Final Round Of Federal Funding As Flood Relief Project To Begin

CLARKSTOWN, NY — The frequent flooding in West Nyack and New City will be tackled this year. Clarkstown officials expect to seek bids next month for the $4.5 million project.

Victims of perennial floods from the nearby Hackensack River, neighborhoods near the Klein Avenue Levee were particularly hard-hit by hurricanes Irene, Lee and Sandy.

"That was just unbelievable flooding down there. Up to the first floor of people's houses," Clarkstown town Supervisor George Hoehmann told Patch. The town has been fortunate that there hasn't been a major storm recently, "but we're overdue."

Last week, Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey announced a $1,27 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to the town of Clarkstown for the Klein Avenue Levee Improvements project.

This latest grant comes after previous awards of $215,250 in April of 2014, $71,750 in December of 2014, and $3,243,287 in February 2019, making the total investment in this project $4,798,713. The funding was awarded through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program

This award will cover increases in materials and labor costs in the 10 years since town officials started having the project designed and began chasing approvals from the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In 2013 Clarkstown hired Brooker Engineering PLLC of Suffern to perform a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of the Hackensack River Basin tributary in West Nyack.

“In the face of an ever-changing climate, it is more important than ever that our stormwater infrastructure is as robust and resilient as possible,” Lowey said in her announcement. “The Klein Avenue Levee Improvement project will ensure Clarkstown has the resources necessary to protect its community from further flooding. With this funding, Clarkstown will be better prepared for severe weather events in the future.”

The plan is to elevate the berm by 4 feet and extend it by more than 1,000 feet, so that the river won't overtop the levee.

"We're going out to bid in June, hopefully receiving answers by July," Hoehmann said. "We think it's going to take about eight months. If we start in September we should be done by the hurricane season 2021."