Fordham Recovers From Storm Damage and Plans for Future
Valera talks preparedness and precaution in the aftermath of Ida and what to do moving forward in cases of extreme weather events
The entrance to McMahon Hall had some flooding from the tropical storm.
September 21, 2021
The beginning of Fordham’s fully in-person fall semester was disrupted by tropical storm Ida, which led to the cancellation of classes on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3 — only one day into the fall semester. The tropical storm tore through the region, killing at least 42 people in New York and New Jersey.
In addition to the lives lost in the storm, there was torrential rainfall throughout the city, with Central Park receiving 3.15 inches of rain in a single hour, beating out the previous record of 1.95 inches of rain that was established less than two weeks before Ida on Aug. 22, 2021 by tropical storm Henri. The influx of extreme weather that New York City has experienced recently has led to concerns about the future impacts of climate change.
Marco Valera, vice president for facilities management, said the Lincoln Center campus did not endure much storm damage besides some flooding in the 140 West Building. The damage at Rose Hill, however, was “quite severe,” Valera said.
There was significant flooding in the Walsh Library and McGinley Center basements, where two to three feet of water seeped in. Valera said it will take months for facilities to handle the situation.
Valera explained that the severity of Ida was unexpected. He also added that although there were some preparations to prevent flooding at Rose Hill, they were ultimately not fully prepared, as there was “water we have not seen in my 20+ years of working here at Fordham.”
Lessons were learned from Hurricane Sandy almost a decade ago. Elevators were shut down as a precautionary measure, and a warning was issued by Public Safety.
In addition to campus damage, many transportation methods that commuter students, faculty and staff rely on were shuttered by the storm — some of which took days to return to full service.
Valera stressed that the campuses are different in regard to infrastructure, so Lincoln Center is less prone to flooding while Rose Hill is more vulnerable due to the size of the campus.
In addition to campus damage, many transportation methods that commuter students, faculty and staff rely on were shuttered by the storm — some of which took days to return to full service.
For several hours, the New York City subway system was battered, with stations partially submerged from the tropical storm rain. In addition, the temporary shuttering of other methods of transportation such as the PATH, Metro-North and LIRR inhibited members of the Fordham community from traveling to and from school. Many faculty and staff also had complications with their homes being flooded.
The Public Safety email that announced the closure of all campuses for Sept. 2 was sent that morning at 6:20 a.m., canceling classes and events planned for Welcome Week. On the night of Wednesday, Sept. 2, it was decided that campus would be closed for an additional day.
This is the third time in two years that the start of a semester was disrupted for classes at Fordham Lincoln Center.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center Dean Laura Auricchio announced via email to students that due to the cancellation of classes, the add/drop period for classes had been extended to Friday, Sept. 10.
For future extreme weather events, Valera believes that New York City will be more “conservative” in making proper preparations. Valera also said there is only so much Fordham can do since many campus pipes overflow under heavy rain conditions and the Walsh Library was built to be low-rise.
This is the third time in two years that the start of a semester was disrupted for classes at Fordham Lincoln Center. The first day of classes in January 2020 was delayed and then canceled following a water main break on West 63rd Street and Broadway. On the first day of classes for the spring 2021 semester, both campuses closed and in-person classes were canceled due to the snowstorm that hit the city.
