Rego Park residents turn to costly fixes for recurrent flooding
NEW YORK - It doesn't take much to flood Rego Park in Queens, but fixes for the problem come at a big cost.
Cindy and Julius Adams love living in Rego Park for its diversity and architectural charm. But on their block, they say, a certain anxiety hangs overhead like a storm cloud.
For decades, even light rain has brought recurrent flooding, they say, overwhelming city storm drains and shooting out of basement showers and toilets.
"It's sewer water. This cannot be healthy," Cindy Adams said.
And they're not the only ones.
Neighbor after neighbor along 63rd Avenue has lost thousands of dollars to repairs and said goodbye to what's priceless, from old photos to heirlooms.
Since flooding destroyed his basement, Richard Kruczek puts towels down in doorways before rainfall.
To curb the flow, others on the block purchased backwater valves, which can cost thousands but offer no guarantee. And in blocking overflow, valves also block the use of sinks, showers and toilets.
New York City promised reimbursement to homeowners for backwater valves, but the law, passed last year, comes with strings attached. Only some will be eligible, and they may not see the money until 2025.
Council Member Lynn Schulman says her office is working on other solutions as the effects of climate change take their toll.
"Storms that we've had in the last few weeks have been more prevalent and more intense," she said.
But water infrastructure isn't free.
The DEP has budgeted more than $10 billion for drainage upgrades over the next decade and told CBS New York in a statement, "While we would like to move even faster to upgrade infrastructure, we need more money to do that and right now NYC is not getting its fair share of infrastructure money from New York State."
The state recently announced it awarded $6,000,000 in water infrastructure project funding to New York City this year. That amounts to just 1% of the funds distributed statewide, despite the city accounting for 44% of the state's population.
Growing increasingly desperate, the Rego Park neighbors await the next rain, closing valves and crossing fingers.
"We can't keep spending money like that," Julius Adams said.
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