Mixed reactions for Inwood flood plans

Opinions are mixed on a $3.3 million road raising and stormwater drainage project the Town of Hempstead has sent out to bid that will be paid with federal and state money through the Governor’s Office for Storm Recovery.

The work is anticipated to curb high-tide flooding in a portion of Inwood by installing check vales, drains and raising the roadways.

Floodwaters after high tides and storms have weakened the asphalt roads and damaged the curbs and sidewalks. In addition, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is woefully out of date.

The work is planned for Bayswater Boulevard, Davis Avenue, Chestnut, Maple and Walnut roads and Peppe Drive. Bids are expected back by month’s end.

Waqas Chaudhry has lived on Bayswater Boulevard immediately next to the town’s Inwood Marina for 10 years. “With (Hurricane) Sandy we had four to five feet of water and lost everything,” he said as he chipped golf balls into a net on his front yard. “Every high tide the water rises up to the cars.”

Chaudhry said that he is looking forward to the road raising as the constant flooding is “for us a real problem a recurring problem at high tide.” “I’m all for it,” he said, “I’m looking for it to help a lot.”

A block down on Bayswater Boulevard, Bella Mikhaylova said she was not living in Inwood when Sandy struck, but she heard about it. “It floods everywhere around here,” she said, “they should do it, it will benefit the community.”

On Facebook, a few area residents questioned the results of similar work in other communities. “I saw this happen in Rockaway,” Inwood resident Elisa Hinken posted. “Many homes even lost their basement level access. Plus during tidal floods this will not mitigate any flooding..”
Bev Arate pulled no punches. “This is a joke,” she posted. “Wasted taxpayer money. I live here, this won’t work.”

Abby Schmidt, who lives in Meadowmere Park, another community hit hard by Sandy flooding, was adamant in her opposition to the project. She stated in her post that she conducted much research before the town raised the streets in Meadowmere Park.

“Whatever you guys do, refuse those yard, driveway drains,” Schmidt posted. “If they are planned for a home, they’ll only cause flooding in that part of the property from rain when the tide is too high to let water out! And, when those flex valves fail and the tide comes through, your property will flood! You as a homeowner can refuse these to be put on your property. Many Meadowmere, Seaford and East Rockaway property owners who had these filled them in at their own cost after the fact. Some are still here and fill with tide water with moon tides."

Town officials said that all residents whose properties are affected, such as with the installation of a drain, approved of the work after being told of the details during the planning phases. Town spokesman Greg Blower noted that the project “incorporates designs and techniques that have been successfully applied in other areas of the township, and are critical for the safeguarding of these communities.”

“Projects that implement upgrades to stormwater drainage and roadways provide much needed infrastructure improvements to coastal communities, particularly those that were hammered by Superstorm Sandy and frequently experience high-tide flooding,” Blower said. “The goal is for these enhancements is to deliver neighbors with much-needed relief from experiencing frequent flooding and to help strengthen shoreline neighborhoods in preparation for future coastal storms.”