Tim Spinner, owner of Taqueria Amor on Main Street in Manayunk, was “one of the lucky ones” to make it through the flooding last week unscathed. 

“We had water in our 12-by-12 basement down there, and it was basically a foot from the main floor, one foot higher and this whole floor would have been compromised,” Spinner said. “We would have had to deal with the same situation that a lot of others are dealing with. It was close.”  

Taqueria Amor, frequented by many St. Joe’s students, is located on Main Street a few blocks north of where many businesses were under several feet of water after the remnants of Hurricane Ida swept through the East coast Sept. 1. Several roads in the Philadelphia area still remain closed. 

Businesses and Manayunk residents located closer to Shurs Lane, where the flooding overwhelmed the area, are cleaning up in the aftermath of the floods. 

Main Street Manayunk, between Shurs Lane and Jamestown Avenue, is home to some of the most popular places frequented by St. Joe’s students, like Mike’s Pizza and Manayunk Brewing Company. Many businesses in the area close to the Schuylkill River have “closed” signs on their doors and crews working on clean-up and restoration. 

“It’s crushing to see the Mainstreet businesses get hit so hard, but [the hurricane] was a force of nature,” said Nick Beardlsey, a Manayunk resident for nearly four years now. 

Cassidy Robbins ’21 lives in Manayunk and is in the nursing program at Villanova University. While her apartment didn’t face serious damage, Robbins’ car ended up underwater in the lot where she typically parks. 

“People weren’t really prepared for this,” Robbins said. “We haven’t had a flood like this in years.”

On Sept. 2, the Schuylkill River crested (the peak of a flood before the water begins to recede) at 16.35 feet, nearing the previous highest crest record at 17 feet in 1869, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Beardlsely said while he hopes the area won’t face historic levels of flooding and damage again for a while, he knows that likely is not the reality. 

“Climate change is a thing, and it’s probably only going to get worse from here,” Beardsley said.

Spinner said although it’s been a tough year, he knows Manayunk can “bounce back.”

“This country’s been through a lot, Manayunk’s been through a lot, Philly’s been through a lot,” Spinner said. “Here we go again, something else we got to pick up. We’re strong willed. We’re like Rocky, we get knocked out, we keep getting back up.”