Shana Loomis likes living on lower Manhattan's West Street because of her "reasonable" rent, rooftop views of the Statue of Liberty and access to Battery Park for her 75-pound black labrador.

What she doesn't like is being displaced twice in two years because of a hurricane -- this time, for almost a month. She's paying 17 percent more rent on a smaller, temporary apartment uptown while her building is closed following superstorm Sandy.

"I kind of saw myself staying here for a long time," Loomis, 30, said of the one-bedroom unit at the Ocean apartment complex at One West Street that she has rented since April 2011. "Now I'm not so sure."

As downtown landlords are draining Sandy's floodwaters and assessing the damage to their networks of underground mechanical systems, displaced renters are evaluating their commitment to the area while living in limbo. As many as 10 percent of lower Manhattan's apartment units, spanning more than two dozen buildings, are off limits to residents, said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, whose estimate is based on informal conversations with property owners. The Department of Buildings won't release such information.

While properties such as UDR Inc. (UDR)'s 95 Wall Street began welcoming residents back this week with landlord-sponsored barbecue dinners, others, such as 2 Gold Street, concluded that their buildings will be uninhabitable for months. At the Ocean apartment complex, where the entire electric system must be replaced, Moinian Group, the property owner, aims to have residents return by Nov. 27, once a generator is in place to provide power and heat to all floors, said Gabriel Dagan, director of commercial operations for the company.

David Fuller's view Is there any more controversial and emotive topic than climate change? Not for many of us. Moreover, opinions are very divided, to put it mildly, so I am trying to remain calm and rational on the subject, although it is not easy as you may have also discovered.

Actually, I have always been a bit of a climate change worrier because when I look at the historic evidence, average temperatures over the last approximately 10,000 years have been remarkably stable and relatively mild, a few 'minor' ice ages not withstanding. Veteran subscribers may recall some of my earlier comments on this subject over the years.

And during most of our lives, at least up until 10 to 15 years ago, the main risk according to climatologists seemed to be another cold spell. We can count our blessings because those forecasts of a potential ice age have been largely forgotten.

Of course, if the planet is not about to become considerably colder, then many of the climate change worriers will concern themselves with global warming. The trouble is, for anyone not in a state of denial, the warming advocates can cite an increasing amount of evidence that the North Pole is melting; the seas are gradually rising, and so are average global temperatures.

Hopefully, this process will remain gradual, at least for the next few years, because we need time to adjust, not least in terms of defending, where possible, many of the world's coastal cities. To mention two, we now know beyond a shadow of doubt that New York and the adjacent region in New Jersey are poorly prepared for the bigger storms and somewhat higher sea levels that a slightly warmer climate is now producing. Arguably, London is better protected than New York, but that is not saying much and I do not look forward to the next major test of the Thames flood barriers which are probably inadequate.

The dangers and financial consequences of major flooding in any large city will hopefully concentrate our minds.