An alley in East Elmhurst flooded and filled with backed up sewage once again, just more than a week after Ida left property damaged by flooding. NBC New York’s Gaby Acevedo reports.
The alleys between 88th, 87th and 86th streets near Astoria Boulevard filled with standing water and backed-up sewage, causing problems for people who live here.
"What can happen next? Today, all the neighbors were scared in the chat, 'Oh my god, the water is accumulating in the back, now what?,'" said Junior Moreno, who lives in the area.
Neighbors said that after a brief period of rain Thursday morning (nothing intense by any means), the drain system did not hold up, sending water spewing back into the streets just more than a week after Ida destroyed property and sent hundreds of people into a state of emergency.
"We get a lot of sewer back-up which is the main issue that we have in this neighborhood. The water is coming back from the toilets, from the showers," Moreno said.
President Biden walked these same alleys on Tuesday, flanked by Gov. Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, state senators and other elected officials.
"The fact that (Biden) walked the alley back there, should put pressure on the present city administration," said resident Ramond Santiago. "It’s constant. You see even today, you went back there, you saw water."
Neighbors are frustrated at the lack of support coming their way, and are thinking of revamping the whole drain system at their own expense, rather than wait for the city to come to their rescue.
Moreno has lived in the community for the past 25 years, and says the time to act is now.
"We all got together as neighbors, we cleaned up the back-alley way because the city claims it is private property, so they can’t do nothing for us," he said.
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A man falls off his bike into a flooded street the morning after the remnants of Hurricane Ida drenched the New York City and New Jersey area on Sept. 2, 2021 in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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A fallen tree is blocked off in Central Park following a night of heavy wind and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 2, 2021 in New York City.
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Cars sit abandoned on the flooded Major Deegan Expressway following a night of extremely heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 2, 2021, in the Bronx borough of New York City.
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Court staff clean the rain off the courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, on September 1, 2021.
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Comcast utility workers survey the damage from a tornado on West Street in Annapolis, Maryland on Sept. 1, 2021. The remnants of Hurricane Ida spawned a tornado that touched down in Annapolis, Maryland on Wednesday afternoon.
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A sinkhole that formed in the Berkshire Square Shopping Center parking lot in Wyomissing, Pa., Wednesday afternoon. The remnants of Hurricane Ida move across the East Coast.
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Vehicles under water in Philadelphia, Sept. 2, 2021 in the aftermath of downpours and high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that hit the area.
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A girl talks to a driver after she walked across a flooded Main street in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Remnants of Hurricane Ida are moving up the East Coast causing flooding and evacuations in low lying communities.
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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 02: Cars sit abandoned on a flooded highway following a night of extremely heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 02, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Multiple fatalities have been reported in the region after the storm passed through, causing massive flooding and a widespread disruption of subway service. A tornado touched down in Pennsylvania resulting in extensive property damage. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Train tracks are flooded in the Bronx following a night of heavy wind and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept.2, 2021 in New York City. Multiple fatalities have been reported in the region after the storm passed through, causing massive flooding and a widespread disruption of subway service.
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A person stands in a flooded street the morning after the remnants of Hurricane Ida drenched the New York City and New Jersey area on Sept. 2, 2021 in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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A person walks on a flooded street as the Schuylkill River exceeds its bank in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, Sept. 2, 2021, in the aftermath of downpours and high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that hit the area.
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A motorist drives a car through a flooded expressway in Brooklyn, New York early on Sept. 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area.
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A worker unblocks a drain on a street affected by floodwater in Brooklyn, New York, Sept. 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area.
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Floodwater surrounds vehicles following heavy rain on an expressway in Brooklyn, New York, early on September 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area.
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Vehicles are surrounded by water behind an apartment building on Main Street in Kingston, MA on Sept. 2, 2021. Flooding concerns due to the heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida shifted away from morning commute problems to communities along rivers in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where water levels were continuing to rise on Thursday. The overnight rainfall reached nearly 6 inches in some Massachusetts communities.
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Highway 440 flooded in Jersey City of New Jersey, United States on September 2, 2021 as hundreds of cars stuck in water as Hurricane Ida left behind flash floods east coast. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A delivery worker is seen riding through flood waters and heavy rainfall from teh remnants of Hurricane Ida during a flood on Intervale Avenue on September 1, 2021 in the Bronx. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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As what was once Hurricane Ida drenched the Tri-State area, a person makes their way down a flooded street in the Bronx. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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Cars sit sunken in high water on Highway 440 after a flash flood in Bayonne City of New Jersey, United States on September 1, 2021. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A man is seen crossing a flooded street with with water up to his shin in Hoboken, New Jersea on September 1, 2021. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
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A car seen attempting to drive slowly down a flooded street in New Jersey but became stuck. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A car seen attempting to drive slowly down a flooded street in New Jersey but became stuck. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Cars are seen stuck in very high waters after the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped massive amounts of rain on New Jersey. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Highway 440 flooded in Jersey City of New Jersey, United States on September 2, 2021 as hundreds of cars stuck in water as Hurricane Ida left behind flash floods east coast. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Highway 440 flooded in Jersey City of New Jersey, United States on September 2, 2021 as hundreds of cars stuck in water as Hurricane Ida left behind flash floods east coast. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Many people on Thursday were still throwing out their damaged property and belongings lost in last week’s flooding.
Many residents are pleading for expedited assistance that can help them and their neighbors get back on their feet, and are mostly worried about the continuing situation in the flooded alley behind the homes.
"The reality is that is a problem that affects the community and the city should be doing something," said Santiago.
