12:33:11 | 2012-10-31
(New York, NY) — Governor Andrew Cuomo said the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has caused the World Trade Center site to endure excessive flooding on Tuesday.
At a press conference on Tuesday morning the Governor stated, “What I saw last night in downtown Manhattan were some of the worst conditions I had ever seen.” His assessment provided the first official description of the effects the storm has had on the WTC site. He noted that the force of the over flow of the Hudson River into the Ground Zero site was causing concern about the structure of the pit itself.
As an executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and also the bi-state agency’s top New York official, Patrick Foye also gave insight on the situation. He doubted that any structural damage at the WTC had been caused by the storm but that the floodwaters may have damaged installations of various equipment and electrical systems.
Mr. Foye also mentioned that roadways surrounding the WTC site such as West, Washington, and Cedar streets, had all been flooded during the storm. The offshore rise of water poured through the Vehicle Security Center and into the WTC site. The ramps that allow traffic to pass underground seemed to have served as a chute for the excess water from the storm.
What makes the WTC so vulnerable to flooding is its location near low-lying neighborhoods. In a press conference Tuesday morning Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Joseph Lhota said that the storm had completely flooded a nearby South Street station located at the southern tip of Manhattan.
Mayor Bloomberg said on Tuesday that the storm had flooded all major under-river subway tunnels causing the subway system to be “closed until further notice.” He said that “no firm timeline” had been determined for its reopening and that he hoped at least a few buses could start running again later Tuesday.
According to the mayor, the city’s two biggest challenges are going to be restoring mass transit and electricity to the many 60,000 city residents without power.
(Crains New York) | —Email sabrinag@brokerpulse.com
