Source: Enterprise Community Partners
Source: Enterprise Community Partners
Flooded boiler
HA’s newer buildings that had boiler rooms located on the roofs sustained minimal damage. Even with power out in the neighborhood, residents were able to stay warm thanks to the good insulaon and air sealing of the buildings. No other building services were affected by the storm. In the older affordable housing developments managed by LESPMHA, ten basements flooded. In five buildings, comprising 76 low-income apartments, mechanical systems were severely damaged – including hot water heaters, booster pumps, compactors, elevators and electrical wirings. However, the opera onal response of the buildings’ staff helped get these buildings opera onal quickly and prevented mold growth. LESPMHA, like many community-based affordable housing operators in New York, is a lean organiza on, with its staffing and financial capacity op mized for day-to-day opera ons, and stretched thin in mes of crisis. Despite these chal-
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Flooded boiler
lenges, LESPMHA staff was able to draw on experience gained from managing their newer buildings in order to respond quickly and effec vely to the needs of the damaged buildings. They were also able to use their knowledge of building science to minimize flood damage. Since LESPMHA had prepared for flooding as a possibility, once it actually happened staff moved into response mode right away, following established procedures regarding communica ons and swi ly restora ng basic building services. Staff mobilized early to bail floodwater from basements manually or with generators and entered basements with flashlights to get part numbers and procure replacements so that they could have them on hand for repairs, thus minimizing the down me. As soon as power was restored to the neighborhood, the group began and completed work to restore building systems. Because of LESPMHA’s focused early response, boilers could be put back in service with repairs rather than full replacement, sav-
ing capital and allowing staff to hold off on equipment replacement un l the end of the system’s life or a planned energy efficiency upgrade. Having to undertake repairs rather than buy and install replacements saved not only me and money; it also shortened the discomfort for residents. Staff applied basic building science to help in the recovery, using the stack effect to help dry the basements that were severely flooded. Building staff opened fresh air pathways to circulate the moisture out of the basement, up the stairwell through roof bulkheads and out of the building. Due to this quick response, LESPMHA was able to quickly dry all the basements and substan ally mi gate the possibility of mold forming there. The key to avoiding mold was the speed of clean-up and the ability to use nature to help dry the flooded basements. Lessons Learned Enterprise con nues to work with LESPMHA on its medium- and long-