Highland Falls residents evacuated after flooding hits Weyant Green apartments

The Weyant Green Apartments, located in a low-lying area known for its vulnerability to floods, were affected.

Ben Nandy

Dec 18, 2023, 5:43 PM

Updated 349 days ago

Share:

Joe D'Onofrio, of Highland Falls, told News 12 that "they can't catch a break," following Monday's storm that added to the damage still left behind by the historic July 9 storm that rocked the village.
As many as 20 residents of Weyant Green Apartments were evacuated early Monday as a precaution when the notorious Highland Brook overflowed and caused minor flooding in some ground-floor units.
Residents - mainly seniors - had just returned to their homes in the low-lying complex from hotels they had been staying in since the July storm wrecked the neighborhood.
Barbara Cox and her home health aide, Katrina Gorman, were hoping the storm would not damage Cox's unit the way the July storm did.
"Last time, it went up to the first step," Cox recalled. "They had to take all my rugs out of there and the closet."
"I'm taking her to Stony Point to my house," Gorman said as she and Cox were leaving the complex in Gorman's car. "I'm her caregiver. Last time, she was here. She got flooded out. She was in a hotel for six months. I'm taking her just in case it gets flooded again."
The property manager said damage was minimal and residents were able to return to their units a few hours later, after sandbags were arranged and the brook started to recede.
Highland Brook wreaked havoc elsewhere in the village, though, chipping away at backyards of homes along Mountain Avenue.
Haleigh Fredrickson showed News 12 the backyard of her family's home that is being eaten away by the brook, which was still raging as of late Monday afternoon.
Not only is a broken retaining wall still in the brook because of the July storm; another large chunk of their yard washed away in Monday's storm.
"The water's going to flow. It doesn't look any better than it did," Fredrickson said. "The back of my yard -- It's worse now by a lot than it was last time."
Mayor D'Onofrio told News 12 he is seeking grants to help mitigate flooding from Highland Brook.
He also said giant boulders in the brook have been getting pushed into retaining walls adding to the damage, and the village is trying to figure out how to remove those boulders.