Council Members Propose $4 Million for Drainage in Allen and Stanley Street area

Two City Council members are proposing that the city allocate up to $4,000,0000 to address flooding experienced by residents in a neighborhood to the southwest of CCSU, including Newbury, Hampton, Allen, Brighton streets and Eton Place and Roxbury Road.

Ald. Luz Ortiz-Luna (R-AL) and Ald. Desiree Costa (R-AL) have introduced the proposal to provide funding for the city Public Works Department, “to begin the Allen Street Drainage Improvements Project.”

The proposal says that, “funding for this work is available in the ‘Rainy Day’ account through the City of New Britain.”

Ald. Ortiz-Luna, who has, on some issues, broken with the administration of Mayor Erin Stewart (R), was very pointedly not re-nominated by the Republican Party for re-election, and appears to be running as an independent candidate for Council in Ward 4.

Resident Frank Chase was one of a number of residents in the Allen and Stanley Street area who spoke at the last Council meeting about thousands of dollars on flood damage repairs, water pump and drain improvements and insurance paid by residents because of flooding.

Residents described streets with water deep enough to float boats and basements filling with water. One resident described a new water pump that burned out from the intensity of the flooding, spilling water into children’s bedrooms.

Residents discussed rain as well as sewerage flooding into their basements, and some residents talked about insects appearing in their homes, which they attributed to the poor drainage. A number of residents at the meeting were clearly emotional, as they pleaded for quick action to address the problems.

A number of residents said that “shiny” taxpayer-funded construction, like the Beehive Bridge on Main Street, are nice, but that they felt that basic infrastructure improvements, like drainage in their neighborhoods, has been made a lower priority to those projects.

The resolution from Ortiz-Luna and Costa says, “the area of Allen Street continues to experience flooding and residents have complained about recent and previous flooding for decades.”

Area resident John McNamara, who is a candidate for Council, himself, in Ward 4, wrote recently at NB Politicus,

The problems near Allen Street (including Eton Place, Roxbury Road, Newbury, Hampton and Brighton streets) and Overlook Avenue are not new. Capital Improvements recommended and adopted by the Common Council over the last five years, pinpointed both Allen Street and Overlook Avenue as sites for “upgrading the storm drainage system” and the “replacement of undersized and deteriorated storm and sanitary sewer mains.”

Improving the sewer and storm water system at two of its weakest points, however, has not been given a high priority. While other infrastructure projects have gotten attention and money in recent years, officials have told residents that they are waiting for the allocations to implement their sewer upgrades. In fiscal year 2020, for example, reconstruction of Allen Street was slated for action in 2022 at a cost of $5 million to be paid by a combination of state, federal or local funds. Every year since, however, the planned improvements have been pushed into the future. In the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) adopted with the municipal budget in June, the Allen Street project was put off again to 2027-2028 at an estimated cost of $6.7 million. The Overlook Avenue upgrades have faced similar delays with a $2 million project adopted in 2021 scheduled for implementation in 2022. In June for the fiscal year that began on July 1, the Administration and Common Council had pushed the date out to 2025. Whether the commitment of $2 million just promised in ARPA funds will expedite the Overlook Avenue project remains to be seen.Source: City Needs To Address Neighborhood Flooding Issues Sooner Rather Than Later, NB Politicus, September 11, 2023.

The proposal is on the agenda of the September 27, 2023 Council meeting.

Editor’s note: John McNamara is also a contributing writer with the New Britain Progressive.

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