Judges Scramble for Courtrooms Post-Hurricane

New York City is crawling back to normal after last week’s crippling storm, but the U.S. Bankruptcy Court building in Lower Manhattan remains paralyzed, forcing a scramble by judges and lawyers to hold key hearings wherever they can find a courtroom.

The court, one of the country’s bankruptcy epicenters, on Monday took the rare step of issuing an order allowing judges to go outside the Southern District of New York to hold hearings. The order cites “extraordinary damage and disruption,” “widespread power and utility outages,” and “extensive transportation problems” in the New York area. – As reported by Joseph Checkler and Rachel Feintzeig