PARK RIDGE—Amid last week’s torrential rainstorms — complete with unusual hail in parts of the Pascack Valley, and related power outages for thousands — one Park Ridge business owner saw his street flooded.
He says he gets swamped even after minor rainstorms.
Despite years of fighting town hall to get some relief from flooding about a decade ago — which the borough resolved by installing a storm drain near his shop — he said the problem has resumed.
Robert Gervase, owner of Park Ridge Auto Service Center Inc. at 95 Berthoud St., told Pascack Press July 12 that the street outside his nearly three-decade-old business floods pretty much any time a steady rain falls.
Gervase wonders what contribution there may be from rainwater shed and diverted by the newly constructed five-story, 240-unit retail-residential development The James, the signature building of the borough’s downtown redevelopment project, which fronts Kinderkamack Road and includes 17,600 square feet of ground-level retail space.
According to Construction and Building Code Official Paul Renaud, all roof storm runoff from The James goes into its own storage system, which slowly releases it into the groundwater.
Renaud said impervious surfaces contributing to increased storm runoff include the mini-mall parking lot, the long, wide street, and nearby business parking lots.
This runoff also combines with roof shedding from neighborhood buildings coming from downspouts that adds to water volumes during summer downpours and intense rainstorms.
Also, runoff entering a storm drain in front of Park Ridge Auto Service Center flows to the chamber at the end of the street.
Renaud said that the chamber likely overflowed and backed up during recent heavy rains that overwhelmed its capacity. He told Pascack Press on July 13 that he was to meet that day with the borough engineer and superintendent of The James to discuss flooding concerns on Berthoud Street.
“We do know there’s an issue there and we’re going to get all of these issues figured out,” said Renaud, noting he would contact Gervase.
He declined to speculate on possible fixes and said Neglia Engineering likely would recommend options.
Borough Administrator Julie Falkenstern noted that Gervase had lodged one prior complaint — Friday, July 9 — following heavy rainstorms.
Gervase wondered whether damage may have been done to his storm drain pipes while contractors working on The James were digging up the ground and laying the stormwater drainage pipes connecting the complex’s runoff system.
Another possibility, he said: a clogged or broken pipe is backing up his storm drain.
Whatever the issue, Gervase said he’d like it identified and fixed to alleviate the flooding now coming even after smaller downpours or a normal summer rain.
He said he called the police during a rainstorm about two months ago and officers turned out immediately and saw the flooding. However, he said, not much has been done to help resolve the problem since then.
He told Pascack Press that he has reached out to the borough to find out what can be done about recent frequent floods plaguing the area. He said nearby businesses were also flooded following the recent heavy downpours in early July.
The James recently opened for residential and retail leasing, according to an April news release from Claremont Development, the property’s manager.
We reached out to Claremont Development for comment for this story but did not hear back by press time.
Richard Sciaretta, managing partner of Claremont Development, said in the leasing announcement, “We are thrilled to be counting down the days until we can officially welcome our first residents to The James. The James has the potential to positively impact Park Ridge in a major way by delivering a luxury rental lifestyle to hundreds of residents in a transit-friendly location and by creating a focal point for the community’s walkable downtown.”
He said, “Our growing waitlist shows that there is a lot of pent-up demand in the market for a luxury community of this caliber that is tailor made for its location, and we are expecting a strong initial response from renters.”
Gervase said Berthoud Street flooding has occurred more over the past few months and he suspected it may be related to the new building and more storm runoff.
However, Renaud said he suspects the runoff volume from recent heavy storms likely overflowed the stormwater holding chamber at the end of the street, possibly causing the flooding.
Renaud said he did not know offhand the capacity of the runoff holding chamber, which was installed decades ago.
Following a heavy storm on Thursday, July 8, Gervase photographed the rising waters outside his busy shop and emailed the shots to Pascack Press.
According to Falkenstern, much of the area experienced flooding following the heavy rain storms. She said the downpours of July 7 and 8, prior to additional rain from Tropical Storm Elsa, had caused flash flooding throughout Park Ridge.
From 9 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday, about 3.7 inches of rain was recorded in Park Ridge, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service said it received reports of hail as big as golf balls and tennis balls bombarding local towns during one of several thunderstorms that crashed through the Garden State from Pennsylvania
A NWS meteorologist said “We’ve had reports of hail up to 1 to 2 inches in diameter, even 2 1⁄2 inches” in northeastern New Jersey, mostly concentrated in the environs of Hillsdale and Westwood.
ABC7NY made much of social media posts about the hail loudly battering homes, cars, and streets in the Township of Washington — which was one of the towns under a tornado warning July 12.
Separately, Emerson residents on Facebook were left marveling at a geyser of water shooting out of a storm drain on Valley Brook Drive on July 2.
Borough Administrator Rob Hermansen noted that on June 8, 3.35 inches of rain had fallen in Emerson and resulted in extensive flooding. He said he’d reached out to Suez North America to keep flood-prone areas cleaned out.
Mayor Danielle DiPaola said at the council meeting of June 15, on the issue of flooding, “Our sewers are clear. Catch basins are clear. The DPW goes around and clears all the catch basins. But when the infrastructure for the town was built years ago it wasn’t built for the amount of rain that we continually get.”
She said, “There are just some homeowners that have houses that are more susceptible because they’re low-lying in order to receive the basin if a catch basin gets clogged. Or if there’s too much rain going into a catch basin at one time — as is what happens with these heavy storms.”
— With some reporting by Jared Mitovich