A neighborhood drainage problem has Hamilton Beach residents overflowing with ire and complaints.
The tight-knit neighborhood was hit hard by coastal flooding when a Nor’easter hit the New York City area last week.
Residents say the town is no stranger to flooding and regularly sees sewers backed-up, causing water to build up without proper drainage into Jamaica Bay.
But the Nor’easter caused higher than usual flood levels on Sunday, October 18, submerging some streets under more than a foot of water. Residents blame the aging drainage system and political red tape for the lack of progress.
“We have sanitary sewers, but no storm sewers,” said Roger Gendron, a 20-year resident of Hamilton Beach. “For years we’ve been after the city to repair the drain pipes that lead to Jamaica Bay.”
“The street is like a bathtub. All the water has to drain through one damaged, 12-inch pipe,” he continued.
“We have tried to work with city Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to get some type of relief,” said Senator Joseph Addabbo, who talked about either pitching the street or installing bulkheads in the area.
Addabbo said that as a City Councilmember and State Senator he has put in almost $2 million to help with the flooding issues.
A long-term answer, he said, would be to elevate Hamilton Beach, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon because of the exorbitant costs a project of that scope would entail.
