Why Didn't Hoboken's Futuristic Flood Gates Go Down? Residents Post Photos

HOBOKEN, NJ — As part of the continuous effort to combat flooding in low-lying Hoboken, the city installed six futuristic flood gates in winter 2023 meant to automatically descend when the streets flood. Their aim is to prevent cars from driving through and getting stuck, as has happened before.

READ MORE: Baby And 2 Adults Rescued From Floods Near Hoboken/Jersey City Border

On Monday evening, when thunderstorms followed a weekend of heavy rains, several corners flooded in Hoboken. One resident posted video and photos of flooding (see below and above), including a corner with a flood gate— but the gate appeared not to have moved.

Patch reached out to the city to find out about why the gate didn't come down, and what would trigger it to do so. City spokesperson Marilyn Baer responded:

"The city of Hoboken has been in contact with the flood warning system provider to ensure the system is operating effectively. The barricades and flashing beacons should be deployed by a control trigger, which is when the sensors detect water on the surface of the roadway."

She added, "The city intends to heighten the sensors sensitivity and recalibrate what triggers the gates to be deployed to ensure that all gates operate effectively, and not just a few, like in the recent storm. The Office of Emergency Management and Hoboken Police Department manually lowered flood gates and placed barricades during the storm to ensure public safety. Motorists and pedestrians should not traverse flooded intersections because of the risk of damage to individuals and property."

The city has made other moves to combat flooding, including installing flood pumps, creating resiliency parks that can hold millions of gallons of rainwater, and carving out smaller retention areas. See more about that here.

In the past, flash floods have trapped Hoboken residents inside a supermarket. Statewide, 30 people lost their lives due to extreme flooding during Tropical Depression Ida.

The city just announced Tuesday that it had received $6.24M from FEMA to expand a retention park. (Read more here.)

Flood Watch Issued For Wednesday; Hurricane Lee Update

A flood watch has been issued for Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union counties until 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Read more about that here.

A Hazardous Weather Outlook explained: "A frontal system will produce showers and thunderstorms Wednesday and Wednesday night. Locally heavy rainfall could produce areas of flooding. In addition, there is a chance that some of the stronger thunderstorms could produce damaging winds."

While Hurricane Lee is not expected to come ashore in New Jersey when it reaches the area this weekend, may still have an effect on the surf and rip currents, forecasters say. And Maine is now inside the cone for bigger impacts.

The storm will be closest to New Jersey on Saturday, according to the current forecast. Temperatures are expected to be in the 70s during the day, dropping to 59 at night.

You can track Hurricane Lee and see separate maps of wind and rain impacts here.