Politics & Government

After Years of Flooding, Homeowners Say They've Had It

The Harrison Town/Village Board listened to concerns from more than a dozen homeowners in flood-prone neighborhoods Tuesday night.

As the rain outside threatened to wash even more flood waters into their homes, a group of residents told the Harrison Town/Village Board Tuesday that something needs to be done.

About 18 homeowners from flood-prone neighborhoods including Genesee and Shawnee Trails, the Brentwood neighborhood and Park Avenue, addressed the board for about 90 minutes, voicing concerns over floods that they say have washed through their homes several times over the last four years.

Almost all said they were still picking up the pieces from , which left as much as four feet of water in some of their homes.

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"I'm talking about a wave of four feet in seconds," said Ramapo Trail resident Paul Amacucci, who said he has been flooded so many times he now just opens his garage door when the flood waters approach. Otherwise, he said, the rush of water just knocks the door down.

"I've actually seen it where it spins, like a washing machine, it fills so fast," he said. "If I don't open my back windows my house will blow up like a balloon."

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Residents said the flooding in these neighborhoods wasn't a major problem until 2007. Since then many have seen flood waters rise into their homes at least four times.

Board members Fred Sciliano, Joseph Cannella, Marlane Amelio, Supervisor Joan Walsh and Town Engineer Michael Amodeo listened to concerns in a meeting that became emotional at times as residents questioned what the town can do to stop the flooding.

"It's not a simple problem, it's not a simple solution," Walsh said. Board members noted that the flood system needs to be evaluated as a whole before any changes can take place, fearing that fixing one area will pass the flooding to other areas of town.

Residents said the problem is more about money, that the town has considered projects in the past before they were scrapped because of cost. Others wondered why the flooding has increased since 2007, saying it wasn't a problem before two storms gutted their homes in the spring of that year.

"This isn't just one or two homes," Amacucci said. "This is a major problem."

Town board members said they will evaluate what can be done, citing concerns over what the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal body with jurisdiction over waterways, will allow. There are concerns that dredging the Brentwood Brook in Harrison would just pass the flooding to already flood-prone areas of Mamaroneck.

"If we dredge the brook, which we've already talked about—we would like to do that—it would send the waters down so fast into Mamaroneck that instead of 10 feet of water they would have 15 feet of water," Walsh said. "The Army Corps of Engineers won't let us do that."

Amodeo, the engineer, explained that flood water backs up at several restrictions throughout town and that fixing flooding along Ramapo Trail would push the flooding through other neighborhoods to Union Avenue, fixing that restriction would push the flooding toward I-95 and on to other parts of town. In order to alleviate the problem spots, he said, the town would need to look at an overall change to the flood plan.

"You would have to fix all the way down the line," he said.

Another trouble spot is the duck pond across the street from L.M.K. Middle School, which floods into surrounding neighborhoods during heavy rains. The pond serves as a siltation base, which allows silt to settle there before water moves downstream and eventually out of Harrison. Since it hasn't been dredged in years, the pond is now more shallow than it once was and possibly houses bacteria from years of rain.

Walsh said since the duck pond is on school property and it's up to school officials to determine what is done. It also isn't known what effect dredging the pond would even have on flooding, board members said. If the water does leave the area faster because of dredging, it also could push the flooding into other areas.

Besides flooding, there are also safety concerns surrounding the duck pond. Maryann Clow, who lives directly across the street from the pond, said she is concerned about the bacteria in the water that is flooding into her home and other areas on school property. She said she has been working to get a response from town officials for years, but nothing has been done. The pond has been there so long, she says, she hasn't been able to find out who built it or who is responsible for its upkeep.

"We all know that there is bacteria in that thing and our kids are playing in those fields," she said. "There has got to be something we can do, I've asked every person imaginable in this town."

Board members said they plan to visit with the Harrison Board of Education to discuss the duck pond. They also vowed to look at town maps for potential solutions and meet with neighbors again later this year.

Once a plan is considered, the town would also need to determine how to pay for potential changes. As preliminary ideas, Walsh suggested creating a separate water district that the neighbors in that area would pay for, or a town referendum asking unaffected tax payers to help pay for fixes. 

Sciliano said Sound Shore flooding is an issue that spans across Harrison's borders and the town will need to work with surrounding municipalities to find a solution before taking action.

"We're going to have to work together with Rye, with Mamaroneck and with what we can propose for ourselves and come back to you on this," he said.

In the meantime, neighbors said they are more than willing to get the ball rolling themselves if given the opportunity.

"We are willing to do whatever it takes," said Clow. "Whatever we need to do, whether it's ditching ourselves, we'll do it to save our community, to save the value of our homes, we'll do it." 

The meeting ended abruptly at 9 p.m., when the homeowners began receiving phone calls from home—the flood waters in their neighborhoods were on the rise again.


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