Rye Hit By Second Flood in Six Weeks
With just six weeks since the record March 2nd flood (see March 2nd flood photos and flood videos – video and photos from today are below) and some residents not yet back into their homes, Rye battled it out again today with torrential rain and flooding. Rye flooding assured its continued place in conversations, local newspapers and city council meetings when the Blind Brook started spilling over its banks at 3 or 4pm this afternoon.
By 6:30pm, the City of Rye Police Department 
issued a reverse 911 call to residents warning the Blind Brook was reaching the top of the Bowman Avenue spillway. The call warned residents, especially those in Indian Village, to move vehicles to high ground and to be ready to evacuate if necessary.
The City has opened a temporary shelter at Rye Country Day School.
Video (above) shows the Blind Brook flooding into the parking lot of the Rye YMCA on April 15, 2007 at 4:15pm. On the other side the the brook in the Rye Free Reading Room, Rye’s public library.
Video (above) shows the Blind Brook flooding along the Boston Post Road just outside downtown Rye. Most of the property you can see backs up into the Rye Nature Center, although you can see some homes on Loewen Court at the beginning of the video.
Video (above) shows Rye’s Blind Brook flooding along Elm Place in downtown Rye on April 15, 2007 at 4:15pm. Rye Public Works and Con Ed were out protecting residents. You can see how the flooding condition gives the bridges across the Blind Brook a beating.
Prior to this Apri 15th storm, I attended the Rye Flood meeting and heard Mayor Otis say that Harrison will not work with Rye regarding the Beaver Swamp Brook and Project Home Run.
At the Harrison Town Board Meeting two days later, I heard Mayor Malfitano say that Rye would not work with Harrison (See harrison report 4/20/07)in deepening and widening the Beaver Swamp Brook.
So who’s telling the truth?
Listen, I commend Rye on their Tessier Report, because even those of us on the Harrison side believe that Project Home Run has contributed significantly to the excess flooding. We will do what we need to do to stop this project.
But in the meantime, we need to get these two communities together immediately, along with Mamaroneck and the Rye Neck Schools, to first clean out the brook and second to do whatever is necessary to deepen and widen it where possible.
The time for talk is over. We want action.
And finally, I hope the Rye residents along the Beaver Swamp Brook speak loud and clear at the Rye Meeting on 4/25. We in Harrison will do the same on that same night. It would have been nice if we could have all joined together to go to each others board meeting, but this will do for now.
If you want to be involved in stopping Project Home Run and getting the brook to flow, contact me at [email protected].