety overrun on a landfill. The USACE subsequently allocated $2.7 million toward a feasibility study for a cleanup. In 1999, the Parks Department negotiated a deal with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. This plan was also to build a 28.5-million-gallon sewer overflow tank under the river to relieve flooding in the area. A redesigned, refurbished Flushing Bay promenade began that May. Though the promenade was reopened in 2001, its "rotten egg" smell remained.
