[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Morgan Stanley and AIG were flooded on Monday night.  However, on the day that Hurricane Sandy set down on New York City, it was not orders that besieged the firms: it was water.

Morgan Stanley at 1 New York Plaza experienced salt water leaking into the basement, which could delay the reopening of the firm's offices, a person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private, said.  Across Water street, AIG's headquarters at 180 Maiden Lane suffered "heavy flooding," co-landlord SL Green Realty Corp. said yesterday in a statement.

Damage Report. As landlords drain basements and investigate what it will take to get vital systems for electricity and steam back in, other firms have emerged as having suffered damages that may take weeks to repair, according to data from CoStar Group Inc., a Washington- based firm that tracks commercial-property leasing.

• Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
• Tullett Prebon Americas Corp., a unit of the London-based inter-broker dealer
• First Investors Management Co., which offers mutual funds and other financial products
• M.R. Beal & Co., an investment bank.

"Depending on the systems affected, we’re talking weeks, not days," said Jim Rosenbluth, managing director for crisis management at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., which manages about 15 million square feet of properties in downtown Manhattan.  "My assessment is those buildings can’t be used, because you have to have all the basic building services up and running to make the building habitable." 

From the Ground Up. Going forward, the city Department of Buildings will determine when the buildings can reopen,  Mr. Rosenbluth said.  In addition, Hurricane Sandy may have shifted how buildings are designed:

"We’re going to have to rethink how these buildings get rebuilt.  Put the power up higher, have more robust emergency generators. Everyone understands the enormity and the basic challenges.  Till the water’s gone and you see the issues that have to be addressed, it’s hard to put a timeline on any of it."

For further details, go to [Bloomberg, 11/1/12].