Queens neighborhoods get stormwater-absorbing medians to assist mitigate flood points

QUEENS (WABC) — Metropolis officers have unveiled a brand new flood mitigation initiative in Queens, changing concrete medians in flood-prone neighborhoods into inexperienced areas designed to soak up stormwater and cut back avenue flooding.

The mission is reworking medians in Whitestone, Forest Hills and Queens Village into landscaped areas planted with grass and wildflowers. Officers stated the brand new areas are anticipated to seize roughly 5 million gallons of floodwater yearly.

In Whitestone, residents have watched as a concrete median at Francis Lewis Boulevard and twenty first Highway was eliminated and changed with vegetation as a part of what metropolis engineers describe as stormwater mitigation efforts.

Close by medians stay unchanged, consisting primarily of concrete with restricted vegetation. Throughout rainstorms, water has fewer alternatives to be absorbed into the bottom.

The mission comes as New York Metropolis faces rising challenges from extreme climate and flooding. Flooding has affected transportation infrastructure, together with streets and subways, and has posed vital dangers in some neighborhoods. Officers pointed to the flash flooding attributable to Hurricane Ida in September 2021, which killed 14 folks in New York Metropolis.

The brand new medians in Whitestone, together with comparable initiatives in Forest Hills and Queens Village, are anticipated to soak up as much as 5 million gallons of water every year. The initiative is funded with $8.4 million in metropolis and state funding.

Residents stated they’ve noticed flooding issues develop over time.

“What have you ever seen through the years?” Eyewitness Information reporter N.J. Burkett requested.

“Simply much more flooding than there was,” Ernie Nardi of Whitestone stated.

“It looks like all our rainfalls are extraordinarily heavy rainfalls. I feel our infrastructure wants a bit little bit of a redo,” stated Cusi Nardi, a Queens resident.

Francesca Pitaro, one other Queens resident, stated she helps the mission.

“I feel it seems to be loads nicer than a pile of cement. I’ve not had issues with flooding at my home, however I do know that there are plenty of issues with flooding on this neighborhood. And so I feel something they will do to mitigate the consequences of the local weather change and the loopy rain we have been having, I am all for it,” Pitaro stated.

Officers stated the inexperienced median installations are meant to assist cut back flooding in susceptible neighborhoods whereas including landscaped public area to the group.