Lori Madden: Mr. Mayor, are you there?
Mayor Eric Adams: Yes, I am. How are you?
Madden: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mayor Adams on the phone with us. Mr. Mayor, I don't know if you just heard our Mary-Lyn Buckley reporting from Bushwick and the widespread damage there.
Store owners asking for help from the city. They say some of these catch basins weren't cleared out. It caused this. The rain came down so quickly this afternoon. Is the city going to help? What are you going to do?
Mayor Adams: Yes, as we always do during storms of this magnitude and the catch basins, we've sent a team out throughout the city. And we also ask our store owners and residents to also play a role in cleaning the basins.
But when you look at the amount of water that was coming down, our sewer systems are just not built to handle that. It was a steady rain throughout, in particular areas you saw bursts of heavy rain in specific locations. The heaviest part of the storm has mostly passed us by. We're going to see rain throughout the night, but not at that magnitude. And by tomorrow, we're going to see just high winds and not rain of this level.
Madden: Mr. Mayor, we knew we were going to have heavy rain today. Were the catch basins not cleaned out? Did city agencies not prepare for this properly?
Mayor Adams: Yes, we were aware that rain was coming of a heavy level. We were expecting a nor'easter and the team, they know exactly what to do during this time.
The forecast called for one to two inches of rain between two and 10 p.m. with high winds. But when you look at what happened on one storm cell that largely fell in a 10-minute period, that just overwhelmed the sewer system. This was made worse by fall foliage on the ground that clogged our basins.
Madden: But why weren't these basins cleared yesterday?
Mayor Adams: Think about it for a moment. We do it throughout the entire city in anticipation. We put crews out there to make sure they are clean. And look at where some of the heavy rain and where the flooding took place, Fulton Street.
I've been living in Brooklyn for almost 30 years. I've never witnessed Fulton Street flooded at the level that we witnessed today. And like I've said, high winds that blew a lot of leaves. So, even if you clean the basins, when you have high winds that blow leaves off the trees and clog basins, this is the result of that.
Madden: Mr. Mayor, you brought up Fulton Street. We have seen the video. It's not just Fulton Street, the Clearview, the LIE, the FDR Drive. Do you know of any rescue operations with vehicles trying to get through this water?
Mayor Adams: None is reported at this time. It was brought to my attention earlier, during a briefing, that we had an incident in Brooklyn where there was a flooded basement that required a level of rescue. And we're getting an update on the victim at this time.
Madden: And do you know that person's condition? Do you know of any injuries because of the storm?
Mayor Adams: It's just coming through. You're the first to hear it on [1010 WINS]. And as I find out more, we will let it be known.
Madden: And going forward, as we look into the evening, a lot of these neighborhoods are now cleaning up. Any message to New Yorkers? You just, again, heard from these people in Bushwick. What a mess they have. Anything you'd like to say to them as we clean up from this mess?
Mayor Adams: The city is going to be there with you. Our teams are out for rescues. We have FDNY, NYPD, and DEP is utilizing all of their resources as well. And also our emergency management team is going to also make sure that we deploy the personnel that's needed. So, it's a full team effort. And as well as everyday New Yorkers doing what we do best, responding to these conditions.
Mother Nature is still in charge. And we have to respond as these storms take place. But it's a reminder to us that global warming is real. And when you see what's on Bushwick and on Fulton Street, it shows you these are new challenges that we are facing.
Madden: Okay. Mayor Eric Adams, thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. And again, we know of at least one rescue because of this storm.
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