Homeowners in Breezy Point, Queens, face major decisions in coming months as the federal government prepares to issue new flood elevation maps and state and local governments begin to disburse Sandy relief funds. Located on the western side of the Rockaway Beach peninsula, Breezy Point was pummeled by Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29 last year. Some 350 homes were lost in the storm, 125 of them from a fire that swept through part of the community that night and the remainder in the 4- to 5-ft-high floodwaters that rose as the Atlantic Ocean on the south side met the Rockaway
In some of the regions hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy, utilities—including Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) and Atlantic City Electric in New Jersey; Consolidated Edison and Long Island Power Authority in New York; and Connecticut Light & Power—are putting prevention plans in place to guard against the impact of future storms. Related Links: ENR New York More ENR New York Projects While most utilities were criticized for their storm response, at least one, Atlantic City Electric (AC Electric), garnered some praise. In a recently released Sandy responsiveness study by J.D. Power and Associates, a sister firm of ENR
The 15 million gallons of seawater that Superstorm Sandy dumped into the three-year-old South Ferry subway station in lower Manhattan are gone. What still lingers are what specific measures the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's New York City Transit division (NYCT) will take to safeguard the station when it reopens. Photo Courtesy of MTA Submerged: Located on Manhattan's southern tip, the South Ferry station took on 15 million gallons of water. Officials are studying how to flood-proof it. Related Links: Sandy Deals A One-Two Punch To Big Apple South Ferry Terminal: Project Of the Year The $545-million South Ferry subway station at
Some homeowners in New York state, New York City and New Jersey that were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy have a few options. These include rebuilding, which in some cases will require homes to be elevated above flood levels, or accepting a government buyout offer. Photo by Sharon Karr/FEMA Moving up: Some homeowners already have decided to stay put and are elevating their homes, like this one in Ortley Beach, N.J. Related Links: ENR New York More ENR New York Projects There are three separate buyout plans pending—one each from New Jersey, New York state and New York City. Each
Seven months after last October's Superstorm Sandy drowned low-lying zones in the New York metropolitan area and hobbled different parts of the region for days, weeks or months, government advisers and industry groups continue to clamor for a pan-regional "resiliency czar" to coordinate efforts—at all levels of government—to boost the region's disaster resistance. Related Links: New York Building Congress AIANY The groups are promoting grand and small plans to harden, replace or construct communities to better weather floods. Most of their recommended changes are not new concepts. The simpler ones are happening."The good news is that there is no lack
The impact of Superstorm Sandy on the region's power, transportation and institutional infrastructure was clearly evident to millions of customers who suffered outages, delays and dislocations. The hurricane's effect on regional environmental infrastructure—drinking water and wastewater treatment plants—was less obvious to most people but amplified their vulnerability to wind and water threats. Related Links: ENR New York Engineering News Record Sandy caused 11 billion gallons of partially treated and untreated sewage to flow from plants flooded by storm surges or rain into waterways in Washington, D.C., and eight East Coast states last October, according to a report by Climate Central,
The Louis Berger Group, New York, has hired Kirit Mevawala as director of rail and transit. He will be based in the company's Morristown, N.J., headquarters and serve as project manager for the Northeast Corridor Maglev project and support other rail and transit initiatives. Mevawala Related Links: ENR New York ENR Featured People LeChase Construction Services LLC, Rochester, N.Y., has named H. Jessie Brewer vice president. He will report to Kyle L. Sayers, executive vice president.Lehrer LLC, New York, has appointed Norbert W. Young as executive vice president.The LiRo Group, New York, has hired Michael Rennard as head of its
Tristate Photo By Sue Pearsall Working Together: Some New Jersey union contractors welcome more DOL prevailing wage inspections. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York Featured News Will Sandy Work Trigger More DOL Site Visits? The New York state Dept. of Labor (DOL) says it has no specific plans related to ramping up inspection activities this fall. But that does not convince some industry professionals who contend that contractors will likely encounter more DOL officers showing up at their sites to enforce prevailing wage rules. They say this will especially be the case beginning in late summer or early
Officials in beachfront towns from Cape May on the Jersey Shore to Montauk on Long Island have been celebrating the return of their beaches and boardwalks in time for the start of summer this month. But there is still much work left to do to repair Superstorm Sandy's damage along the coastline and to harden defenses for future storms. There is even more debate on what are the best long-term protections and who will pay for them. Related Links: ENR New York More ENR New York Projects Pushing SandAs part of its traditional mission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Now that proposed Superstorm Sandy-triggered changes to New York City zoning are out for public review, building owners, designers and contractors are eagerly awaiting the second piece of the post-Sandy regulation puzzle: proposed modifications to the city's building code. The adjustments to the two sets of regulations should go a long way toward aiding the design and construction of buildings that are safer and more resilient when exposed to floods and other major climate-related events, says Robert D. LiMandri, New York City's commissioner of buildings. Drawing Courtesy of the New York City Dept. of City Planning Possible Modification: Proposed rules
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