Flooding has been a major concern in our area for many years, as well as wind damage from the ever-increasing number of severe storms that come our way. On September 1, just before we went to press, our area was ravaged once again by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Although the wind wasn’t much of a factor, the ground was still saturated from Henri a week before when Ida did a number on our roads and basements.

Tragically, 13 people died, 12 of them in illegal underground dwellings. We’ll have more on this in a future issue. People were left stranded when the subways flooded, and cars were abandoned at the side of the road as the waters rose. The Cooper Ave underpass was filled with water to the height of its 12’ 7” clearance and basements and cellars were filled, in some cases up to their ceilings. Part of this is due to poor maintenance of our sewer system, which needs more frequent cleaning due to these storms.

The Dept of Sanitation will be collecting water-damaged furniture and other items. Please put these items either curbside, or, if there is not enough room for that, in your driveway. Crews are out 24/7 right now and will be until the job is done. As the area has been declared a federal disaster area, homeowners are eligible to receive up to $34,000 in FEMA funding for flood damage to their homes. Please follow the steps on the FEMA guide on the below page to make a claim.