Village of Tuckahoe, NY
65 Main Street Tuckahoe, NY 10707914-961-3100 — fax:914-961-3114
Hours: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM Monday – Friday
Tuckahoe TV Stations: Channels 26 and 75
The rains of spring could mean flooding season is nearly upon us. Hopefully this won’t be the case but we must prepare. Flooding may be slightly mitigated this year due to a lack of snowmelt that often compounds the problem. However, flooding can still occur due to hardened or unthawed ground being unable to absorb a quick sustained downpour that is common during this season. It seems to me that the number of residents whose homes are flooding is growing. Some of us must endure only a small amount of water in our basements but two distinct areas of Tuckahoe continue to be at risk and have been suffering from extreme seasonal flooding. The first one is Lower Lake Ave. whose problems are directly linked to proximity to the Bronx River. The other area is east of Route 22, which sits in a topographical bowl of sorts.
I have instructed DPW to immediately examine storm drains and main sanitary sewer lines. Our men are blowing them clear to ensure they are working at their highest potential in the event we are inundated by another large storm. The area I am most concerned with right now is Lake, Armorvilla and Yonkers Ave, since they are most likely to experience the worst of any flooding. I also contacted Metro North to inform them no further compounding of our flooding will be tolerated. My intention is to be ahead of these kinds of problems for our residents and not wait until people are in hip waders to react. With all this in mind I recently proposed and passed a law that required all food establishments to retain and dispose of grease in a drum, keeping it out of our garbage trucks and hopefully off our streets. This law additionally strengthened our grease trap requirements. This should help keep grease from entering our sewers. This is important since grease in our sewer system has a tendency to form into large wax-like logs that often clog the lines.
I have taken the steps required to prepare us but what is causing this escalating problem. The list of possible culprits responsible for the Bronx River flooding of our village is vast. Some blame the increased development of White Plains since their storm water drains in upriver. Others point to the raising of Parkway Oval Field, which formerly acted as a flood plain harming no homes, and now the water is forced further down stream in search of a place to overflow.
One specific problematic spot is the bend at Elm Street and Yonkers Ave. This particular bend in the Bronx River is man made. Many years ago this bend was made to add the "Casino" property and probably allowed the development of the homes along Yonkers Avenue. This abrupt turn to nature’s normal river course only appears to be flawed in recent time. This man made solution to alter nature for more buildable real estate cannot now be undone however the failed retaining wall and embankment must be repaired. I have met twice with the Army Corps of Engineers representatives and I know past administrations have as well but for too long this important project has remained unfunded.
County government, which owns the Bronx River and its surrounding property, has accountability here also. This problem is not specific to Tuckahoe so a countywide solution is in order. The County has not completely turned a blind eye, in fact they have cleared many dead trees and limbs from along the preserve and these certainly enhance flooding prospects when they become wedged in areas. But ultimately this maintenance falls short of a solution. I, like many, believe a dredging of the river will aid the volume from larger storm surges.
Our growth also plays a role in community flooding. While new development is required to retain all water on site in dry wells this isn’t true in the case of older homes. Expansion of impermeable surfaces such as patios and walkways prevent the ground from properly absorbing water so it quickly runs off any property. Additionally leaders and gutters on many homes simply run onto the property or worse are illegally tied into the sanitary sewer line. Another problem is sump pump systems being tied into the sanitary sewer. Overloading the sanitary sewer lines with storm water is causing the water that many get in their house to be mixed with raw sewage. Since I see so many local problems connected with our flooding, I am not prepared to link it with Mr. Gore’s Inconvenient Truth on storm intensity. But just for the record I am not discarding his theory either. When a water problem affects so many residents, pushing it off to future administrations is unacceptable. I will continue to work with all levels of Government to implement the solution that will stand the test of time.