Rockland Electeds Press for a Flood of Change for Route 59

By M. C. Millman

Today, engineers from the Army Corps, local elected officials, and the State Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Conservation (DEC) visited the Route 59 flood zone. 

The solution-driven group has been in contact with regard to working on mitigating the ongoing flooding and road closures in the West Nyack area since the initiative was announced on January 11.

On January 11, Senator Bill Weber, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, District Director Rafi Silberberg representing Congressman Mike Lawler's office, and Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann announced that they would work to end the area's regular flooding, as reported by Rockland Daily here. 

Today's group site visit on Route 59 allowed the agencies and affiliates to explore and discuss methods for addressing the area's continued unprecedented flooding. The continued flooding included last Sunday when the two-inch downpour on Motzei Shabbos resulted in flooding and caused road closures in both directions of Route 59. The recent closure stretched through Sunday,  frustrating drivers of the main thoroughfare, as reported by Rockland Daily here. The group met on Route 59 and then took a bus to tour a number of key spots along the Hackensack River.

District Director Silberberg, representing Congressman Lawler's office, representatives from Senators Weber and Zabrowski's offices, Supervisor Hoeman, and members of the Army Corps, State DOT, and DEC attended the on-site meeting today, continuing to work together to coordinate between federal, state, and local agencies to put an end to the constant flooding on the roadway causing continued road closures and inconveniencing much of Rockland County.

"This is a problem that we've seen going back at least 100 years," Senator Bill Weber says, "and to have this continue in 2024 is unacceptable...We have been in contact with the DOT over the past couple of days and right now, they have no plan. So it's unacceptable...We need a long-term solution that's going to be a solution ...That's going to take a multi-pronged, multi-agency approach, a collaboration between federal and state and local officials, and having the state DOT quarterback at. We're going to need federal funding and state funding and the collaboration of all the agencies to make sure this is done and done right... At this point, it's a quality of life issue and a safety issue, and frankly, it's something that should've been done a long time ago."