By Sarah Moskowitz
John Leban grew up on Adams Street in East Rockaway, where he still lives with Donna and their children. One thing that hasn't changed in his years there is the periodic street flooding. At times the water rises several feet high, deep enough for Leban to paddle his canoe between houses.
Rising tides in Thixton Creek, behind the houses across the street from the Leban home, cause the flooding, according to Donna. A rising tide forces water up out of the sewers and into the street. Rainfall and other inclement weather make the situation worse.
"It could happen at any time. It doesn't matter," said Fiorina Pagnozzi, who lives next door to the Lebans -- like them, in a ground-level house with no basement. "You cannot imagine until you literally see it."
Pagnozzi and several of her neighbors have suffered for years from flooding that has forced them to dispose of soaked furniture and other possessions and remain at home to wait for the next wave to strike. The flooding is worst between Lawson Avenue and Cathay Road, on the east end of the street.
"This is something that we live with often," said Donna. "You're concerned. You don't want to go out because you don't know what's going to happen to your house. You need to be home to throw the water out and save your stuff."
The women said they have tried to barricade their doors with sandbags to prevent incoming floods, but it is of no use. They continue to move garbage cans, recycle bins and anything else that might float away. They park their cars at the other end of the street because of incidents in the past where water has seeped inside. Pagnozzi has to relocate her computer, which sits in the family room at ground level, every time the tide rises.
"It's annoying," she said.
When the streets flood, sometimes passing cars also cause wakes, which ripple into the houses and cause further damage to the inside. Police assistance was required in early September to ward off speeding cars during an episode of three floods in less than two weeks.
Donna estimated that she and Pagnozzi have each lost several thousands of dollars worth of possessions due to the floods. Donna recalled a particularly bad flood in October 1997, when the water reached beyond her backyard. She said she found turtles and frogs in her yard that had been swept away with the tide. After that flood, Pagnozzi also found fish in her in-ground pool. Because it is saltwater that washes up on the properties, often unhealthy shrubbery needs to be removed and replaced.
"It's terrible what we get," said Donna. "If it's high tide there in the middle of a storm, forget it, it's horrible."
The women added that the water in their homes has spurred mold growth, which may be responsible for certain allergies experienced by their children.
Residents effected by the flooding have called the Village of East Rockaway and Nassau County Departments of Public Works several times over the years seeking help, but to no avail. They are hopeful with a little noise that their streets will be raised similar to some other streets in East Rockaway where in 2000.
But just as consistently as the water seeps into these homeowners' houses, so is the runaround they receive for varying municipalities about who can fix the problem. Nassau County Public Works Civil Engineer Brad Patterson said Adams Street is village-owned and the issues there are not county matters.
"Anything that would occur in that area would be under the sole jurisdiction of the village," said Patterson. "Hence there was no legal recourse to expend county money to those roads."
East Rockaway Public Works Superintendent Nicholas Collins acknowledged that flooding problems do occur in the area under certain conditions.
"That's a low area there and they would get the high tide," said Collins. "The high tide and the rains do make [flooding] worse than usual." He added that the department will check flooded areas to see if the drains are working properly, but that Adams Street has been checked in the past as was reported to be fine.
Collins did not comment on any future plans to correction the flooding problems, and directed the Herald to contact the village building department.
East Rockaway Building Superintendent Dennis McCabe said projects are in the works to alleviate drainage backup, including rebuilding drains on Adams Street between Lawson Avenue and Cathay Road, on Lawson Avenue and work on Malecon Street. Plans for the project are currently in Albany and are under consideration for funding by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
McCabe said the plan was filed around September 2000, but because of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, FEMA's priorities had been redirected to deal with those events. The village has not been told yet if they will be funded. McCabe said he has no idea when to expect a response.
"We consider it a priority for a drainage improvement project and when we get some word on what level of funding we can expect from the state, then we can put it into the works," said McCabe.
Patty Barton, who resides on Sixth Avenue, noticed the difference after work was done on her block two years ago.
"There's no problem at all anymore, not since they raised the streets," said Barton. She added that water used to rise so high during hurricanes and nor'easters that she could not leave her house.
Despite the flooding, Donna said she does not want to leave her house because she likes the small Village of East Rockaway.
"[Moving is] a lot easier said than done," said Donna, who was never told about the floodings when her family bought the house. "I like my property. I like my house. I would hate to have to move. But my husband would move in a heartbeat."
