A federal audit is requiring Richmond to pay an additional $744,418 of the bill for the flooding of Battery Park three years ago. The additional expense represents money the federal and state governments would have paid as part of the $42.5 million project, except the audit determined the costs were excessive or improper. The audit, completed Aug. 31 by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, determined that $783,598 in costs were ineligible for reimbursement under a formula that allocates 75 percent of the expense to the federal government, 20 percent to the state, and 5 percent to the city.

The sinkhole that sank Battery Park is about to disappear. A $20 million project to prevent flooding in Shockoe Bottom is all but done. Richmond officials say they have lived up to their promises, five years after the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston flooded Shockoe Bottom and Shockoe Valley and three years after neighborhoods around Battery Park filled with sewage during Tropical Storm Ernesto.

The rains came. In 2006, Tropical Storm Ernesto pounded Central Virginia. Waters rose. Battery Park in North Richmond suffered extreme damage. An urban oasis was transformed into an eyesore that attracted snakes and rats. The neighborhood lost a source of recreation and pride. Yet despite its frustration with the restoration process, the community never stopped fighting for its cause.

Tayvon Simpson, 17, sat on a stone wall in the blazing heat yesterday waiting for a three-on-three basketball game to get going. People milled around him, celebrating a milestone many did not think would happen: the rededication of Battery Park in North Richmond. “This park is important to me because there is a lot of history here,“ said Simpson, a junior at Richmond Technical Center. “Black history. Arthur Ashe used to play on the tennis courts.“

Richmond’s Battery Park neighborhood is hosting its first Night of Lights from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008. Come walk through the neighborhood and enjoy the luminaries and holiday light displays, along with treats and sweets at host houses. (The walking tour will start at the corner of Hanes and Essex). Bring your family and friends and enjoy the spirit of the holiday. All are welcome.