With a few weeks left before the end of the hurricane season, Brooklyn residents are taking flood mitigation into their own hands.
Joann Amitrano, a homeowner in low-lying Gowanus, uses waterproof boards and duct tape to create a makeshift dam for her front door during heavy rains. Amitrano was one of the many Gowanus and Park Slope residents who shared her strategies at an October community meeting Flooding Water Connects Us, organized by Nick Nyhan, founder of The City Sponge, a volunteer flood initiative.
“What I’ve realized is how much people want to talk about it…I just want people to feel empowered as opposed to hopeless,” Nyhan said.
