Think about it. (Blogspot)

Earlier today, we ran a post about how Bill Rudin rather pragmatically welcomed the flooding of the Brooklyn Batter Tunnel, for it provided a modicum of protection to some of his buildings downtown that might otherwise have been flooded. This afternoon, we found a statement in our inbox from Mr. Rudin that seemed to indicate—as we had in the original piece—that floodable tunnels and other innovative flood control measures might not actually be the worst idea. The Observer asked a Rudin spokesperson for more context on the statement, but this is all we've got.

For almost a century, my family has been invested in the future of all parts of New York City. As we look post-Hurricane Sandy to New York’s long-term recovery, we have to consider a variety of options to effectively protect and defend our critical infrastructure as well as our residents, businesses and visitors. The public and the private sectors are actively involved and collaborating to come up with solutions to ensure that the city’s infrastructure and buildings are resilient in today’s unpredictable climate.

A good flood? (Getty)

Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc across the city, including Lower Manhattan, where flooding into tunnels shut down both subway and vehicular traffic for weeks. In a story looking at flooding in the Hugh Carey Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, Dana Rubinstein reveals that none other than developer, macher and civic bigwig Bill Rudin actually welcomed the flooding because it protected some of his harborside buildings.

"I had one very prominent real estate builder who owns buildings in lower Manhattan—actually all over the city—thank me for allowing the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel to be used as a drainage ditch," M.T.A. chairman Joe Lhota told me recently. "I wasn’t particularly pleased with the comment.”

(Lhota confirmed during our conversation that he was referring to Bill Rudin.)

The M.T.A. has recently begun to float different ideas for protecting the system's tunnels in the future from flooding during such storms, which are expected to increase in frequency as the climate warms. Industrial balloons and flood gates are among the ideas under discussion.

But as Rudin's comments indicate, protecting the tunnels might create problems elsewhere. "The fact of the matter is, if I plug it up, we plug it up, the M.T.A. plugs it up—if God forbid this happens again, the surge is the same or even higher, the water will go elsewhere," said Lhota.

And elsewhere could include the lower floors of nearby buildings, like those owned by Rudin Management at One Battery Park Plaza and One Whitehall Street. Rudin, the scion of a storied New York real estate family and chairman of the influential Association for a Better New York, declined comment.

But even more intriguing than the revelation that a self-styled civic leader welcomed ill on the city's infrastructure is the conclusion of the article, which argues that perhaps we should all embrace such Schadenfreude.

After all, if the tunnels could be designed to serve as moats, with their mechanical systems carefully protected, and easily pumped dry, they could actually serve as yet another form of so-called soft infrastructure serving to protect the city from future disasters. Insulating some cables and installing some pumps would probably be a lot cheaper than building those giant sea gates. The same goes for what we put in the basements of our buildings. Though then there's a debate about all that unused, and often valuable space going empty. Putting the mechanicals upstairs takes up living space, and who wants a boiler in the living room?

Still, rather than trying to stop the water, is there a way we can successfully live with it inside our buildings? That may become the design challenge of 21st-century New York.

Update: Mr. Rudin shares a statement on the future of the city's flood protections.

Update 12/6:Mr. Lhota issued a statement praising Mr. Rudin.

Last night, the MTA posted a video of the cleanup effort going on inside the Hugh Carey Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which had reopened just the day before after a monstrous flood.

It is a burgeoning genre, after the MTA gave the L train tubes the same treatment—not every effort got a star turn, just the slow ones, as though to say, "Look, we're workin' on it." That and the jaw-dropping ones, like flooding inside the (still-closed) South Ferry subway station (and the cleanup).

The much beloved Detroit ruin porn comes to mind. Perhaps we should come up with a name for this new genre of film. Subway smut? S&MTA? Leave your nominees in the comments.

It was a regular stream of New York City wheels. And as so often happens when such vehicles tend to cluster, there was a back-up. Yes, traffic. Perhaps life is getting back to normal.

"In many ways, for me, this site a metaphor for the entire storm," Governor Cuomo said, from the awesome power of Mother Nature that first hit the city during Hurricane Sandy to the awesome rebuilding effort the MTA and others undertook.

"Now, only 15 days later, we are back in business," the governor said. "It's a story of rebirth and rebuilding we are seeing all over."

Currently the east-bound tunnel is open only during rush hour, with one lane dedicated for cars and one for buses. In the morning rush hour, vehicles may travel only into Manhattan, during the evening rush, it will be in the other direction, with cars going into Brooklyn.

"It's like night and day, thanks to the round-the-clock efforts of the MTA Bridge and Tunnel team," Mr. Lhota said.

Correction: Based on information from the governor's office, a previous version of this story said two lanes each for buses and cars was open today, but the MTA explained there is one lane for each. The Observer regrets the error.

A position of strength and weakness. (MTA/Flickr)

Standing at the mouth of the Hugh L. Carey/Brooklyn Batter Tunnel in Lower Manhattan earlier this afternoon, following a tour of the flooding within, Governor Andrew Cuomo gave yet another one of his rousing speeches on the trials of New York under pressures, particularly how it is that the physical infrastructure that makes this city tick can also bring it to its knees if a disaster occurs.

But before we get to that, what exactly is the status of the tunnel, one of the city's busiest, with a daily traffic of some 50,000 vehicles? MTA Chairman and CEO Joe Lhota began by relating of the story he told earlier this week, of meeting the governor at the mouth of the tunnel by happenstance on Monday night, where they took in the hellish scene.

"Where you are all standing right now, there were raging, white rapids," Mr. Lhota said. "The Hudson River crested and came roaring down into our tunnels, both tubes of our tunnels are filled, they’re fulled with 43 m galls of water, each one is filled with 43 m gall of water. It stretches 6,000 feet, over a mile, about a mile and a quarter of nothing but water."

"I will tell you what I saw was so extraordinary, I actually thought it was capable of providing hydro power, it was coming in with such great speed and with a roaring noise that you just couldn’t possibly imagine. Also try to imagine, it was pitch black, the power was out downtown, and this was all we saw."

It was this scene that had the governor ruminating on the resilience, but also the vulnerability, of the city.

"They say sometimes that when it comes to personalities, your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness," the Governor said. "In some ways, that is true for this city, also. What made this city and made this state was our proximity to the water, it was our port, it was the Hudson River, the Erie Canal, that’s what made us. What made Manhattan was the engineering marvel of being able to build not just above ground but below ground. How do you get so much done on this slim island? Because we build high and we build deep. That is our great strength. That becomes a great liability in the face of a storm, and that is what we have seen, in a way we haven’t seen in decades, if ever."

The governor then shared his recollections of Monday night's flooding. "The story that Joe tells about Monday night still gives me chills. We were standing up on that over pass, the water coming through here was three, four, five feet deep. The Huson River came right across the West Side Highway, the East River was coming down from that side, and the only question was, When does it end? Has the river crested? Because at one point you just feared that you would have just submerged all of the Battery."

If only this was our only problem, but at least the worst is over. "As massive as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is, you have to times that by six, seven, eight, nine, ten times. You have the Holland Tunnel, you have the Midtown Tunnel, you have subway tunnels that are still flooded, you have Con Ed vaults that are still flooded. This is an engineering feet that we have never undertaken before. So we do need the help, but the good news is the help is coming."

Flooded. (Photo: Getty)

According to Senator Chuck Schumer, the federal government will soon begin the arduous task of returning floodwaters back to the Atlantic Ocean after Hurricane Sandy's surge flooded key transportation arteries earlier this week.

“In the past hour, I have received an update from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the federal de-watering efforts happening in New York City," Mr. Schumer said in a statement this afternoon.  "A team of experts from Illinois and contractors from around the country are making their way to Lower Manhattan as we speak. Significant assets like pumps and de-watering equipment should arrive in Manhattan by this evening. The Corps is confident that they can begin pumping water by tomorrow morning."

Mr. Schumer said the priority will be pumping the salt water out of two tunnels and the World Trade Center site.

"The city has identified three major priority areas for pumping--the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Battery Park Tunnel and the World Trade Center," he continued. "This is a critical mission that I know the Army Corps and FEMA are taking very seriously and I want to thank these federal agencies for working so diligently with the state and the city.”

Don't want to be this guy. (Free Images UK)

Governor Cuomo just announced that the Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel will be closed at 2 p.m. today because they would be the most prone to flooding. There was no mention of the Lincoln Tunnel, which presumably will remain open and could be the one life-line for Manhattan as the bridges will also close should wind speeds surpass 60 miles per hour. Earlier today, a wind speed of 51 miles per hour.

"As a precaution, those bridges will be closed today at 2 o'clock," Governor Cuomo said during a press conference in Lower Manhattan. "The bridges will remain open at this time until we see 60 mile per hour winds. Weather forecasts suggest winds of up to 90 miles per hour, so people should keep an eye on that. The situation may be updated as we go throughout the day."

MTA chairman Joe Lhota said the Queens-Midtown Tunnel is expected to stay open unless serious flooding becomes apparent and threatens the tunnel, which has never happened in the past. "The Midtown tunnel has never been closed before for wind conditions or flooding before," Mr. Lhota said. "The Midtown tunnel was made account. However if we believe any flooding is coming in from 37th Street or from the Queens side, if we think that will happen, we will recommend to the Governor we should close."

So Manhattanites could always escape to Queens if need be, loathsome as that might be.

The governor stressed that New Yorkers should keep the roads clear so emergency vehicles can get around. "Use common sense," Governor Cuomo said. "Citizens should not be on the roads, you really do not need out, we need to keep the roads free, there are emergency vehicles on the roads, they need to allow emergency vehicles access, you do not need to be going to the beach to take pictures, you really don't."

"Don't be fooled, don't look out the window and think it's not so bad, the worst is still to come," he continued. "So keep yourself safe and use common sense."

This post was updated at 11:05 with additional information from the press conference.