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Leaders meet with city about flooding fixes

Local leaders in western Queens met with city officials including Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Emily Lloyd in order to develop long and short-term solutions to prevent flooding problems from devastating neighborhood residents in the future.
Congressmember Joseph Crowley hosted the meeting at his district office with Lloyd, Councilmember Eric Gioia, Assemblymember Marge Markey and City Comptroller William Thompson in response to the August 8 flooding that caused damage to more than 1,300 homes in Queens and led President George Bush to declare the county a federal disaster area.
Queens residents have suffered enough,” Crowley said in a statement. “It is time for the city to get to the bottom of why such severe flooding occurred in our community during the August 8 storms, and to take the steps necessary to ensure our community is no longer vulnerable to such devastation.”
During the meeting, Crowley secured a commitment from DEP to hold at least one, if not a series of community meetings, in order to keep residents informed of its findings about possible causes of the extreme flooding as well as what they are doing to prevent future problems.
In addition, Comptroller Thompson’s office is conducting an investigation about the city’s infrastructure in response to the flooding.
Councilmember Gioia said he was encouraged by the meeting with representatives from city agencies, but he said it was only the first step.
“We need practical solutions to be implemented in an effective and timely manner, and I am looking forward to working with the city and my partners in government to see them through,” Gioia said. “Our neighborhood simply cannot suffer another blow like this.”