Comes To Hear Residents’ Concerns
Woodside residents got a chance to voice their concerns about area flooding to the commissioner of the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and local officials in a meeting Monday morning, June 11 on a local street corner.
Rep. Joseph Crowley and City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer joined DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland and Deputy Commissioner Jim Roberts on the corner of 65th Place and 48th Avenue to meet with neighbors affected by the longtime flooding issues.
According to the residents, the problem has persisted for over 40 years but has increased over the past five years.
In August 2007-when flash floods from a severe thunderstorm led to Queens and Brooklyn being named federal disaster areas- Maryann Maragioglio’s home took on over eight feet of water, which took four days to remove, she told the Times Newsweekly. Maragioglio claims she spent over $14,000 to remove mold from the home.
She has also had to replace her furnace three times, and has installed a retaining wall around her house which prohibits the use of her driveway. It has not stopped the water, however, as she stated that her home flooded twice last year.
Jean-Claude Calvez, a 42-year resident of the neighborhood, told the Times Newsweekly that while a DEP project is scheduled to start next year, residents are seeking more immediate relief.
“People can’t live like this,” he said.
Strickland and Roberts explained the DEP’s projects and other steps they are taking to help Woodside residents.
Since the 2007 storm, the agency has created a flash flood emergency plan that pushes a proactive approach, cleaning catch basins before the storm hits Queens.
Roberts spoke of the Calamus Avenue project, which will add additional sewer capacity. As previously reported by the Times Newsweekly, the $4.5 million project, with a start date of September 2013, will install a 9′-by-9′ square pipe under the road to increase the system’s capacity.
A previous project, in 2009, doubled the capacity of sewers along 48th Avenue.
Crowley and Strickland also spoke about the “pump station” that is used to siphon water off the Brooklyn Queens Expressway during storms. Many residents have believed that when the pump is switched on it overwhelms city sewers causing residents’ homes to be flooded.
According to Roberts, the pump “does not adversely impact the community;” he later explained that the pump is not strong enough to overwhelm the flow of sewers from Middle Village through Woodside into Bowery Bay.
Crowley asked whether residents can be told when a possible flooding event is in the forecast so they can also prepare in advance. Strickland and Roberts claimed that they can work with the Office of Emergency Management to add such alerts to the city’s NotifyNYC alert program.
“We can put that in place in a couple of days,” Roberts stated.
The DEP representatives were also asked what they can do to better prepare their homes in case of flooding.
“I don’t know any brilliant new technology” that could help, Roberts told the crowd, but he suggested that residents install check valves in their plumbing if they have not yet done so.
Strickland added that newer multi-family units will be required to construct “holding tanks” that will take in rainwater and slowly flow it into the sewers to prevent the water from taxing the sewer system.
