BATAVIA/Power cut to sections of 16 Bank Street/Jerome Center, after tunnel fills with water during snowmelt

City Fire was called to 16 Bank Street in the 4:00p.m. hour on Saturday for 3-4 feet of water in an old tunnel that used to be part of Cary Hall which was demolished in August as part of the construction of the Healthy Living Campus.

According to Captain Bob Fix with City Fire, the tunnel is boarded off but is not watertight, and during rounds, personnel from the Jerome Center found the water which Fix says is most likely from snowmelt. The power to the first and second floors was turned off while the site contractor and the snowplow contractor for UMMC remove water from the tunnel which also contains an electrical conduit for the Jerome Center. Fix says they are going to build a sump on the outside of the tunnel so the water will run out of the tunnel.

The first and second floor are closed at the Jerome Center today, but Hope Haven is without power along with an elevator on the north side of the building. All apartments still have power.