New York Buildings Face Storm Damage as Property Managers Plan for Irene

(Reported by David M. Levitt of Bloomberg News)

Hurricane Irene has the potential to cause serious damage to New York City buildings as it threatens to bring strong winds and surging floodwaters, property managers said as they prepared for the storm’s onslaught this weekend.

Irene could be “a once-in-a-lifetime event if it goes according to the forecast,” said Jim Rosenbluth, managing director for crisis management at real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Basements and lower levels of buildings close to the shore “would absolutely be at risk,” he said.

New York’s Building Owners and Managers Association issued a checklist to landlords yesterday urging them to prepare for Irene as Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he is considering evacuations in areas including Brooklyn’s Coney Island, lower Manhattan’s Battery Park City and parts of Staten Island. He is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. Click here for the full story.