Mamaroneck residents urge officials to help after Ida aggravates chronic flooding issues

Mamaroneck residents are calling for officials to act as they continue to deal with severe flooding concerns after Ida.

News 12 Staff

Sep 7, 2021, 10:22 PM

Updated 1,126 days ago

Share:

Mamaroneck residents are calling for officials to act as they continue to deal with severe flooding concerns after Ida.
Nearly a week after Ida's remnants slammed the Hudson Valley, Jim Brigante's backyard and sidewalk on Fenimore Road in Mamaroneck is still littered with the personal belongings of his daughter who lives in his basement and is on dialysis.
"I had 3 feet of water in my backyard,” he says. “She lost all her comic books...she lost everything."
Brigante says another storm blew through Mamaroneck in 2007 and caused some problems, but it was nothing compared to the devastation unleashed by Ida.
“I've seen water where it's at the top of my hedges, here in the front…but it never went in the house,” he says.
Shana Gliksman, who moved to the village 9 years ago, says her basement also flooded after Ida.
"All of a sudden, the garage door pushed open, and it was like an ocean of mud and sticks and just nastiness,” she says.
Neighbors say both state and local politicians have been promising to fix the chronic flooding issue in Mamaroneck for decades, but nothing ever gets done.
On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul toured the area along with New York's U.S. senators and Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who promised action.
However, resident Dolores Brigante says she’s heard promises before but hasn’t seen any action.
"They solve nothing. They do a lot of talking, and a lot of promising, nothing has changed...we're here 40 years,” she says.
Neighbors say they are looking for a permanent solution to a chronic flooding problem.
The Brigante family says the storm has left them with about $40,000 in damages.