Residents battle sewage floods in Queens Village

A rainy night on 231 Street. Eagle photo by Victoria Merlino.

By Victoria Merlino

A major sewage backup in South Ozone Park on Thanksgiving weekend made headlines as residents desperately tried to save possessions from a rising tide of sludge in their homes. But South Ozone Park residents aren’t the only ones dealing with foul-smelling floods in their Eastern Queens basements.

Residents along one block on the border of Queens Village and Bellerose Manor are complaining of sewer water routinely making its way into their homes, carrying foul smells, creating unsafe conditions and sometimes causing thousands of dollars in damage. 

After several recent rainstorms, residents of 231st Street near Seward Avenue claim they faced a deluge of water in their basements that they were scrambling to clean. 

“We have to do something, because the city doesn’t do nothing,” said Henry Hernandez, a resident on the block who moved to the neighborhood six years ago. He he said he renovated his basement two years ago following flood damage, and he installed drainage systems to attempt to curb flooding. Those efforts have done little to stop the surging wastewater, he said.

Hernandez said that he called 311 twice this year to address the flooding, but the city still has not solved the issue. 

When the Eagle visited the home during a rainstorm Tuesday night, Hernandez and his wife said that they were afraid to do laundry in the basement or leave the house when it rains because of potential damage.  

“The problem is engineering,” he said, blaming the backup on an issue with the city sewer.

Rashda Zaheer, another resident, said that her basement floods frequently, and that she has called 311 about the issue “so many times.” The Department of Environmental Protection, who handles issues with city sewer, is late to address her calls when it floods, she said, a sentiment other residents echoed. 

Though she lives in a tight knit community, Zaheer said that there is only so much neighbors can do to support each other through the flooding. 

An example of the flooding on Dec. 9. Photo courtesy of Abdul.

“We help each other all the time, but this time it’s too much,” she said. 

Resident Amtal Kamran estimated that she has spent $5,000 to $6,000 replacing and repairing items that have been damaged by numerous basement sewage floods. She lost a TV and luggage, she said. Plumbers have told her that the issue is a city problem.

“This is very dangerous for my kids,” said Kamran, who has three children, including a 4-month-old.

South Ozone Park residents said that they also encountered slow response times and poor communication from DEP when they testified at a City Council hearing on the sewer backup earlier this month. 

“Everyone on our block is just super frustrated. No one really knows what the solution is besides DEP digging up the street and fixing the pipe,” said Abdul, another resident who declined to give his last name. 

A DEP spokesperson told the Eagle that crews had gone out to address the problem on the block, and said the agency would be conducting a study to look into the sewer issue.

“DEP crews flushed the sewer line in this area on Saturday night (with high pressure water) and returned on Monday with a vactor truck to clear any blockage/debris from the sewer line,” the spokesperson said in an email. “DEP will initiate an engineering study to determine if the sewer serving this neighborhood is the appropriate size and design.”

Councilmember Barry Grodenchik, who represents the area, said that a resident contacted his office last week regarding the major flooding on 231st near Seward Avenue, and said he was “immediately” in contact with DEP. He said DEP has visited the block at least four times since. 

Grodenchick called the flooding “unusual” for the specific section of the neighborhood. “It doesn’t really happen very often,” Grodenchik said.  

He said other parts of Eastern Queens have had flooding issues “going back for decades and decades,” however. The city has attempted to rectify the problems by renovating and maintaining the infrastructure, but it is an ongoing process, he said.