For anyone in the world seeing the stunning photo on the cover of New York Magazine (see NYC-half-dark), Battery Park City (BPC) stands out as an island of light in the surrounding darkness after Storm Sandy hit NYC. How in the world did this Zone A neighborhood manage to survive that terrible storm surge that destroyed so much of NYC’s coastline?
First, let’s look at the damage the storm wreaked on this part of the city. (See A Survey of the Flooding/New York Times.) In general, the storm surge inundated all areas that were built beyond the historical shorelines of the city, except for the BPC “island.” The buildings across West Street in the financial district were flooded, as were the buildings on the east side and South Street Seaport, right up to where the original shoreline used to be. The new, but not opened yet, BPC Community Center and recreation fields, under contract to open under Asphalt Green management, were flooded temporarily. Gateway Building 400 lost its power due to a flooded electrical panel in the basement, but had it restored on November 2, sooner than most areas below 34th Street.
BPC is in Zone A and therefore had a mandatory evacuation order. The residents were informed of the flooding to come, and many moved themselves and their cars out of the area. Although the flooding period was rather brief, even that short surge was able to do massive damage in many areas, knocking out office buildings and a majority of hospitals along the fringes of the city. So, why not BPC too?
BPC was not saved by luck or chance. The initial Master Plan in the 1960s by Harrison and Abramovitz Architects dreamt up a futuristic city-within-a-city. This new BPC would have a few gated entries, guarding it from the adjacent neighborhoods of Tribeca and the Financial District. Vehicular traffic and parking would stay on the lower levels of the infill land, with the upper “ground level” dedicated to pedestrians only. Buildings were laid out and shaped to preserve views to the river. For more than a decade, most construction was delayed due to lack of bond sales to finance the work. (See my article “Building out into the waters” in WestView News November 2012)
By 1979, a new Master Plan and Esplanade designed by Cooper Ekstut Associates was accepted and funds were available to start the first buildings, the Gateway Plaza “affordable rental” apartments. This new plan included zones for different land uses, streets integrated with the existing adjacent streets (with the usual mixing of vehicles and pedestrians), and specific guidelines for visual character and building features.
The next buildings to be erected, during the 1980s, were 3 World Financial Center (WFC), 2 WFC, and the Wintergarden (a Grand Central size atrium with huge palm trees), which were connected to the twin WTC towers. In addition, in the 1980s, more apartments were built at Liberty House, Rector Park, Rector Square, and Albany Street. The sequence of building after 1990, to the momentous year of 2001, was Wagner Park and the Regatta Club, Liberty View and the Cove Club, Rockefeller Park and Stuyvesant High School, the Jewish Museum, 5 WFC, Tribeca Park and the South Cove Park, Hallmark Senior Housing, and River Terrace apartments.
Perhaps it was the slow gestation period that helped develop design guidelines that would protect BPC from future storms. BPC was certainly in a vulnerable position, built on landfill out in the Hudson River, and part of the estuary waters of the ocean’s tides. The architects and engineers took into account the damage caused by storms from the sea and sky. The new buildings were designed with their ground floors and garage entrances high enough above sea level to be above the floods. The raised ground is designed subtly, with park buffers on the west, and streets rising up from the West Street highway that separates BPC from the Financial District.
Beyond that ground shaping technique, other engineering features had to be built into the new structures. Electrical power stations and gear, pumps and equipment had to be kept high enough to keep from getting submerged and ruined. Tanks for fuel or other material had to be in rooms that would not get flooded.
As the years passed, and more development took place in BPC, the Authority was able to enforce new design guidelines to enhance the quality of life for the city. Sustainability “Green” features are now required of newer buildings in BPC (and beyond to the city government buildings) and public benefit non-profits were given priority for storefront spaces. The new “green” features include:
- A garden of plants on roofs to absorb or recycle more of rainfall
- White or paverblock roofs to reflect solar heat instead of absorbing heat
- Insulated curtainwalls with layers of hi-efficiency glass
- Pervious pavements, indigenous plants, and recycled watering
- Recycling trash
- Incorporate recycled materials into construction specs
- Use more locally produced materials for construction
- Use healthier, less toxic and less polluting materials in construction
In the years following 9/11 Green buildings following the USGBC LEED System have included the 2003 Solaire, the first Gold LEED tower in the city, the 2005 Tribeca Green, the 2006 Verdesian, the 2008 Visionaire, and the 2009 Riverhouse, the first LEED Platinum tower. They all faired well in the storm.
Members of the real estate industry have already learned the lesson of Storm Sandy. At a panel discussion on December 13, 2012, entitled “Lessons Learned: What Hurricane Sandy Means for the Future of the Real Estate Industry,” panelists Governor David Paterson, Joseph Stitt of Thor Equities, Steven Witkoff of The Witkoff Group, and Scott Rechler of RXR Realty and vice chair of the Port Authority Board, highlighted the lessons.
In the bigger picture, Gov. Paterson said the total damages would amount to $70-80 billion, and that this is a regional disaster, and the regions’ governments should work together on solutions to the problems. Although Congress has promised $60 billion in disaster aid, it has not passed a funding resolution. He called for aid relief to be non-partisan and non-politicized, not the way it is now.
The panelists recalled the ways which New York City has come back from other disasters, and predict it will find a way back from this one too. Mr. Sitt said this was the time for action to find ways to protect the city from another flood or attack. London, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Venice (not to mention Amsterdam), have spent billions to build infrastructure to protect their cities. Our infrastructure needs to be better protected. It’s either pay now, or pay more later.
Mr. Rechler noted that our airports are built close to sea level, and need protection from storm surges. The traffic tunnels in downtown areas acted as sump pits, absorbing flood waters that may have caused more damage without them. On another topic, he noted that after 9/11, fuel tanks were required to be moved to basement levels, which ended up leaking and polluting the flood waters; we need to revisit this requirement.
Mr. Witkoff commented that Sandy has already caused improvements at one of his development projects. At 150 Charles Street, a new apartment building that already incorporates many “green” features, he plans to install generators on the roof, with protected pumps and electrical equipment, has reinforced his concrete foundations, and has ordered Hurricane Doors. On the other hand, people are still eager to buy apartments on the water here, despite the fact that Superior Ink, the Meier glass towers, and other West Street properties are severely disabled, and may not be fully operational for months. He is planning to open a sales office in a month and has been advised that apartment prices could be 20% higher than anticipated, despite the storm havoc that has been created in the area.
Lessons have been learned from BPC’s example and leadership in environmental design. We can be confident that applying those lessons will help us weather the next storm.
