C — January 11 - 24, 2013 — 2013 Forecast — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
2013 F orecast
By Christopher W. Hillmann, Hillmann Consulting Hurricane Sandy - Responding to business challenges during a disaster
H
u r r i c a n e S a n d y slammed into the East Coast on Mon-
Wednesday morning was my first day back in Lower Manhattan. The city was literally humming with the sounds of generators, pumps and pump trucks. The streets were becoming rivers of oil sheen covered flood waters being pumped from the sub- levels of high-rises and small buildings. Drowned cars were on sidewalks and the smell of leaking diesel filled the air. We had alerted clients be- fore Sandy that Hillmann would be ready to assist in their recovery efforts and be-
gan receiving calls Tuesday morning just as the winds were easing some. A number of our commercial property clients in Lower Manhattan had received substantial damage with wet lobbies and completely submerged sub- levels. A distinct river had also come up Broad Street and stopped only 2 blocks from the New York Stock Exchange. This was not just flooding, but completely full, subterranean aquariums with all of the mechanical systems and retail concours-
es full. Michael Nehlsen, Hillmann’s COO, tapped into his extensive network and immediately began arrang- ing resources for our clients. He deployed many of the res- toration contractors who had mobilized before the storm to our client’s buildings. It’s Sunday night and now and most of the pumping is complete. Power has re- turned to much of Manhat- tan but not to most of the heavily flooded buildings. Hillmann has prepared pro- tocols and bid documents
for the clean-up of contami- nated building materials and mechanical systems while protecting worker safety and assuring regulatory compliance. Many fuel stor- age tanks were drowned and breached leaving hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel that must now be pumped out and recycled. Cleaning will occur while structural drying begins. Drying will prevent future microbial growth, odors, and weeping onto and into interior finish- es when they are installed. Hillmann performs a lot of mold consulting but there will be no need if owners act quickly to remove porous materials and begin drying. Another wild card is that in the older buildings, some of the mechanical systems and fireproofing are insulated with asbestos. Remediation contractors are presently making emergency filings with the city in order to by- pass the waiting periods. When I arrived at Hill- mann’s headquarters in Union, NJ on Tuesday morn- ing, we had no power and 20 percent of the roof was lying in the parking lot. We immediately pulled out our gas-powered generators and re-powered vital communica- tions. We powered the build- ings T-1 panel so we could get our e-mail and internet back up as all of our offices are dependent on our Union, NJ e-mail server. We set up a “command post” in a vacant ground floor office with lots of exterior light, plugged in our laptops and got to work. Our laboratory moved what equipment they could down to the command post and pro- ceeded to analyze samples. Michael Nehlsen set up a 24/7 generator watch and scheduled people to shuttle to South Jersey to pick up fuel. Getting fuel in North Jersey remains a significant challenge nearly a week af- ter the storm. Our response team travels into Manhattan via ferry from Jersey City or by car pool due to travel restrictions. The business challenges of this and any large disaster we respond to are twofold; How do we accommodate this vast and immediate influx of work while maintaining the same quality and timeliness continued from page 16C
day, October 29 and Tues- day, October 30, wreak- ing havoc in New York , New Jersey and many other states. The deadly superstorm
Christopher W. Hillmann
brought coastal devastation and produced a record storm surge in Lower Manhattan.
Your Property. Our Priority. ENVIRONMENTAL & ENGINEERING CONSULTING SERVICES
HILLMANN CONSULTING, LLC is a full-service Environmental and Engineering Consulting firm providing an array of customized Environmental Health and Occupational Safety, Remediation Support, Sustainability Consulting, Environmental Due Diligence, Geology and Laboratory services.
For more information contact us at (800) 232-4326 Or visit our website at: www.hillmannconsulting.com
Office Locations: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, California
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