Flood Barrier in Brooklyn: A 7-Foot Wall, Erected in Hours (original) (raw)

New York|Flood Barrier in Brooklyn: A 7-Foot Wall, Erected in Hours

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/nyregion/brooklyn-riverfront-flood-protection-empire-stores.html

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Flooding is a constant threat to Empire Stores, a converted warehouse on the East River in Brooklyn. Elevating the infrastructure was not practical for the historic building, so owners purchased a flood barrier to be erected if inundation threatens.Credit...Kevin Hagen for The New York Times

Resilient Design

In rebuilding the landmark Empire Stores as a commercial complex anchored by West Elm, the developers are relying on a deployable flood barrier.

March 2, 2017

The next time the floodwaters come to Empire Stores on the Brooklyn waterfront — and there will almost surely be a next time — the medieval-looking landmark will be defended by a wall.

Two or three days before a really big storm is expected to arrive, 29 crates containing four- and seven-foot-tall panels will be trucked to the site, overlooking Brooklyn Bridge Park, from a local warehouse.

Should the forecast call for an unrelenting storm, workers will erect the panels a day before anticipated landfall, creating a 1,100-foot-long barricade — one-fifth of a mile — in four to five hours. If all goes as hoped, Empire Stores, which includes West Elm’s headquarters, will ride out the flood like a tasteful island in a surging sea.

Communities across the country are confronting the mounting evidence of climate change and fortifying buildings and infrastructure against rising sea levels and ever-more-intense storms. The New York Times is presenting case studies in resilient design in and around New York City. The series and a glossary are looking at tangible measures being taken to resist floods, surges, high winds and heavy rains.

Deployable flood barriers, which are in use around the world, are far from foolproof. But they are among the most straightforward and economical measures available.

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