The Flood

 

Following the deluge of destruction to the complex at NYU Medical Center during Hurricane Sandy, new protections were developed to combat the devastating effects of future floods.  The natural disaster had almost closed down the hospital. In the coming months the campus which stretched from 30^th street to 34^th street and 1^st Avenue to the FDR Drive would be encircled with emergency generators, boilers and all other services needed to run a major medical center. Submarine doors were installed on entrances facing east with the lowest elevations, as well as layers of temporary protection which could be quickly deployed with a few hours’ notice. This picture shows the carpenters having completed a timed drill installing a temporary flood barrier to protect the main entrance of the emergency room on First Avenue and Thirty third street.

On a rainy, stormy Sunday night the carpenters were on standby to respond to failing windows or help the plumbers bail out an area that would need many hands on deck, or to assist the electricians hauling heavy cables, when the approaching hurricane reached full force. NYU Medical Center was situated next to the FDR drive and a few feet above sea level, a precarious position to be in. An underground stream actually ran underneath the Medical Science building that contained the Carpenters Shop in its basement, and could be seen in the exposed pits in one of the machine rooms. On Sunday night the confluence of a powerful hurricane combined with high tide and a full moon swelled the waters impinging on NY Harbor. N.Y.U. Medical Center stood facing this menace.

The first sign of a problem occurred when one of the carpenters noticed a trickle of water streaming down the corridor of the main hallway. This quickly increased in volume as the alarm was sounded by the carpenters that the exterior walls had been breached. As doors were pounded on to alert everyone to the flood, the stream turned into a river and finally a torrent as the water rapidly began to rise and everyone, now knee deep in water, headed for the stairwells to ascend to the ground floor and safety, leaving valuables behind. Luckily everyone was alerted and no lives were lost to a watery grave. Within a half hour the water had completely submerged the basement and climbed up the stairs almost to the next level.

The weeks, months and years following this incident were an uncomfortable time for the Carpenter Shop as our home had been destroyed and we were continually moved from location to location and were supplied with home-owner grade equipment to perform our work. At the time of my retirement six years later, the crew had still not received their new permanent shop. Seeing this picture again brought these memories rushing back into consciousness of a challenging and eventful time.

 

Jim

June 2021