Many New York City landlords have not addressed new flood codes

After Superstorm Sandy, New York City revised its building codes in 2013 to make buildings more resilient to flooding.

But landlords of most buildings in the flood plain have not been required to meet these flood-prevention standards, and many structures remain vulnerable to similar weather events. The new requirements include raising structures above flood elevation or flood-proofing buildings below that point, and ensuring that residents on higher floors can access potable water if electric water pumps fail.

So far, just 549 structures have hit the substantial alteration threshold when renovations amount to at least 50% of the building value—a trigger requiring the owner to adhere to the new code. To date, 1,131 new buildings have been constructed in the flood plain that abide by the new code.

According to the city, 75,786 other buildings constructed in the flood plain before 2013 have not completed a flood resilience retrofit. Some, though, have been prompted by their insurance providers to lift generators and boilers onto higher floors and harden their infrastructure. This work, however, may not be as comprehensive as fully abiding by the new code.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.