DEP Deputy Commissioner Vincent Sapienza stood beside Mario Bruno, assistant commissioner for intergovernmental affairs, and fielded question after question over how the city planned on handling water damage claims after more than five inches of rain flooded and left hundred of homes in Lindenwood in ruins on April 30. The agency admitted last month that a malfunctioning sewer facility was to blame but must officially admit fault in a report to Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office in order to assess damages and determine compensation.
Soon after the storm, the DEP released a statement finding its Spring Creek Combined Sewer Overflow Retention Facility on Flatlands Avenue “did not function as intended” and reached capacity the night of the rainfall. The Spring Creek facility, which started service in the mid ‘70s, stores up to 20 million gallons of rainfall and wastewater and reached its limit April 30, along with the Ward and Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plants on the same evening, the DEP said.
“It is still being assessed which homes were affected by the overflow at the Spring Creek facility,” Sapienza said, sparking an eruption of disgust from the crowd. Several residents shot up and shouted, “It was your fault!”
After the rainfall, residents were urged to file water damage claims with the comptroller’s office within 90 days of the event. Ariola speculated the city was playing games by making residents wait this long for a final report from the DEP and asked the reps if they were simply trying to wait out the 90 days.
3 comments:
Repairing facilities like these is a complicated and expensive process. Too bad there isn't some program to arrange financing for such necessary projects statewide.
Oh wait. There is. And Cuomo just raided it to help hide just how high the bridge tolls upstate are going to get. You see he can't use funding mechanisms designed for the bridge yet, including the massive federal loan he bragged about securing, because they require financial plans that would make public that to pay for the bridge he needs $15 tolls.
Now muscle car Cuomo doesn't want to admit that. So NYC and other parts of the state will suffer incidents like this because the money to repair these facilities has gone elsewhere.
Astorino. Teachout. Anybody but Cuomo. Let these guys know that they can't pull shit like this.
"The agency admitted last month that a malfunctioning sewer facility was to blame but must officially admit fault in a report to Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office in order to assess damages and determine compensation..."
Isn't this a fact all across Queens, not just in Lindenwood. Astoria & LIC has flooded for at least 25 years and Vallone just laughed it off. No one cares, they just dip their hands into the tax money pot and stick the residents with the bill, and the same mindless people vote the same corrupt politicians in again and again. Same old, same old.
"Isn't this a fact all across Queens, not just in Lindenwood."
NYC has billions of dollars worth of sewer upgrades that need to be made. Instead Cuomo is sending that money to pay for his bridge so more people can drive into NYC, De Blasio doesn't care, but at least the Feds are asking questions.
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