Local Businesses Suffer From Flooding Streets

For many businesses, rain can be a blessing. Customers looking to seek cover from inclement weather can take shelter in a nearby shop or restaurant.

However, for local businesses along Nyack’s Main Street, many employees and owners have faced hardships caused by flooding. That is a key concern with heavy rain in the forecast for much of the week. 

“I think this damages the whole town,” said Maso Umezaki, owner of Nyack’s Murasaki restaurant. 

Specific to his business, the storms and poor drainage systems have taken a toll. During Hurricane Sandy, the flooding cost the restaurant two freezers and a washing machine. Just this past Thursday, Umezaki was forced to throw out food that had been spoiled by the water. Two weeks ago, the flooding in the streets caused Umezaki to lose a full day’s business. After the town was forced to shut off the gas lines, the restaurant lost power for a full day, and gas inspectors paid Umezaki a visit.

“They said I have to change the cables, and I don’t know how much its gonna cost,” he said, “I worry about it.”

 Co-owner of Main Essentials, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant, Reality Al, shared a similar sentiment with Umezaki.

“We do get affected, mostly in the basement,” He said.

While Al has been lucky in terms of damages, he has definitely noticed a drop in customers when the streets are flooded.

“People aren’t going to want to shop here anymore,” he said.

Al said he and other local business owners are frustrated with the local government for the lack of effort being put forth.

“They need to fix it the proper way," He said. "They should come around to the business owners, but they don’t want to face reality.”

However, according to Nyack Mayor Jennifer Laird-White, the village has been doing everything they can to fix the problems caused by the flooding, yet it tends to be out of their control. The source of the flooding is the Nyack Brook, which has been running underneath some of the businesses, especially on the corner of Main and Franklin Street. The problem with the creek is that the businesses themselves own and are responsible for their land.

“The village owns portions of the creek, but where it runs under private property, its their responsibility”, said White.

The village has tried to be proactive about the issue, even putting aside money and hiring engineers to inspect blockages underneath businesses. Yet, some business owners are hesitant to allow inspection, as they are afraid of the costs of repair. More than anything, White wants to be able to help these businesses prepare, but “until they let us in, we can’t help.” 

Murasaki is one of the few businesses that has allowed village inspectors to enter their basement, an important step to prevent future damage.

“I think now that they’ve given the village the opportunity to inspect, hopefully their neighbors will follow suite,” said White of the restaurant.

Many businesses, like Tarantella’s Pizzeria, Gypsy Donut, and Avispa Food Mart and Deli, were lucky to have been completely unaffected by this past week’s tropical storm Andrea.

“We’ve had no problems,” said Jose Mazariego, an employee of Avispa’s, “We have our pumps ready.”

Yet even though the deli came away clean, Mazariego has observed the damage of stronger storms like Sandy, and is unsure about future flooding.

“We’re good for now, but you never know for how long,” Mazariego said.