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,
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
A s Superstorm Sandy bore down on the New Jersey coast last fall, officials at the Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin huddled to figure out what to do. Nor'easters had historically pummeled the low-lying area laced with inlets, and so the hospital was taking the storm seriously. To compound problems, Southern Ocean was nearing the end of the first phase of a two-phase project to build a new emergency department (ED) and renovate its existing ED structure. The 32,500-sq-ft project would more than triple the ED's size and nearly double the hospital's patient rooms to 42. Related Links: ENR
Squeezed between towers and tunnels under construction, and with only two street access points, crews are digging away at the third and final phase of the now popular High Line on the West Side of Manhattan. While many questions loom regarding coordination among multiple other parties and future funding for some aspects of work, High Line participants are benefiting from lessons learned from the previous phases and public embrace of the project. Related Links: ENR New York More ENR New York Projects When construction on the first two sections of the elevated High Line park began in 2006, New York
From Hudson Yards' long-awaited $843-million first building to several $150-million-plus towers, the tristate region's ranking of the top 25 projects to break ground last year show that building tall and building big is back. The residential sector, in particular, dominates tower construction on the list, with most buildings advertised as luxury apartments and condos in prime New York City locations. Related Links: This Year's Top Starts Rankings Top Starts of 2011 Top Starts of 2010 Despite such gains, the aggregated total contract value of the largest 25 starts is about $7.9 billion, even with the prior year's level, which was
A college campus is supposed to be a place where students can lose themselves in thought, ensconced in an academic bubble as they stroll to and from class. But at New Jersey's Montclair State University, those reveries were threatened with disruption starting last summer by a $92-million project to upgrade an aging power and thermal plant that involved digging a large and deep trench through the heart of the campus. Related Links: Engineering News Record More ENR New York Projects The trench, which will carry steam and water pipes, measures 15 ft across and up to 20 ft deep in