They are in deep, and the city is letting them drown.
Georgetown residents are demanding the city finally fix massive puddles that are filling neighborhood streets. Water floods street depressions in the nabe — bounded by Bergen, Ralph, and Veterans avenues — after even light rain, and stays there for days. But simply filling the holes will not fix the issue, and the city must either totally rebuild the street or install deep-channeled gutters to direct pond water into catch basins, according to a local pol.
“Repaving doesn’t solve the problem, it makes it worse cause they’re not changing the engineering of the street,” said Councilman Alan Maisel (D–Marine Park). “The only solution is to re-engineer, reconstruct, or put a channel in, about 2–3 inches wide for the catch basin. My solution is much simpler and cheaper.”
Puddles are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and residents are raising the alarm as the city announced it has discovered more than 230 cases of Zika virus in the five boroughs. The victims caught the disease, which can cause birth defects in fetuses, outside the city, but city mosquitoes can become carriers by biting an infected person, health department officials said.
Streets are prone to sinking, because the area is built atop marshland, one local leader said.
“Georgetown is a wonderful neighborhood with a lot to offer. Unfortunately it was built on landfill, which is starting to take its toll on the streets,” said Susan Diamond of the Georgetowne Civic Group. “The way the streets settled — it’s causing ponding, and cracking of the asphalt, and its unsafe for cars and pedestrians.”
The Department of Transportation inspected the area last October and recommended resurfacing, according to an agency spokeswoman. But that won’t be happening any time soon — the city has no plans to repave Georgetown, according to paving schedules.
