The slow-moving Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers meet at Columbus Park in the village of Mamaroneck, where major floods have become a nearly annual ritual.
After an April 2007 nor”™easter, the rivers rose from their banks so high that only the head of the Christopher Columbus statue poked out from under the floodwaters at the park. More than 100 businesses and residents nearby were affected, accumulating $50 million worth of damages.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer first visited the park during the immediate recovery from those floods, which saw Westchester County tagged a federal disaster area. Schumer and other politicians called for the federal government to study projects that would ease flooding along the rivers, but the bureaucratic process was slow-moving even as extreme weather became routine.
The 2007 nor”™easter turned out to be the first of a string of major flood events in the region, many with names like Irene and Lee, but flooding has come even with small thunderstorms. It took seven years, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finally presented the village with options for a large-scale project to reduce flood risks in the region.
Mayor Norman Rosenblum said Mamaroneck chose a $59 million project that offered “the biggest bang for the buck.” At least 65 percent of the cost will be funded by the federal government. The mayor said recent floods have increased the level of urgency, but that flooding has been a concern in the village for decades.
“This is a multigenerational project,” he said. “There”™s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Rosenblum said he feared gentrification of the Washingtonville neighborhood on the river banks without a reduction of flood risks. He said businesses and a local Baptist church have needed to rebuild three times or more in the last decade. Suggestions such as requiring residents in the area to raise their homes could cost $200,000 per project, well beyond the spending capabilities of many residents and businesses, Rosenblum said.
The project chosen by the village will build retaining walls and deepen the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers by 4.2 feet and 3.4 feet, respectively. The rivers will also be widened by more than 35 feet apiece, and six bridges on the rivers will either be removed or replaced to increase the flow of the waterways. The entire project will reduce the flood risk for a “50-year storm” by 92 percent and reduce flood risks 84 percent in the event of a “100-year storm.”
On May 29, Schumer returned to Columbus Park for his third visit since the 2007 floods. This time, he held a news conference on a bridge overlooking the Sheldrake, to call on the Army to speed up its review of the project.
“We don”™t want to wait for another a flood; we don”™t want to wait another year,” he said.
The Army Corps is expected to complete its review of the project by next year, but the senator said the corps should expedite the project, which he called the No. 1 flood project in Westchester that is not Hurricane Sandy-related. The plan must have a public review phase and a draft Environmental Impact Statement must be released for public review as well.
He said he believed the corps could complete its review of the Mamaroneck plan while also moving forward Sandy-related projects in New York City and elsewhere.
“Unfortunately, dealing with flooding has become a way of life in this area, in Mamaroneck and in Larchmont,” he said. “When it”™s your home or your business being flooded almost once a year or even once every 20 years, that”™s a horrible thing to go through.”
Rosenblum said he was confident the project would be expedited and see federal funding, noting Schumer is the third ranking Democrat in the Senate and local Rep. Nita Lowey is the senior Democrat on the House appropriations committee.
