Heavy rainfall floods basements in Coney Island
Residents said the storm drains on the corner near Neptune Avenue are constantly clogged, and the city only makes minor repairs.
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The heavy rainfall on Monday turned Coney Island streets into rivers and flooded basements along West 35th Street.
“The entire basement was covered in water that we had to call the fire department to come out, and they shut our power off,” said Shakina Daniels, of Coney Island.
The floodwater was so high that the fire department had to remove the cellar door from the basement steps.
A watermark was visible on the top of the staircase.
“The whole entire basement is flooded up until the first-floor unit,” said Daniels.
Wayne Wilson, who lives two doors down, said there was not much he could do to prevent his basement from flooding.
“The street was flooded back there,” said Wilson. “All the cars reversed, and they want to come back.”
Residents said the storm drains on the corner near Neptune Avenue are constantly clogged, and the city only makes minor repairs.
“They will come,” said Wilson. “They will clean it, but they never fix that problem.”
Daniels said the owner of her building, New Day Management, sent a small crew to clean up the big mess.
“They were just like, ‘Well, we’re not in charge of Mother Nature,’” said Daniels. “They can’t really do anything.”
Daniels told News 12 that the power was turned off, forcing tenants to find shelter elsewhere.
News 12 reached out to New Day Management several times on Monday evening but was either hung up on or sent straight to voicemail.
“You’re getting rent, so you guys need to do your part,” said Daniels. “You guys need to come and make sure that we’re living in a safe environment with our kids and our elderly family members. This is ridiculous.”
