MDC: City Did 'Champions' Work in Post-Irene Cleanup

24 hours ago, much of Main Street was underwater. Today, its lowest point played host to a press conference celebrating its relative dryness.

What a difference a day makes.

In recognition of what they characterized as a happy blend of good fortune and the herculean cleanup efforts of the city, the delivered a post-flood business briefing this afternoon outside of the .

"We're really pleased with how things turned out," said MDC executive director Jane Lipton, who added that as of Monday afternoon only and the Brewery remained closed. "The city of Philadelphia really stepped up."

Lipton credited the city's streets, water, and fire departments for their efforts in readying the heart of Manayunk's retail district for business a day after the Schuylkill reached 13.8 feet over flood levels. On Monday, the street was dry and nearly devoid of the patches of mud that pocked it long after .

"They did champions work," said Lipton, pointing out that Main Street is now clear from Ridge to Leverington.

Mad River, despite being uniquely flood prone due to its elevation and proximity to the river, is on schedule to open on Tuesday. Manager Max Tucker said they got lucky.

"The basement was flooded over my head," said the 6-foot-1-inch Tucker. "On Sunday, we were nervous that we'd have to be closed all week. We were freaking out."

"We're fortunate that the flooding was 13.8 feet rather than the 15 feet they were calling for. That extra foot would have made an enormous difference...[the flooding] was minimal compared to what it could have been."

Tucker credited the city for their cleanup efforts, but emphasized that his employees also deserve a share of the accolades.

"We had a team of 25 employees in here moving stuff to high ground," said Tucker, who added that the large part of , not after.