Carefully designed stream modifications have been implemented in Chichester, and other projects are planned for Mount Tremper and Shandaken in the next month, with some to take place next year. The projects are sponsored by Shandaken Area Flood Assessment and Remediation Initiative (SAFARI), a group that was organized after Main Street flooded in October and December 2010. Representatives from city, state, and county agencies have met regularly and hired consultants — paid for by New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) — to look at ways to deal with and prevent flooding.
“We’re still working on a flood mitigation plan,” said Stanley, “reviewing documents they’ve sent to us. These consultants have their own jargon, and we’re trying to get them to put it into layman’s terms. So many agencies require us to have a plan in order to be eligible for funding. But local citizens should also be able to pick it up and comprehend to how to protect their own homes from flood emergencies.”
One effect of the SAFARI meetings has been a mutual understanding among the different parties. “Now we can use their terminology to explain our issues,” said Stanley.
As for the future, he added, “I hope we don’t see another event like that. It was the flood of record, and it set the mark. If there’s any advantage to come out of this, it’s to see the deficiencies in flood preparedness and help us be more prepared.”
“At first it was like an adrenaline rush. I felt like I was in the Second World War,” said German-born artist Rita Schwab, describing the aftermath of the hurricane, when her house in Mount Tremper filled with water almost to the ceiling of the first floor. “The National Guard and the Red Cross were coming in, my belongings were picked up with a backhoe — it was surreal. When all that wore off, I dislocated my hip with the shoveling, there was mold growing, I was having to tear out walls. I couldn’t work or make money for three months.”
Meanwhile, she was applying for recovery funds from FEMA and from insurance companies. She returned to the house for an estimated 20 different inspections and filled out reams of forms. “I got burnt out and depressed,” she recalled. “The building inspector gave me a hard time and made me do all this remodeling. I had to borrow money. FEMA didn’t give me anything. I’m in a lawsuit with the homeowners insurance company.”
Schwab applied to the county for a buyout program, but they were offering so little money, it didn’t seem worthwhile. “The happy ending is — it hasn’t totally come yet — that I have been using the house as a studio. I got awarded $5,000 from the New York State Business Recovery Program. I’m replacing insulation and sheetrock, but I’m no longer allowed to live there — the zoning has changed. I would have to raise the house 17 feet to live there.”
She has occupied a series of rented rooms in the community while coping emotionally with her crisis. “What has really happened is that my life has dramatically changed,” she said. “The rug was pulled out from under my feet. A few months back, I decided the house and all that has happened, my financial losses, has to become a secondary concern in my life. I need to move on. I did a six-week yoga program for healing, did physical therapy for my hip, and I’m in a really good space, producing wonderful art.”
She has been studying mandala healing. On the anniversary of the flood, she held a community workshop in the Phoenicia Park, inviting people to bring items from nature to create a symmetrical, circular form for meditation and reflection. “I’m immensely thankful for this community,” she said, “how it’s extended itself and been generous and supportive. I’m coming out a better person.” ++
