NEW YORK – When we first met Cindy and Julius Adams in Rego Park at the end of December, they told us that on their charming street, a threat was lurking underground.
For decades, they said, even a passing rain could be enough to trigger an overflow of city storm drains, sending wastewater shooting out of toilets and shower drains along 63rd Avenue.
“It’s sewer water. This cannot be healthy,” Cindy Adams said.
As residents shelled out thousands for home repairs and preventative measures, calls for help to officials seemed futile.
But weeks after our story aired, the Department of Environmental Affairs sent contractors to clean sewer lines and inspect them with remote cameras.
“We have never seen this done in all the years we’ve requested help,” Julius Adams said.
“Why now, do you think?” CBS New York’s Elle McLogan asked.
“Why? Because you came,” Julius Adams said. “Obviously CBS has something to do with this, after 33 years of saying something’s wrong. So of course, we thank you for that.”
“In your perfect world, what happens next?” McLogan asked.
“They need to let us know because we need to know alternatives,” Julius Adams said.
In a statement, the DEP told CBS New York:
“Climate change is bringing increasingly intense rainfall to New York City that can overwhelm the capacity of the sewer system and result in flooding. As we all adapt to this new reality, DEP is working overtime to provide communities with the resources they need while also planning for, investing in, and building the infrastructure that will fortify us against this more severe weather.”
The DEP investigation is scheduled to continue for several more weeks.
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