Above the Flooded Plain – Did New Waterfront Developments Fare Better?

Sandy’s high tide receded, and the buildings on the waterfront in Long Island City stood like sentries on the coast—dry, fully inhabited and powered up almost as though no superstorm had ever occurred.

The situation was much the same in Williamsburg, best as I can tell. The new buildings came through relatively unscathed, despite flooding around them. I don’t know if any of the new Williamsburg buildings took special measures to mitigate 100-year flood conditions, but I know that 184 Kent did, and they worked.

One caveat here (and in LIC) is that the flooding was relatively light. There was definitely flooding, but compared to what was happening across the river and in places like Red Hook and even DUMBO, we seem to have gotten the least of it. Still, like LIC, none of the Williamsburg waterfront developments had to be taken out of service.