Red Hook business owners brace for renewed flooding risk

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11)-Heavy rain and strong winds are expected to hit parts of New York City on Sunday as a nor’easter moves in, bringing a renewed risk of flooding to coastal neighborhoods. 

Neighbors and business owners in Red Hook, Brooklyn, are bracing for the storm and hoping that this time, the flooding won’t be as severe.

Standing near his shop, Dry Dock Wine and Spirits on Van Brunt Street, longtime business owner Ron Kyle says flooding is nothing new. 

"We're used to that down here in Red Hook," he said.

Kyle has owned his business for 15 years and is less worried about it being affected than he is about his nearby home. 

"My house, I’ve got my sump pumps ready to go, you know we have to watch our basement," he said.

With the nor’easter expected to bring high winds and possible coastal flooding, city officials are preparing. 

"We always look at what’s the reasonable and worst-case scenario," said Zach Iscol, Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management. "This sort of storm that we’re dealing with here is high winds, we have coastal flooding we’re concerned about, the rain threat seemed to subside a little bit, but there is still a lot of variability in this forecast."

Iscol says teams are ready to respond if conditions worsen.

 "Things that we’re doing — we’re staging some life-threatening rescue resources around the city that can respond to folks should flooding get worse than anticipated."

Just last month, the city broke ground on the Red Hook Coastal Resiliency Project, a system of flood walls and other defenses designed to protect the area from future storms. Kyle worries about how the construction could impact his business.

 "I’m very concerned about sidewalks being raised and walls putting up and lanes of traffic being taken away because I don’t know how it’s going to impact my business."

For Kyle, the risk is deeply personal. He still remembers the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy, which occurred years ago. 

"If you and I were standing in the streets at the peak of Hurricane Sandy, the water would’ve been up to your shoulders down here," he recalled. "Within the store, we had four feet of water; the store was destroyed. I had a home down the street that flooded."

Despite the forecast, Kyle says he’s staying put and staying prepared.

Emergency management officials are urging residents to sign up for Notify NYC emergency alerts and to stay informed through reliable channels. 

For more information on how to sign up, click here.