Nor'easter Produced Worst Flooding in Local Memory

See More Photos: Nor'easter Slams Larchmont & Mamaroneck

by Judy Silberstein

(April 19, 2007) The April 15 nor’easter was the worst ever experienced by most residents and officials in Larchmont, Town of Mamaroneck and Village of Mamaroneck. “The worst suffering is coming from residents and businesses in the Village of Mamaroneck,” said Town Supervisor Valerie O’Keeffe. There, flooded streets delayed firefighters from reaching a smoky fire at 243 Knollwood Avenue in Harbor Heights that ultimately claimed the life of 85-year-old Jacques Kirsch. (See:Obituaries.) Mayor Phil Trifiletti, touring the emergency shelter at Mamaroneck High School and shaken by the death of his neighbor from a few doors away, nevertheless noted, things could have been even worse.

Homes and stores inundated in the early March deluge were hit even harder this time. Damage spread to many more homes and businesses, with estimates of financial impacts running into the tens of millions of dollars. Among those hit twice were the Whittemores and others on Howard Avenue, many of whom had only recently completed renovations and returned home. Jim Whittemore was rescued by boat from his flooded second floor by Mamaroneck Village firefighters who battled the current for almost twenty minutes to reach him, according to Carolyn Whittemore, his mother.

Over 220 residents, many from low-lying Washingtonville neighborhoods, took shelter in the high school gym, where the Red Cross provided cots, blankets food and information. NY Governor Elliot Spitzer visited the center and reviewed the devastation along with state, county and local political leaders, who along with New York’s representatives to Congress are requesting that President George Bush declare parts of Westchester a disaster area eligible for federal help.

Governor Eliot Spitzer surrounded by state, county and local leaders outside Mamaroneck High School, calls Mamaroneck the "epicenter" of the flooding and promised assistance.

“I hope they can help,” said Randolph Scott, 49, who had grabbed a jitney to the high school after climbing out a window to escape from his basement apartment at Old White Plains Road and New Street. “I’ve lived in Mamaroneck thirty years and never seen it as bad.” Newly appointed Mamaroneck Village Trustee Tony Fava said he had five feet of water in his office at Waverly and Mamaroneck Avenue.

Up in the Harbor Heights section of Mamaroneck Village, the Mamaroneck River again overflowed its banks filling basements and ground floors of surrounding homes. “It’s been dormant for 20 years,” said Peggy Jackson, whose basement was completely submerged and ground floor got 8 feet of water. The neighborhood association she heads has been meeting for months with all levels of government, including the Army Corps of Engineers, to find “small, medium and giant fixes” to recently recurring flooding that they view as “part overdevelopment upriver and part weather cycle.”

7 Inches and More of Rain

For this flood event, the weather received most of the blame. There was only so much officials and residents could do to contain or prepare for such heavy rain.

More than 7 inches of rain fell over 15 hours from noon on Sunday, April 15 to 3 am on Monday, according to estimates from Mamaroneck Town Administrator Steve Altieri. An email update from the Town said, “The equivalent of two months of rain fell in twelve hours. The heavy rains swelled local brooks and rivers releasing torrents of water throughout the Town.” The water level at the Larchmont Reservoir had been dropped 114 inches below the spillway, but by dinner time Sunday, the water had risen and spilled over, “which was an incredible sight, ” said Mr. Altieri.

Especially hard hit in Mamaroneck Town were homes on East and West Brookside Drives. The “brook,” a section of the Sheldrake River, flooded adjacent roads and homes causing Con Edison to shut off power to an area that included neighboring streets. More homes were flooded when their sump pumps lost power (a topic that consumed much of the public discussion at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, April 18).

In Larchmont Village “people had flooding who have never had water,” said Larchmont Deputy Mayor Marlene Kolbert, who was filling in as Mayor Liz Feld recuperated from a hospital stay for cardiac tests. (See: Mayor Hospitalized for Cardiac Tests; VOL Prepares for Storm.) Among the newly flooded were the Kolberts, who had water in their basement for the first time in thirty years.

Even some Pine Brook Drive residents in the lowest-lying block, who are more experienced with high water, were caught by surprise. Larchmont firefighters had to use a Zodiac inflatable boat offered by the Larchmont Yacht Club to reach and rescue people from a number of homes. “Firefighters motored it right up to the front door of several homes,” said Deputy Fire Chief PJ Abrahamson.

An orange highlights the movement of two firefighters motoring an inflatable boat along Pine Brook Drive in Larchmont to rescue residents trapped by the high water. Photo by Joe Clifton.

Flint Park flooded, turning into a lake by midday Sunday, but the plot staked out by the Larchmont Board for its proposed artificial turf field remained dry, according to Joe Bedard, manager of Larchmont’s Department of Public Works.

Geysers spouted out of overcharged sanitary sewers near Manor Park on Monday, April 16.

“One big problem we had was the flow of raw sewage,” said Deputy Chief Abrahamson. Along Hall Avenue the pressure on the pipes was “blowing the sewer caps off basement traps,” and allowing sewage to spill into houses. There were also cases where home heating oil mixed with sewage and rain water seeped into homes.

Hard to Believe, But It Could Have Been Worse

As bad as it was, officials in all three communities recognize it could have been worse.

Most of the flooding was as a result of intense, concentrated rain – rather than gale force winds and super high tides, as had been predicted. High tides did cause additional flooding in many neighborhoods, mostly by backing up the storm sewers, rivers and brooks that empty into Long Island Sound. But had the winds combined with the tides, there could have been much more damage, especially for homes right on the Sound.

“In the end, it wasn’t really a coastal storm,” said Deputy Mayor Kolbert. “The water only came a little over the seawall.”

That said, the damage is severe and recovery will take many weeks. The deputy mayor along with officials in Mamaroneck Town and Village were advising residents, who were understandably eager to get started with cleanup, to first photograph and document their losses to help with private insurance claims and possible assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page