Village Hall stage for flood map showdown

Residents of southern Valley Stream have a lot of questions about the new flood maps that went into effect last year. And soon they could have some answers.

After numerous complaints to local government officials, a town hall-style meeting was set up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for the flood map changes. FEMA representatives will be at Village Hall on Aug. 31 to hear from an increasingly irate public.

“There are many residents who are very angry,” said Gibson homeowner Carol Crupi. “I would like to see the place packed to the rafters. I think that would be an eye-opener.”

Much of the Gibson area is in the new high-risk flood zone. Residents with mortgages were required to purchase costly flood insurance, with rates nearing $2,500 a year for some. The Mill Brook area outside the village is also in the flood zone, and those residents are invited to next week’s meeting as well.

Marc Tenzer, president of the Mill Brook Civic Association, said he would put out the word to all 811 homeowners in the South Valley Stream community. “We’re all in the flood zone,” Tenzer said. “Everybody.”

Hempstead Town Councilman Jim Darcy arranged for the meeting with FEMA officials, saying that his office, and the Valley Stream mayor’s office, were flooded with calls from angry or confused homeowners. In fact, Darcy said, the most frequent complaint was that people simply didn’t have enough information, yet were being hit with thousand-dollar-plus flood insurance bills.

He said it would be best for residents to take their questions directly to the source. “I find that if I get more than two or three complaints, then there’s kind of a smoking gun there,” Darcy said. “I try to use my office to facilitate my residents’ concerns. If it’s a federal issue, I try to put them in touch with the appropriate federal agency.”