Elmsford homes have endured severe flooding. A grant from FEMA could help
Federal money will be used to elevate six Elmsford village homes in a Westchester neighborhood that's faced years of storm flooding.
A $1.31 million grant, allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will help to raise the Babbitt Court homes two feet above base flood elevation, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said in a news release.
“This critical funding will bring long overdue improvements that will help ensure Greenburgh residents have protection from severe flooding,” Gillibrand said in the statement.
In Rockland County: Clarkstown gets almost $2.5 million in federal funding for 2 flood-prone areas
Families on Babbitt Court — a neighborhood off Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford, a one-square-mile village in Greenburgh — have dealt with enormous property damage, Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said in the statement. “Uplifting their homes will enable residents to enjoy their homes when weather is bad — without having to worry about major property damages.”
Total cost to raise the homes was estimated two years ago at $1.456 million, which includes the $1,310,400 federal share and a 10% local match of $145,600, the latter for managing the project, according to a Greenburgh news release.
The town will work with FEMA and residents on a lengthy process of design/engineering and project work.
Babbitt Court has long grappled with flooding. A more than 20-page overview by two Greenburgh historians is even titled “Elmsford vs. Mother Nature: The Trials & Tribulations of Babbitt Court.”
It describes flooding problems going back decades, noting 1976’s Hurricane Belle led Babbitt Court residents to evacuate homes. The overview says the culprit is the area’s location around the Saw Mill River Parkway, which was constructed along a flood plain — a flood-prone area next to a river.
Seventeen Babbitt Court homes are in the 100-year flood plain. Six of them were already raised through a 2002 federal grant; six more asked to be included in the newly announced FEMA grant, the Greenburgh release said.
Feiner said Greenburgh applied to FEMA in May 2022 after Hurricane Ida damaged Babbitt Court properties.
Some residents haven't been able to live in their homes since Hurricane Ida in 2021 and have had to pay both rent for temporary housing and their mortgages and taxes. During an October 2023 Town Board meeting, several homeowners asked officials to do what they could to help.
“I have communicated with the residents, and we will keep them informed throughout the implementation process,” Feiner said in the town’s release. “We want the six families who have suffered since 2021 to be able to enjoy their property as soon as possible. As soon as we finalize a timetable for implementation of the grant – that information will be communicated to residents. I expect to conduct periodic meetings with residents updating them on the progress.”
Michael McKinney covers growth and development in Westchester County and the Lower Hudson Valley for The Journal News/lohud.com and USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Elmsford NY homes facing flooding to be raised with federal grant
