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Floods, Greenburgh Residents Appeal to Town Board

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The recent floods in Greenburgh were a hot topic in the last Town Board meeting, with residents from different parts of the town taking to the podium to express their frustration with the problem and ask for solutions.

“Something has to be done,” said Glenn Preiser, who has a towing company at Nepperhan Avenue in Elmsford.

Every time it rains heavily in the village, Preiser is forced to remove dozens of vehicles from his company's yard before it floods. But more than his business, he said that it’s the families that live in the area what concerns him.

“If a family member, or one of your family members, needs medical attention, if your house is on fire and the fire truck can’t get there,” Preiser said to the board members.

He added that he and an engineer walked along the Saw Mill River last Saturday and found two big blockages behind Babbitt Court, “full oil tanks” and “trees of the size of cars.” He gave to the board a CD with the pictures he took.

Jim Hurley, a longtime Babbitt Court resident, listed the many buildings that have been constructed near the Saw Mill River in Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh, such as the Home Depot, Applebees  and the Con Edison building.

“All in the last 10 years has made a difference, forcing more water quicker into the Saw Mill River,” Hurley said.

Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said the town depends on the state and federal government to solve the flooding problem, but that it’s hiring a consultant company to propose smaller scale solutions.

“Smaller initiatives that won’t solve the flooding problem but might reduce the severity of the flooding and the frequency of the flooding,” he said.  

Westchester County Legislator Mary Jane Shimsky, who was present in the meeting, said that she is working to pass legislation that will allow every watershed in the county to start its own river basin advisory board. She mentioned that the Saw Mill River basin already has its advisory board and invited the attendants to its second meeting on Sept. 22, with the presence of representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers and the state transportation and environmental conservation departments.

“A lot of municipal officials can’t wait to talk to all these people in one room,” she said.

If you want to attend the meeting, call 914-995-2821 or 914-995-2806.

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