Rebuild By Design Hoboken - Hudson River

Superstorm Sandy - October 29, 2012
What Have We learned? What Can we Do?Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com

Sandy was a very, very, very very
very BIG flood.
how do floods
happen?
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or

How do floods happen?
• Rainfall
• Storm Surge
• Inadequate drainage
• Sea level rise
• Lunar cycle
• Land subsidence
• Climate change

How the water flooded in…
• https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/07/how_much_flood_pr
otection_would_hoboken_plans_offe.html

HIGH TIDE Today
28 January 2019
• Casablanca, Morocco 957pm tonight
• Sandy Hook, NJ 248pm today
1. Natural Forces
such as the pull of Gravity between Earth, Sun and Moon

High Tide
coming in
Hoboken
Terminal
October 28
2018

2. Hoboken’s old
“Combined” Sewer System
Sanitary pipes connect household toilets to the
Wastewater Treatment Plant
Unsanitary pipes connect our rain- and street-drains to
the treatment plant.
Where buildings connect to a single sewer line under the
street both of these types pipes are connected together.
That is called a “combined” sewer system
When it rains heavily there is too much water for the
treatment plant to handle all at once, so the sewage and
rainwater gets discharged directly to the river.
Sometimes it backs up in the streets and basements too

3. Topography: the City is quite flat
When there is a lot of water it moves across the land and through the sewer system slowly

4. Geography: the City is mostly paved and impervious
In most areas there is no way for the water to sink into the soil. Concrete and asphalt
surfaces thus catch the rain and funnel it into the sewer system

5. The Hudson River is in our front yard
• Extends over 300 miles
north
• Drains parts of many
states: NY, NJ, CT, VT, PA
• 14,000 square miles
• Sometimes it runs into
the incoming High Tide,
leading to a higher water
level

What are the effects of
flooding?
• Living areas become uninhabitable
• Loss of electricity
• No heat
• (potentially) no water
• Stores and businesses closed
• Can’t get information
• Deliveries are interrupted (food, fuel, medicine, etc
• Health effects: Mold, Germs, Pollution
• Effects can “Cascade”

Getting around becomes difficult for some
and impossible for others

A&P Grocery Store Could Not Receive Deliveries
Hoboken, NJ 31 October 2012 (2 days after the storm)

Communications are interrupted
This was the communications “system” at one of the Evacuation Shelters in
Hoboken, October 31, 2012

The Cleanup After the Flood Is Unhealthy
Many people’s lives are thrown out on the street. Much of these belongings came out of basements,
where they were soaked by surge Water’s from Sandy. This water was mostly ocean water, but also
mixed with sewage, heating oil, paint, chemicals and other pollutants.

The cleanup goes
on for many months
It takes a lot of time and money.
To stop mold from growing inside
a building is complicated. To
repair infrastructure that was
just filled up with salt water.
It takes even more time and
money to take the protective
steps needed to keep the
damage from happening again…

Given the Hazards What Can We Do to Be
Better Prepared?
• The tides rise and fall
• The Hudson River isn’t
going anywhere
• Sea Level has risen more
than 1 foot in the past
100 yrs
• The land is sinking in
some areas
• Most people don’t pay
attention to the
weather… until its too
late.

So What Can We Do to
Be Better Prepared?
• Make a Plan
• Move things out of the flood zone
• Learn how to “Shelter in place”
• Stock up on Food, Water, Batteries
• Talk with our families and our neighbors
• Work with our neighbors and government to take larger protective
measures for our homes, our buildings, and communityCarter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or

“Rebuild By Design”
an international competiton that helped created new models for collaboration
following the flood

Working together in Hoboken in large and small groups
• Understand the
problems
• Identify solutions
• Figure out which
one(s) work best

The expert team Developed a Four-part strategy
The Hoboken plan was developed by OMA with Royal HaskoningDHV; Balmori
Associates; and HR&A AdvisorsCarter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or

Animation
• https://youtu.be/-JJGpmDdTT4

From the initial
Competition to
Implementation the team
changed a bit.
Engineering became the
leader of the planning +
design team through an
existing agreement they
had with NJ Transit

In summer
2017
took over the
project.
They serve now
as the lead
consultant to
the State of NJ
who are
responsible for
the project

Ultimately it’s a matter of
figuring out how to carve
allocate the space.
Is there a way to provide
better flood protection
while creating other
benefits for residents in
terms of public space,
streetscape, better utility
services, and other
activities/ facilities that can
benefit the community as a
whole?
Which activities are
competing and which are
complementary?

Your voice
matters!
After this system gets built
all of us will be
responsible to pay for it’s
operations and
maintenance.
Come to the next meeting
and share your ideas!

Thank You!
October 28, 2018

Rebuild by Design
• Animation of the Storm – one week out to 30 October https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhQktHY9aZg
• Video of incoming Sandy flood and alternatives shown in Model
https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/07/how_much_flood_protection_would_hoboken_plans_offe.html
• Rebuild By Design “flyover” https://youtu.be/-JJGpmDdTT4
• Resist Delay Store Discharge strategy/ Cooper Hewitt Museum
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73R1cJjL7s
• New Jersey Future Short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyhb_R1BjYY

Rebuild By Design Hoboken - Hudson River

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