Lawyers for Ozone Park flood victims demand immediate action from comptroller

One year after their homes were flooded with sewage, 19 South Ozone Park residents are still waiting on compensation from the city. In this November 2019 photo, a resident covers her nose to block the stench.

Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

By Rachel Vick

The legal team representing South Ozone Park residents whose homes were flooded with raw sewage in November 2019 are again calling on Comptroller Scott Stringer provide adequate compensation for damages.

The comptroller’s office has offered settlements on 85 percent of the claims for a “fraction of the actual damages,” attorneys from the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the South Ozone Park Legal Assistance Project wrote in a letter to Stringer and various local elected officials.

“The failure of the Comptroller’s officer to respond appropriately to this community’s loss can only be viewed as an abject failure of city government to honor perhaps its greatest responsibility — protecting those most in need,” the two organizations wrote.  

“Also regrettable is the fact that the vulnerable nature of the affected population has been exploited by the city, as none of our clients have adequate resources and experience to effectively prosecute their claims,” they added.

The filthy water poured from a collapsed sewer pipe and surged into the basements of more than 70 homes in the Queens neighborhood during Thanksgiving weekend last year, destroying possessions and forcing the families to leave the homes during clean-up.

Several families accepted low offers and moved on. At least 19 are holding out.

The attorneys cite the example of a family that filed a claim for $38,000 for physical damages and $10,000 for personal items. The initial offer from the Comptroller’s office was $10,000, which was raised to $11,000, $15,000 and finally $18,000 as the family continued to object. The comptroller provided no explanation for the amount offered.

The letter states that the family finally accepted the offer for less than half of their losses after being told “Look, we don’t pay dollar for dollar, this is our final offer,” by the comptroller’s office.

Most of the residents who settled did so without access to hearing transcripts and have been pressured by Comptroller’s office staff, according to the letter. More than 200 claims might have been filed in connection to the flood, according to a Freedom of Information Law request filed by Queen College Professor Natalie Bump Vena.

The 19 residents still waiting for compensation filed a lawsuit in July after trying and failing to negotiate an agreement with the city. 

The group’s lawyers listed six demands to protect their clients and others like them in the case of future disasters, including extending the statute of limitations, accepting late-filed and resubmitted claims, settling promptly, improving transparency, allowing re-evaluation of closed claims and allowing amendments when additional damages are found.

“Our clients have lived with this issue for a year with no offers from the City to pay for their lost property and the repairs needed to make some of the homes at least livable again,” plaintiffs’ attorney Craig Phemister of the firm Napoli, Shkolnik, PLLC told the Eagle in November.

Part of the problem was that city officials who came to help clean removed many of the damaged items before properly documenting them, said Phemister.

Stringer responded to an earlier letter from the group by suggesting the formation of an Office of Claimants to support residents through the process of filing in the future. His office has been trying, and will continue their various efforts to work with the impacted households, according to Stringer’s spokesperson Hazel Crampton-Hays.

She said outreach included emergency contracts to clean up all affected homes and replace damaged heating and hot water equipment, staff stationed on the ground to provide support, disseminate claims forms, and help navigate the claims process and a tour of the neighborhood with Stringer.
"Our team has been working since day one with impacted residents to help them return to their homes and receive what they are owed,” Crampton-Hays told the Eagle. “We’re committed to this important work and doing everything possible to help New Yorkers get back on their feet.”