Neighbors: Midland Beach, Staten Island Stays Flooded For Days Every Time It Rains
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents of the Midland Beach community on Staten Island had some flooding fears Sunday night.
As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, they are left with inches of water every time it rains.
Igor Yentis of Midland Beach has to figure out a route to get home every time it rains.
"I actually try to go in illegally against the one-way to try not to hit the water," Yentis said.
Yentis' family's house, at the corner of Kiswick Street and Bedford Avenue in Midland Beach, is its own little island within Staten Island. It was completely surrounded by floodwater on Sunday.
Yentis said if he had known how bad the situation was, he probably would have thought twice about buying the house.
A couple blocks away on Grimsby Street was just as bad – not only in giant downpours, but almost every time it rains.
"Every time it rains, if it rains five minutes, then it'll have a huge puddle up the block," said Jennifer Taylor, who lives on Kiswick Street.
"All summer, we usually have this giant lake over here," said Jimmy Taylor of Kiswick Street.
All the standing water can be scary.
"Especially with the bugs and mosquitoes and all the viruses now, it's not healthy," said Christine Melendez, who was visiting Staten Island on Sunday.
People who live here in the area said the problem with the flooding -- which was about a foot deep in some places on Sunday -- is that it lasts for days. It continues well after it was stopped raining.
Some believe the answer is a better drainage system. But in low-lying Midland Beach, the water has nowhere to go.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is working on a project to put in new wetlands to filter stormwater. But City Councilman Steven Matteo (R-50th) wants something done now.
"In my opinion, the best interim solution is to have DEP pump out the water as the flooding occurs," Matteo said in the statement.
Whatever the fix, Yentis said the status quo is a "hassle."
Unless it is before the next storm, it will not be as fast as the families in the neighborhood need.
A DEP spokesman told CBS2 the first phase of the wetland project should be done by the end of next year. He also said engineers would be looking into whether there are any short-term solutions.
