Battery Park Underpass Remains Submerged; Lower Manhattan A Ghost Town
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The southernmost tip of Manhattan was as deserted as an Old West ghost town Wednesday evening, but anyone who passed through would find that much of the area remained in horrific shape in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
As CBS 2's Elise Finch reported, while there were reports of power coming back in some buildings south of Vesey Street, all the buildings right around the Battery Park area were dark. A handful had lights powered by emergency backup generators, and Con Edison trucks added a hint of additional light.
Other trucks were dispatched to pump fuel out of the dark, largely empty buildings.
Meanwhile, the Battery Park Underpass, which connects the FDR-East River Drive to the West Side Highway, was almost completely submerged. A sign noted a 12-foot, 7-inch clearance on the underpass, and the water was basically all the way up to the top.
The lights from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, powered by backup generators, shone down to display a truck that sank in the middle of the underpass.
At the height of Superstorm Sandy Monday night, Lower Manhattan was a jaw-dropping sight. Water poured down into the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, cascading through the guardrails like a fountain. Finch reported seeing people gathering in the area near Greenwich and Morris streets, adding that some police officers even remarked they had "never seen anything like this before."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office said the storm surge peaked at 13.88 feet at the Battery.
Have you seen the devastation around Battery Park? Leave your comments below...
