Tuckahoe Bronx River Flooding Expected To Worsen

TUCKAHOE , N.Y. –  Tuckahoe Mayor Steve Ecklond spent his morning  counting his blessings at the minimal impact Irene had on the village. Still, flooding in among Tuckahoe's main concerns.

“After participating in the conference call earlier this morning, our problems pale to the hardships experienced by other municipalities in the county,” Ecklond said in a statement. “The storm is over but the flooding from the Bronx River is expected to worsen. Police will be on standby providing escorts down the one way of Lake Avenue for residents if necessary.”

Department of Public Works (DPW) Chief Frank DeMarco said there were some downed tree limbs in the village but no downed trees or poles.

But the DPW was on standby on Yonkers Avenue, a low lying area, where a small tributary of the Bronx River was only inches away from cresting above the three foot retaining wall, and there was already a three foot deep puddle on the ground from the rain.

The retaining wall is slated to be shored up in a joint project between the village and the Army Corps of Engineers. Currently, part of Yonkers Avenue is closed and in mid-preparation for the project to begin.

John DeBenedictis lives right near the closed area on Yonkers Avenue. “I have been here for 21 years and my neighbors over 30 years and we have never seen the river get this high.”

At the Yonkers/ Tuckahoe border, flood waters from the Bronx River are currently wreaking havoc.

“The bridge over the Bronx River on Scarsdale Road at Yonkers Avenue is inches from being washed over,” Ecklong said. “The police department is closely monitoring it, and may need to shut the bridge roadway. Should that occur, there will be no vehicle access from Yonkers into the village.”

Ecklond said Lake Avenue is another flooded area thanks to waters from the swollen Bronx River.

Ecklond said Garrentt Avenue, another low lying area in the village was also be closed to traffic Sunday  morning as residents pump water from their homes.

The village is still under a state of emergency which was declared on Saturday. Ecklond did not know when the status would be changed.

“Tuckahoe was very fortunate,” Ecklond said. “There are still no major problems to report other than flooding in our low lying area.” 

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