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Friday's storm especially inundated NYC residents who live in 'The Hole'
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 1, 2023
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Ramsey Khalifeh
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 1, 2023
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A new set of storm drains in one of New York City's most flood-prone areas did little to prevent flash flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ophelia, according to local residents who for decades have lived without a functioning sewer system.
Streets and homes in the neighborhood dubbed “The Hole,” which sits on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, were inundated with water on Friday as the city was hammered with more than 6 inches of rain. Photos from the area show the storm had turned streets into rivers and left behind enormous puddles that still lingered on Sunday.
David Lopez, 72, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 37 years and is considered its unofficial “mayor” by many residents, said new storm drains and pipes installed by the city earlier this year proved to be insufficient to handle the rain.
“It’s gotten worse with the climate change, with the rising tides, and everything collectively,” said Lopez. “You dig your foot down and you got water all the time, no matter how little or dry it has been.”
Lopez lives on Dumont Avenue and said the water came all the way to his doorstop.
“Before they installed these drains it was always flooded like this. This was normal for us,” Lopez said.
The neighborhood is built upon a low-lying creek bed and the vast majority of its buildings have no access to a sewer system. Many homeowners rely on septic tanks, which must be pumped out by trucks, to dispose of their wastewater.
Instead of installing a sewer system in the neighborhood, city officials have over the last year said they are exploring “green infrastructure” to keep water off the streets.
Rubin Garcia, 79, who’s lived in the neighborhood for nearly 55 years, said Friday’s flooding was the worst he’s ever seen.
On Sunday afternoon, Garcia was working for a second day to pump water out of his home’s basement. In knee-high rubber boots, he weaved in a hose to continue pumping out water. He said flooding wasn’t a problem in the area when he first moved there in the late 1960s.
“We were stuck in the house. It was bad,” Garcia said. ”Since it started I pumped, and I’ve been pumping.”
Rubin Garcia, 79, outside of his home.
Ramsey Khalifeh
Garcia said The Hole needs a real sewer system, which he and others in the community have demanded for years.
“They should do something about this already. We’re in the city, we’re not in the suburbs,” Garcia said.
The flooding damaged the basements and front yards in buildings across the neighborhood, leaving homeowners working all weekend to pick up the pieces.
Maria Pachacama, 60, was out at work all of Friday and came home to massive flooding in her basement.
“I have water in my basement, I still have water that I’m pumping. That was terrible,” Pachacama said. Like Garcia, her and her husband have tirelessly pumped water out of their basement for two days straight.
Pachacama was frustrated with the city’s lack of attention to the issue in The Hole.
Despite the increasingly frequent flooding, Lopez said he will continue to live in the neighborhood. He said the neighborhood looked much more beautiful when he first moved there —- and wants to see it restored to its former glory.
“It endeared me. It was idyllic. It was like a little oasis in an otherwise crowded asphalt jungle,” said Lopez. “We had trees here, we had 60-foot weeping willows which would cover the skies. We had birds, all types of birds and animals.”
“I just want to see this to fruition, see this in my lifetime.”
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Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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