New Yorkers are picking up from powerful flash flooding that dumped several inches of rain over a short time in parts of the state. One of the hardest hit areas is the Hudson Valley's Highland Falls community.
Wilmer Londa, co-owner of Grandma’s Pizza in Highland Falls, was overcome with emotion when asked what it was like coming back to his store two days after the catastrophic storm.
He said he never could’ve imagined that when he’d close early on Sunday, he’d come back to his pizzeria being flooded out.
“I’m cleaning up everything," he said. "Everything’s a mess. [I'm throwing] everything in the garbage because it’s not working.”
What You Need To Know
- Partners on the local, state, and federal level are working on recovery efforts following the devastating Highland Falls flooding
- Roads and bridges around the area remain closed, with Metro North repairing and evaluating its Hudson Line and Amtrak travel from NYC to Albany indefinitely suspended
- Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says he expects for the area to receive federal assistance from FEMA
The Highland Falls community was just starting to work on recovery efforts. Six people need shelter right now while another four were staying in nearby motels. More are staying with friends and family, including folks from two houses on Oak Avenue.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the Legislature will do what it can to provide immediate and long-term help.
“I think we also have to look at infrastructure, making it more, I'd say, climate resistant, dealing with that," Heastie said. "And then, I think also, the businesses and individual homeowners who have been hit, I think we have to look at all phases of that.”
Transportation in the area also has a way to go before returning to normal. The state Transportation Department deployed bridge and road crews to ensure safety.
The entire Bear Mountain circle, including the bridge, was closed, along with swaths of Route 9W and the Palisades Parkway.
The latest updates from the MTA said it's working to restore service to its Hudson Line, while Amtrak transit between New York City and the Capital Region remains indefinitely suspended.
“The southern access into Highland Falls, as we have said, is going to be slow to reopen," said State Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Jackie Bray. "But we are working to open every road around that back point in order to make the detours more tangible for residents.”
Wilmer hopes to reopen in a week or so, because it’s the community that keeps him going.
“I’ll be open, pull my money from my pocket, I don’t mind," he said. "Because I like serving this town, these people. They’re nice people.”