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Locations flagged in May match spots where basement apartment-dwellers drowned in flash floods Wednesday night. De Blasio says he’s accelerating alerts in advance of heavy rains.
A stormwater risk map issued by the city in May showed serious possible flooding at homes where 10 people drowned in their basement apartments when record-breaking rainfall pummeled the city Wednesday night.
The interactive map, released in conjunction with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s stormwater resiliency plan and required by a 2018 City Council law, offers a granular look at the threat, with a foot or more of flooding predicted in some areas when combined with expected future sea level rise.
The plans showed awareness of vulnerable spots, as de Blasio Friday continued to describe the deluge brought by the remnants of Hurricane Ida as an unpredictable event — one he said New Yorkers should expect to recur.
“We are now dealing with something inconceivable,” the mayor said during his morning press briefing. “Once in a century events are happening regularly.”
Recent projects have expanded sewer capacity in some neighborhoods. But antiquated storm pipes leave the city vulnerable to the new normal of massive rain storms. “We need to rainproof New York City,” one expert said.
The flooding from Ida occurred because an overloaded, century-old drainage system was not built to accommodate that much water, city officials acknowledge.
“Rainfall rates were really extraordinary and far exceeded the capacity of the system,” city Department of Environmental Preservation Commissioner Vincent Sapienza said Thursday at a briefing with Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Kathy Hochul in Hollis, Queens. “Anything over two inches an hour, we’re going to have trouble with.”
So many are renting out not just illegal basement apartments, but again just "apartments" in general out on SI. Attics, second floor, entire house carved up into illegal units....
In some areas like Port Richmond, West Brighton, St. George, New Brighton, etc... every other house on a block has some sort of illegal housing.
You've got people who maybe inherited a house or maybe one they own, but area has changed so no one wants to live there. Seeing they can make money (again good amount of it not reported in taxes), illegal housing becomes a no brainer I suppose.
Other end of it are people who own but either from get go or maybe later on cannot afford their house. So like days of old when our grand parents or great grand parents took in "lodgers", these people create either entire illegal boarding houses, or at least illegal apartments.
When I moved to New Dorp in the early 90s a few homeowners in the area rented out their basements illegally. Most of the basements in ranch houses like mine are more than 50% below ground with those small slider-type windows. They are dark and cramped yet some people rented them out. Over the years that practice pretty much disappeared in my neighborhood. Too many basement tenants were problematic, an illegal tenant is difficult to evict and neighbors find it easy to report illegal tenants via the 311 system.
A teacher bought the ranch house across the street from me a few years after I moved here. She 'inherited' an illegal basement tenant from the previous owner who swore he was the perfect tenant. Turns out he was far from the perfect tenant. Three guys ended up sharing the apartment, 2am visitors, etc. She solved this problem by having her police officer brother show up one day and tell Mr. Bad Tenant to get his ass out of the place in a week. Two weeks go by and Mr. Bad Tenant hasn't gotten the message. Her cop brother shows up with two of his cop friends. Next thing I see is Mr. Bad Tenant throwing his belongings into the back of a pickup truck. Good-bye Mr. Bad Tenant.
She never rented out the basement again after that, and of course changed the locks.
I don't think the city should be encouraging people living in basement units though when i's well known that it's dangerous
Well Dem policy in NYC, just like in SF, causes real estate values to be sky high, eliminates much of the middle class, has an influx of illegals and....everyone has to live somewhere. So a % of the lower class will always gravitate towards basement units as that is all that is available.
When I moved to New Dorp in the early 90s a few homeowners in the area rented out their basements illegally. Most of the basements in ranch houses like mine are more than 50% below ground with those small slider-type windows. They are dark and cramped yet some people rented them out. Over the years that practice pretty much disappeared in my neighborhood. Too many basement tenants were problematic, an illegal tenant is difficult to evict and neighbors find it easy to report illegal tenants via the 311 system.
A teacher bought the ranch house across the street from me a few years after I moved here. She 'inherited' an illegal basement tenant from the previous owner who swore he was the perfect tenant. Turns out he was far from the perfect tenant. Three guys ended up sharing the apartment, 2am visitors, etc. She solved this problem by having her police officer brother show up one day and tell Mr. Bad Tenant to get his ass out of the place in a week. Two weeks go by and Mr. Bad Tenant hasn't gotten the message. Her cop brother shows up with two of his cop friends. Next thing I see is Mr. Bad Tenant throwing his belongings into the back of a pickup truck. Good-bye Mr. Bad Tenant.
She never rented out the basement again after that, and of course changed the locks.
Far too many assume having illegal tenants is a cake walk. Just rent them an apartment and rake in moolah. For some that works out, other property owners get a rude awakening.
As with anything else illegal it takes two to tango. Illegal tenant can cause plenty of trouble for homeowner (reporting things to city, IRS, etc...), and otherwise make a landlord's life heck.
Have known people who had problems with illegal tenants. Once they got them out, like that teacher across street from you they said "never again".
Well Dem policy in NYC, just like in SF, causes real estate values to be sky high, eliminates much of the middle class, has an influx of illegals and....everyone has to live somewhere. So a % of the lower class will always gravitate towards basement units as that is all that is available.
I know that's the city's obligation legally, and I don't want anyone to be homeless, but I think it's unrealistic to try to house everyone that seems to want to live here.
No one should ever live in a basement for so many reasons.
They were not meant to be lived in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dfc99
All basement apartments tend to be dark and damp.
Basement apartments are fine if properly built out. They need a sump pump, vapor barriers, insulation, radon checks, good lighting, and everything up to code and they are perfectly fine for human habitation
I'll say it again, there will be a bit more noise on this issue for a few more weeks, then status quo will return.
Unless city, state or someone else picks up majority or all of tab many homeowners are in no financial position to make illegal basement housing legal.
Also as have said a good majority have no interest in letting government get involved in their business.
Only real solution is to build eff tons of low income/busted housing (read not that "affordable" stuff that many cannot afford), to compete with illegal basement and other apartments.
Neither city nor state will do that because then you're talking about some serious money. Worse there is already a long line for such housing of which comparatively little is built new.
Basement apartments are fine if properly built out. They need a sump pump, vapor barriers, insulation, radon checks, good lighting, and everything up to code and they are perfectly fine for human habitation
Have you ever lived or been to one???
How about windows large enough for an adult to escape out of? How about the door to the upper floors 'not' be heavily secured and thus not being able to be used as an emergency exit? You can build it to functional code all you want, but not having a way to escape makes it a death trap. And I've been in enough of them to know that.
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