New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement today regarding the denial of flooding claims filed by property owners and businesses after three torrential rains that localized street flooding and sewer backups in communities in 2007:

“Over the last year, my office has exhausted its efforts to determine whether the City would be able to compensate the hundreds of families and businesses who suffered extensive damages after severe floods in April, July and August 2007. I personally visited the affected areas and witnessed the devastation suffered by many homeowners, places of worship and businesses. I dispatched staff to neighborhoods to attend community meetings, speak with residents, and respond to questions.

After assessing the damages, I better understood the critical importance of pursuing every avenue to resolve these claims in a manner that was fair and equitable. At my request, the City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the agency responsible for managing the City’s water supply, water distribution and wastewater systems, conducted an investigation of this flooding and advised my office that it found no basis for holding the City liable for damages.

DEP indicated that the extremely heavy rainfall on those days overwhelmed the existing sewer systems in the affected areas and that its records revealed that agency personnel responded to the flooding in a timely manner and took appropriate measures to relieve the flooding conditions.

After finally receiving DEP’s findings, last Fall I offered claimants an extension of time to file suit in order to provide my office additional time to consider DEP’s findings and explore all possible options for providing compensation.

However, my office’s independent review of relevant records, including DEP’s own documents, revealed no evidence to contradict DEP’s findings, and we have been unable to find any other avenue to pay claimants.

Unfortunately, DEP’s report and that agency’s findings leave my office with no alternative but to deny these claims. Under the existing law, we are unable to provide the relief that was requested in these claims.

I deeply regret that we are not able to provide claimants with better news regarding this unfortunate incident.

Moving ahead, the City must strengthen its infrastructure so it is better equipped to handle substantial storms. I recently asked our Governor to ensure that federal stimulus funds are allocated to address the region’s infrastructure problems. New Yorkers must know that our City is accountable and is responsive.”

The three storms took place on April 15, July 17 and 18, and August 8, 2007. After the April 15 incident, which affected properties on Staten Island, 64 claims were filed requesting approximately $1.3 million. After the July incident, 348 claims (including 328 from Queens) requesting approximately $10.8 million were submitted to the Comptroller. After the August 8 incident, the Comptroller’s Office received 888 claims (including 810 from Queens) requesting more than $16.4 million. FEMA offered federal disaster assistance to New York after the April and August storms.

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