By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Sept. 18, 2024: Unlike most summers when we can concentrate on Village beautification and repair, much of the summer was spent dealing with initiatives to help mitigate the pockets of flooding that have increasingly plagued the Village.

We now live in a time where 25 to 50 year storms seem to come every second or third year.

We are endeavoring to put equal effort into all the areas affected and frankly have our hands out for any kind of county, state and federal money. Many of the grants are based on per capita income so we are fighting an uphill battle.

Parkway Road & New York State Grant

One focus was Parkway Road, which abuts the 23^rd mile of the Bronx River where all the water flows south from as far away as Yorktown. We are working with our State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and State Senator Shelly Mayer and others in federal, state and county positions to explore every funding avenue.

We did receive a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Resilient New York grant for analysis by a national firm that specializes in watershed/watercourses and flooding to evaluate the Parkway Road/Bronx River Corridor affecting our village.

We understand the draft report was completed this summer and we are just waiting for the DEC to finalize and make public as the report will be the basis for any of our future actions.

We personally met with the consulting firm and walked the entire Bronxville corridor sharing all of our documented flooding data.

Debris Removal, FEMA Applications

We have also actively communicated with and encouraged the County Parks and Recreation Department to ensure the regular removal of debris and potential restrictions, such as branches in the river that impede flow.

We have also submitted multiple applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for reimbursement for damages to our public infrastructure here and their assistance with future mitigation efforts.

Sanitary Sewer System Lined, Root Control Implemented, and Manholes Repaired in Various Locations

We also lined the nearby sanitary sewer system down the length of Parkway Road as well as on Palmer Avenue, Milburn Street, Avon Road, Park Avenue, and Woodland Avenue. Lining is part of our ongoing initiative to extend the life of our sewers and eliminate/reduce inflow and infiltration of storm water into the sewer system.

On the Hilltop where the sewer lines are too small to line, we applied a root control that ensures any obstructions are eliminated allowing proper flow. Sanitary and storm water manholes were repaired on the Hilltop including the installation of a new manhole on Prescott Avenue.

Other Flood Mitigation Initiatives

Going to the far extreme of the Village from Parkway Road, we have secured a draft intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Eastchester to implement flood mitigation initiatives in that area. For this project, we are looking to county monies to help us as the problem lies truly on the border of Eastchester and Bronxville.

We invited the new County Director of Flood Mitigation and Resilience to the Village and he spent a day touring all the problem zones in the village as well as receiving an update on all our proposed storm water projects and the need for some funding help.

The Village is also working with Westchester County to facilitate improvements to the outfalls of the Midland Valley Drainage Basin including some improvements to the channel including bank stabilization in the area where the storm water leads directly to the Bronx River.

In the Sussex, Hamilton, and Homesdale neighborhood, we continue to work with Mount Vernon on a comprehensive solution to upgrade the drainage capacity of the area storm water system.

Until such agreements can be reached, the Village has proposed initial improvements to be implemented in the interim to help mitigate flooding in the area.

The initial phase of the project is a maintenance and rehabilitation program, focusing on repairing deteriorated pipes and restoring them to original conditions as well as restoring existing catch basins and adding new ones to efficiently collect surface water to transfer to the storm sewers in the most expeditious manner.

As a result of the analysis of our two engineering companies, these initial improvements will help reduce the surface runoff and at the same time, will not increase the existing carrying capacities of the pipes. Improvements will also not impede future upgrades, but will be incorporated into any future holistic plans.

Other Initiatives in the Village This Summer: Paving, West Side Circle Designs and More

Despite a great deal of our summer work hours devoted to flood mitigation, we were able to accomplish other initiatives throughout the Village.

Our paving program proceeded on schedule with Cedar Street repaved and restriped, as well as the Cedar Street and Colodny parking lots sealed and striped along with all of Crown Circle and Crows Nest.

Additional paving this month will include sections of Summit Avenue, Avon Road, and Park Avenue. We hope to also accomplish the paving of Pondfield Road in the business district by year’s end following curbing and sidewalk improvements.

The designs for the pedestrian improvements near the West Side Circle are being completed in late September/early October and will be implemented, replacing the unattractive yellow stanchions.

I will keep you abreast of the timetables of all improvements/repairs taking place throughout the Village as we redouble our efforts to accomplish projects before the winter sets in.