The lights, the sort used for nighttime highway construction, are a reminder of the lingering scars from Hurricane Sandy on the city’s streetscape. More than a year after the storm sent several feet of water coursing over Hudson River Park, most of the power has been restored, but about 5 percent of the lights are still dark.
“We built everything to the 100-year flood plain, and then we had a 1,000-year storm, so everything ended up being seven feet too low,” said Madelyn Wils, president of the Hudson River Park Trust, the public benefit corporation that manages the park.
The park, which stretches from Chambers Street to 59th Street, had other damage from the storm, including upturned paving stones on a number of piers. But the biggest blow was to the electrical system. The damage estimate now stands at $ 31 million, three times the initial assessment, and the majority of that went to restoring power.
The salt water was especially cruel to the electrical infrastructure, Ms. Wils said. The corrosive effects of the salt damaged or destroyed a substation and several transformers, as well as 10 miles of cables. In addition, the salt water ruined mechanical equipment that runs on electricity, including boilers, elevators, water pumps and play fountains.
Because the trust is a government agency, park officials had to follow guidelines for putting work out to bid. “That takes more time,” Ms. Wils said. “We’ve had over 100 contracts.”
Not only did the trust have to address all the damage; it also had to consider the next monster storm. “Every piece of equipment has been raised above the new flood plain, which is 13.5 feet, or put into waterproof boxes,” Ms. Wils said. And all at a time when the park has been facing financial difficulties from its dilapidated piers.
As the repair work has proceeded, the park has been plagued by sporadic new disruptions. Along the esplanade in the West Village, for instance, park users currently encounter a few street lamps inside the park that are dark, then a couple that are working, then another few that are out.
Electrical contractors have grappled with 1,000 different splices in the cable. Sometimes, the first attempt to repair damage is unsuccessful, requiring replacement of the cable. As a result, the esplanade and piers north of Christopher Street are scattered with temporary lights, which are meant to fill in the remaining dark gaps.
Other areas of the park that still rely on the portable lights include three tennis courts and a basketball court in TriBeCa and parts of Pier 84 at the end of West 44th Street.
For the most part, park visitors do not seem to mind.
Lloyd Princeton, 44, was walking his shiba inu, Keiko, in the park near Christopher Street on Wednesday in a cold rain.
The generator-powered lights were annoying, he said, but at least they allowed the park to stay open after nightfall. From last fall — when Hurricane Sandy struck — until Memorial Day, the park had closed every day at dusk.
“If you look up into the lights, they are blinding,” said Mr. Princeton, an agent who represents architects and designers. “But it’s better than being dark. And people lost their homes in Sandy. That’s important. This is not important.”
Ms. Wils said that she hoped to have the remaining esplanade and pier lights repaired by the end of the year.
Then there are the miles of small blue accent lights resembling lighthouses, located every 50 feet or so on top of the esplanade’s railings, many of which are also out. That repair work, which is considered a lower priority since the lights are decorative, will not be completed until February, she said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state will cover at least 90 percent of the $ 31 million expense of fixing the storm damage.
The trust has fielded only few complaints about the chronic power problems. “We had one call from a resident who said the temporary lights were shining in their apartment, so we fixed that,” Ms. Wils said.
But trust officials and residents alike are grateful for one thing: So far this year, the city seems to have dodged a major storm. “I just held my breath on that one,” Ms. Wils said. “We needed a break.”
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