New York City’s Metropolitan hospital completes floodwall project
Original works from local artists adorn portions of the $112 million floodwall outside NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan.
Image courtesy of NYC Health + Hospitals
Since Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in 2012, NYC Health + Hospitals has made significant strides in strengthening its facilities’ resilience. During that historic superstorm, the system’s NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan hospital provided uninterrupted care for patients, even accepting patients from other hospitals. But, like many others in the city, the hospital lost power once flooding from the city’s East River reached backup generators. Today, a floodwall encircling the East Harlem hospital is the final piece in ensuring it will remain operational even in the event of another one-in-500-year storm.
The wall was envisioned as part of the Metropolitan Hospital Floodwall Resiliency Project that NYC Health and the New York City Economic Development Corporation launched in 2016. Design firm Stantec and New York City-based engineering partner JFK&M Consulting Group developed a plan for the nearly half-mile-long floodwall.
The resulting wall varies in height from 8 feet to 12 feet and ranges in materials from brick clad wall, landscape berm, public art and light displays. A vibrant glass tile mural created by local artist Miguel Luciano serves to make the wall less imposing while celebrating the surrounding community.
At each of the hospital’s 12 entrances is a floodgate that measures up to 45 feet wide. In the event of a flood, the gates take two employees and two to three hours to deploy.
Gilbane Building Co. broke ground on the project in May 2022. With the wall’s completion in December 2024, Metropolitan hospital has gained a system that can prevent future flooding from impacting hospital operations or infrastructure.
“The completion of this state-of-the-art floodwall at Metropolitan is a testament to our commitment to safeguarding the public health care system’s infrastructure,” says NYC Health + Hospitals Vice President of Facilities Manny Saez.
The floodwall was not the only improvement made at this time. The hospital reconfigured other key areas to better support the flood mitigation system as a whole while allowing for hospital functionality, public accessibility and emergency vehicle access. This includes upgrades to the hospital’s stormwater detention system and an increase in stormwater pumping capacity in areas surrounding the hospital.