Morris Park businesses on edge due to flooding issues

Some businesses on Morris Park Avenue were nervously awaiting incoming rainfall Thursday after recent flooding issues

News 12 Staff

Jul 28, 2022, 9:26 PM

Updated 805 days ago

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Some businesses on Morris Park Avenue were nervously awaiting incoming rainfall Thursday after recent flooding issues.
Morris Park business owners say that heavy rain from previous weeks left many of their basements flooded, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
Patsy’s manager Frank DeFranzo said he got over a foot of water in his basement, damaging the restaurant’s equipment and food products.
“It’s not water from the roof coming, it’s water from the street coming in,” said DeFranzo.
The stores along Morris Avenue mostly consist of mom and pop shops that have been here for years and say they have dealt with minor flooding during prolonged downpours in the past.
Now, they say, the damages from the most recent rainfall has been much worse.
Camelia Tepelus, the executive director of the Morris Park Business Improvement District, acknowledges this issue and is calling on the city’s Department of Environmental Protection to study the area’s drainage system and infrastructure.