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THE NEWSPAPER OF JAMAICA, HOLLIS & ST. ALBANS
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Dec. 13-19, 2019
PROBLEMS PERSIST
South Ozone Park homeowners still looking for help following raw sewage fl ooding
HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
Dozens of Queens residents flocked to Astoria Park for the 7th Annual Holiday Festival & Tree
Lighting Celebration on Dec. 8. See photos on Page 3. Photo by Dean Moses
BY BILL PARRY
Hundreds attended a town
hall meeting at PS 223 in Jamaica
Sunday to address the Nov. 30
raw sewage spill in South Ozone
Park, which damaged nearly 300
homes after a massive blockage
occurred in a sewer main near
JFK Airport.
State Senator James Sanders
Jr. was joined by several other
elected officials from southeast
Queens and all relevant city
agencies were on hand to answer
many questions from the homeowners
whose primary concern
was the cost of the cleanup and
repairs to their homes, whether
the cleanup crews dispatched by
the city were qualified and any
health repercussions stemming
from being near the sewage,
“This is a terrible and unfortunate
incident to have happened,
especially around the
holidays,” Sanders said.
Many homeowners have
flood insurance which does
not cover disasters like sewage
spills. All affected residents are
able to file a claim with the NYC
Office of the Comptroller within
90 days of their loss, however,
the Comptroller’s Office will not
begin to process claims until the
Department of Environmental
Protection determines the exact
cause of the blockage, Sanders
explained.
The exact cause of the blockage
is still unknown and the
investigation is expected to take
a few more days, according to
DEP Commissioner Vincent
Zapienza. The sewage main is
located 40 feet below ground, is
hard to reach and excavate.
The city installed a pump
around system that can carry
the sewage away from the area
bypassing the clogged main and
the Department of Health told
residents that the water in their
homes is safe to drink because
it is transported through different
pipes. The DOH also said
they tested the air quality in the
affected homes and nothing abnormal
was detected.
Deanne Criswell, Commissioner
of the NYC Emergency
Management Department said
all of the cleaning crews dispatched
to homes by the city are
qualified to perform the sewage
removal services and that their
work is evaluated by a city inspector
once it is completed to
ensure it meets the highest standards
and is conducted to the
satisfaction of the homeowner.
“My quality of life has not
improved much since the flood
occurred,” homeowner Bina
Balgobin said Tuesday. “The
contractors are still working
away in the basement and you
still smell the stench. They say
they expect it will take a couple
of more weeks. At this moment
you still can’t get out of the
house because all of our belongings
are out there, but I can’t
leave anyway because the contractors
are always here.”
Balgobin did attend the
Sanders town hall and found the
information “somewhat helpful.”
Sanders advised all of the
city agencies that they need to
be more proactive regarding the
maintenance and cleaning of
pipes and other infrastructure
and to improve response times
when unforeseen incidents do
occur.
The city continues to operate
an emergency center
at the Courtyard Marriott at
145-11 North Conduit Ave. in
Jamaica to provide residents
with resources. Sanders has
a limited supply of cleaning
kits for pick up at his district
office for those who need
proper gear.
Vol. 7 No. 50 50 total pages
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