Crown Heights' Kingsborough Houses Upgrade To Help With Flooding

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A $29 million upgrade to public housing complexes will help prevent flooding during rainstorms, including at the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights, according to the city.

The Kingsborough Houses are on a list of 19 New York City Housing developments that will have their drainage systems upgraded this year by the Department of Environmental Protection, officials said this week.

The project, which started earlier this year, will help capture 55 million gallons of stormwater each year to ease pressure on neighborhood sewers and reduce flooding on walkways, officials said.

“...Funding these ongoing upgrades at NYCHA properties will improve the quality of life for residents while also reducing neighborhood flooding and any sewer overflow into local waterways,” DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza said.

The Kingsborough Houses are among a slate of developments that will get the upgrades in the next several months, according to DEP.

Work has already been completed at seven of the 19 complexes and another five are currently under construction, officials said.

The upgrades include building green infrastructure — including permeable concrete sidewalks, permeable asphalt, permeable pavers, subsurface infiltration chambers or rain gardens — to soak up the stormwater, which typically would put pressure on the sewer system and overflow into local waterways like the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, East River or Jamaica Bay.

Here's a look at which NYCHA properties are getting the upgrades:

Where drainage upgrades have been completed:

• Gowanus Houses
• Throggs Neck Houses
• Pennsylvania Avenue – Wortman Avenue Houses
• Boulevard Houses
• Linden Houses
• Van Dyke I Houses
• Van Dyke II Houses

Where drainage upgrades are underway:

• Cypress Hills Houses
• Pink Houses
• Brownsville Houses
• Bushwick II Houses
• Tilden Houses

Where drainage upgrades will begin over the next several months:

• Kingsborough Houses
• Brevoort Houses
• Roosevelt I Houses
• Roosevelt II Houses
• Glenmore Houses
• Howard Houses
• Seth Low Houses