Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC commits $390M to upgrade flood-prone Bushwick, Brooklyn
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Feb 27, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post via Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Feb 27, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New York City is investing $390 million to upgrade Bushwick’s aging sewer system in what officials described as the largest financial commitment to the Brooklyn neighborhood in decades.
The project is part of Mayor Eric Adams' “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan, a $5 billion initiative aimed at modernizing infrastructure and building 80,000 new homes over the next decade.
Officials said the Bushwick investment will replace nearly three miles of outdated sewer lines, expanding the local system’s capacity in select areas from roughly 226 million gallons to 1.9 billion gallons per day to mitigate flooding in one of the city’s most vulnerable areas.
A fix for a flood-prone neighborhood
Flooding has plagued Bushwick for decades, with Knickerbocker Avenue and surrounding areas sitting lower than the rest of the neighborhood, causing stormwater to pool, according to officials. More intense storms driven by climate change have worsened the problem, frequently leaving homes and businesses with costly damage.
"This nearly $400 million investment as part of our ‘City of Yes’ proposal will help do exactly that — bringing long-overdue relief to Knickerbocker Avenue, saving New Yorkers thousands of dollars, and fortifying our city for the decades ahead,” Adams said in a statement.
City leaders said the project will replace outdated 7.5-foot sewer pipes with new single-, double- and triple-barrel box sewers measuring 10 feet by 9 feet along Knickerbocker Avenue and parts of Wilson, Central and Evergreen avenues.
In addition to the sewer upgrades, the project will replace nearly a mile of aging water mains to improve water pressure, reduce the likelihood of disruptive breaks and support fire protection. The city will also replace privately owned lead service lines at no cost to property owners, saving homeowners and businesses thousands of dollars, officials said.
“Bushwick has needed new sewer infrastructure since the 1960s — but the need has become more pronounced as more extreme weather has become our new normal in New York,” Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said in a statement. “As we go neighborhood by neighborhood in our effort to keep New Yorkers and their property safe from extreme flooding, this is a marquee project that will deliver a better quality of life for thousands of Brooklynites.”
Councilmember Sandy Nurse, whose district includes the area, called the investment "historic" at a press conference on Wednesday.
"This is one of the largest investments in Bushwick in I don’t even know how long. I can’t recall anything this big," she said.
Business owners say flooding has cost them thousands
For longtime business owners like Salvatore Polizzi, the upgrades are overdue.
His family has run Tony’s Pizza on Knickerbocker Avenue for nearly 50 years, and he estimated they’ve spent "thousands upon thousands — maybe even hundreds of thousands" repairing flood damage.
“Every time it floods, businesses – big and small – have this gut feeling: ‘Is today going to be the day that my business loses money? Is today going to be the day that merchandise is lost? Revenue is lost? It’s a feeling that happens every single time it rains,’” he said.
Polizzi added that while he has taken measures to protect his business, flooding has only worsened as storms have become more frequent and intense.
“Our basement is utilized for storage and merchandise and when it rains – although we have protected ourselves by putting things on shelves and what not – it hasn’t been an easy process, it’s been a struggle,” he said.
Bushwick resident Robert Camacho, who chairs Brooklyn Community Board 4, said he has witnessed firsthand the destruction caused by past floods.
“I think our infrastructure needs upgrading and making sure we don’t keep losing money and the people that make the community what it is,” he said.
Other flood protections already in place
Some flood mitigation measures have already been introduced in Bushwick.
The city has installed FloodNet sensors on Knickerbocker Avenue at Hart and Palmetto Streets for real-time flood monitoring to help emergency responders confront dangerous conditions, officials said.
New slotted manhole covers have also been installed in flood-prone areas, officials said, allowing stormwater to drain even if debris clogs traditional catch basins.
Vision Zero redesign and timeline for construction
The city’s Department of Transportation will also redesign Knickerbocker Avenue as part of its Vision Zero safety initiative, officials said. The DOT will present a proposal to the community aimed at improving street safety.
While city officials have committed funding to the Bushwick project, construction is not expected to begin until 2029, officials said.
Rohit T. Aggarwala, commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, said the scale of the project means that residents should expect some short-term disruptions once work begins.
“You can’t put something this big in the street underground without there being disruption,” he said. “We are still working on what the project plan will be and all of that,” he said.
The Bushwick investment is part of a broader city effort to improve flood resilience. Earlier this week, New York City showcased a $349 million coastal resiliency project in Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighborhood, installing high-tech flood barriers to protect the area from future storms.
Tagged
environment
Politics
brooklyn
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .