Flooded Residents In Brick Weighing Lawsuit Over Parkway Impact

BRICK, NJ — If your home was among those flooded during the Aug. 13 storm that dropped nearly 8 inches of rain, there are a pair of meetings Saturday, Nov. 3 for discussions of a potential lawsuit.

The first meeting is at 10 a.m. with attorneys from Stark & Stark, a large New Jersey law firm with offices in several towns, including New York and Philadelphia, to hear about the potential for filing a suit.

The second meeting is at 1 p.m. with a representative from the national law firm Becker and Poliakoff.

Both meetings are at the Greenbriar 1 clubhouse, 1 Darley Circle, Brick.

Residents of Evergreen Woods, Sutton Village, Primrose Lane and any other areas affected by the flooding are invited to the meeting, organizers said. Homes in Howell and Wall in the vicinity also flooded during the storm. Hundreds of people were forced from their homes and many still have not returned.

The Aug. 13 flooding fueled longstanding complaints about exapnsion work done in the area of Exit 91 on the Garden State Parkway, which was widened by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority in the area. Residents, particularly in Evergreen Woods, have vocally opposed the work and sought mitigation, specifically a sound wall to reduce the rumbling they say rattles their homes and to be somewhat of a barrier to the exhaust fumes from Parkway traffic.

The reconfiguration of Exit 91, which was turned into a full exchange, has only added to complaints about the changes in the traffic patterns, which some say has simply made matters worse. And residents have repeatedly criticized township officials over what they view as a lack of responsiveness and an unwillingness to fight the Turnpike Authority in particular.

As rain deluged the area, sites around the Parkway in that part of Brick, from Exit 90 to north of Exit 91, that had never flooded in 40 years were suddenly under as much as 4 feet of water. More than 100 homes in Greenbriar 1 were evacuated; flooding shut down the exits at both 90 and 91 for a time. Brick Township officials requested a formal study of the area following the flooding. Brick officials sought videos and photos of the flooding to help with investigating it.

"(We cannot express in words strong enough to all those who have suffered so much for the past six years. Do absolutely come to this! If you can't come, have your husband, your wife, your neighbor, your friend, come in your stead. And tell everyone who you know," organizers wrote.

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Photo by Brick Township Police