16 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 2, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Howard Beach calls on feds to help with fl ood mitigation
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e outlook was bleak in the eyes of
attendees at Saturday’s meeting for the New
Hamilton Beach Civic Association as they
looked at fl ood risk maps for the Howard
Beach area on the projector.
Roger Gendron, president of the civic
group, asserted that not only could the
impacts from storm surges be avoided by
berms, levees, storm barriers and interior
drainage in the Howard Beach area, but that
the measures were approved by the federal
government over 50 years ago.
Gendron is calling for the Army Corps of
Engineers (ACE) to re-evaluate the north
side of Jamaica Bay around Hawtree and
Shellbank Basins where tidal and sunny
day fl ooding has only increased over the
last 20 years.
“Th e fl ood lines from Sandy inundated
every block in Hamilton Beach and
Howard Beach,” Gendron said. “All of the
fl ooding and damages associated with it
could have been avoided had the Army
Corp. of Engineers not dropped the ball
regarding a hurricane barrier for our community.”
Gendron said the average 1-in-every-25-
year storm can cause up to $30 million in
damage while the average storm of the century
can result in $1.2 billion. With sea level
rise projected increase 32 inches by 2100,
Gendron claims the cost to communities
can be even greater.
Th e civic association looked back on
Hurricane Donna in 1960 and a nor’easter
in 1962 that left the communities on
Jamaica Bay in shambles and prompted
the Flood Act of 1965, signed into law by
President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Th e law would have provided fl ood mitigation
at key points across the country,
including the New York – Atlantic Coastal
Area, but the New Hamilton beach Civic
believes nothing came of it.
“Everybody remembers all too well during
Sandy the waters rose from Shellbank Basin,
across Cross Bay Boulevard, down the avenues,
down the side streets, and unfortunately
into everybody’s homes,” Gendron
said.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer issued
a statement that pressured the ACE to
make a greater eff ort toward preserving
neighborhoods along the waterfront to prevent
the kind of damage infl icted during
Superstorm Sandy and Donna as well as climate
change.
“Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach
heroically survived Sandy, but now residents
and their homes are threatened on a
monthly basis by tidal fl ooding,” Stringer
said in a statement. “We cannot allow rising
sea levels to erase our waterfront neighborhoods.
If fl oodgates and other resilient
infrastructure are placed at the Shellbank
and Hawtree basins can alleviate high tide
fl ooding, the Army Corps must have the
courtesy to engage with the community and
explore implementing these measures.”
Th e Army Corps. of Engineers did not
immediately respond to a request for
comment from Th e Courier.
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
Residents of the waterfront near Jamaica Bay look anxiously at a set of slide showing the need
for fl ood mitigation.
New $84M project to wipe out chronic SE Queens street flooding
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
City offi cials on Wednesday announced
an $84 million upgrade infrastructure
project with the installation of new storm
sewers to alleviate chronic fl ooding and
improve street conditions throughout
southeast Queens.
Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Vincent Sapienza and Department of
Design (DDC) Commissioner Lorraine
Grillo joined Council Member Donovan
Richards on April 24 to break ground
on the project in the community of
Brookville where residents have experienced
terrible fl ooding from rainstorms.
“With every new project completed in
southeast Queens, we are getting closer
to the days where fl ooding is a concern of
the past,” said Richards. “Th e community
of Brookville has suff ered through fl ooded
streets, lawns and basements following
nearly every rainstorm, which is why the
completion of this project is so important
to the residents around Idlewild Park.”
Th e project is being funded by DEP,
managed by DDC, and is scheduled to be
completed in summer 2021.
It is part of a $1.9 billion investment by
the de Blasio Administration to build a
comprehensive drainage system throughout
southeast Queens. Th e program, the
largest of its kind, consists of 45 projects
overall, including 10 that are substantially
completed and 11 that are in active constructive.
According to Grillo, the new storm
sewers will help drain not only the neighborhood
of Brookville, but also eventually
other areas in southeast Queens
that are north of Idlewild Park and will
receive new sewers as well under the
southeast Queens initiative.
“We’re happy to work with our partners
at the Department of Environmental
Protection to make a diff erence in the
lives of tens of thousands of people,” said
Grillo.
Work will take place on 21 blocks
near Idlewild Park. More than two miles
(12,400 feet) of water mains, some dating
before World War II, will be replaced
with new pipes ranging from 8 to 20 inches
in diameter. Twenty-fi ve hydrants will
be replaced and fi re protection will be
enhanced with 11 additional fi re hydrants
installed at new locations.
(Photo courtesy of DEP)
Th ere will be 8,200 feet of new storm
sewers and 3,700 feet of new combined
sewers added to the neighborhood, ranging
in size from 15 inches diameter all the
way up to rectangular sewers that are 9
feet wide by 6 feet high. A total of 96 new
catch basins will also be installed to capture
stormwater and direct it to the new
storm sewers.
During the job, existing sanitary sewers
will also be replaced, with 7,600 feet
installed ranging in size from 10 to 24
inches in diameter. Th e project will create
a double-barrel storm sewer system
that outlets to Idlewild Park, and which
will serve as an outlet for additional projects
yet to be built as part of the southeast
Queens program.
As part of the fi nal street restoration,
5,900 feet of curbs will be replaced,
65,000 square feet of sidewalks will be
reconstructed and 21,000 square yards of
new asphalt will be laid down over a concrete
base. Th e new curbs and sidewalks
will be graded to help guide stormwater
to the area’s new catch basins to ensure
adequate street drainage during storms.
Borough President Melinda Katz said
the work illustrates the city’s commitment
to improving the borough’s infrastructure
in way that will have a signifi -
cant positive impact.
State Senator Leroy Comrie commended
de Blasio, the DEP, and DDC for
investing in the infrastructure improvements
that will address the persistent
quality of life problems that has long
aff ected residents in Brookville and other
parts of southeast Queens.
James Salvio has lived in Brookville
near Idlewild Park since 1999. He has
had to renovate his home to repair property
damage that occurred because of
fl ooding.
“I’ve lived here for 20 years now and
there hasn’t been much development
until now,” said Salvio. “Th e streets were
raised to decrease the fl ooding issue
before I moved here, but that didn’t seem
to work as well as they hoped. When it
rains, water ponds up for about two or
three days until it dries up.”
According to Salvio, he had a sump
pump and a water sensor installed, which
prevents water from entering the house.
“Since the curbs are low, the water
doesn’t have proper guidance to go to the
catch basins to get out of the street, so it
accumulates,” said Salvio. “Many times it
goes into the basements of homeowners.
Down the road by 148th Avenue, there’s
a lot of fl ooding and there’s water from
one side of the street to the other. We are
looking forward to fi nally getting fl ood
relief in the area.”
To manage the needs of residents and
businesses during construction, DDC
has a full-time Community Construction
Liaison (CCL) assigned to the project.
Haris Hussein keeps the neighborhood
apprised of construction progress, coordinates
street closures and utility shutoff
s and can arrange special requests such
as deliveries to local homes and businesses.
Hussein works on-site and can
be reached at 929-206-5525 or by email
at se823ccl@gmail.com.
Photo courtesy of DEP
NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Vincent Sapienza and NYC
Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Lorraine Grillo joined Council
Member Donovan Richards on April 24 to break ground on the project in Brookville, Queens, to
upgrade infrastructure, improve street conditions and alleviate fl ooding.
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