Chappaqua residents clean up after flooding

Instead of enjoying their Fourth of July weekend, residents of one street in Chappaqua are cleaning up after Friday?s torrential rains that drenched Westchester County, cutting power and closing roads.

News 12 Staff

Jul 5, 2008, 11:37 PM

Updated 5,908 days ago

Share:

Instead of enjoying their Fourth of July weekend, residents of one street in Chappaqua are cleaning up after Friday?s torrential rains that drenched Westchester County, cutting power and closing roads.
Residents say this is the second time in more than a year that the homes on this street have sustained flood damage, partially because the Saw Mill River runs behind their yards, and the the river overflows when there is a downpour.
That is, however, not the only problem. Neighbors say that when it rains hard, the local sewer system backs up, sending water rolling down hill straight into their homes.
?Obviously, the driveway is nice and sloped,? says local resident Carlene Gentilesco, ?so the garage catches some of that as well.?
Still, Gentilesco says she is lucky because her basement is unfinished, so she just had to clean the mud off the floor. Her neighbor, however, has two bedrooms in his basement.
The neighbor, Louis Lopez, says that because there is a threat of mold, he will have to tear down the lower part of a wall, re-apply sheetrock and re-paint the rooms.
Although people in the area say the town tried to help by raising the curb to halt flooding, many issues haven?t been resolved, including the overflowing of Saw Mill River. Residents want the town to step in again and fix their troubled street once and for all.