Letter to the Editor: Stop Shaming Residents of Flood Prone Areas

Letter to the Editor:
Dear Mayor Arest, Deputy Mayor Whitestone, and Trustees Ahuja, Brew, Gans, Gruenberg, and Mazer,

I’m writing this letter anonymously because residents like me – i.e., homeowners who live in flood-prone neighborhoods – don’t need or want our names and addresses to become a matter of public record. (This may become less of an issue in March, when all homeowners will be required to provide a Property Condition Disclosure Statement to prospective purchasers.)

I realize that this places the Village in a quandary, but you need to decide between (a) “flood shaming” your constituents who’ve been most severely affected by the flooding in Scarsdale, and (b) listening to anonymous input from those residents. I encourage you to choose option (b).

The real shame in the Village’s approach to development isn’t that it inadequately restricts construction, but rather what the Village has done to promote re-development in flood-prone neighbors – i.e., NOTHING.

The Village can’t solve the flooding problem. There’s no amount of money that will do that. Instead, the Village needs to create economic incentives for people to rip down flood-prone homes, and replace them with structures that are out of harm’s way.

The “right” way to do that is to prohibit basements in the affected areas, and permit new structures on “platforms” that can be used as garages, for storage, etc. Then, eliminate coverage and FAR “haircuts” for land that is in a floodplain so as to maximize the size of the new home. Finally, relax the height restrictions on these homes to account for the elevated construction.

Will these homes be “out of scale” with the rest of the Village? You’re damn right they will be. But will they be safe from future devastation? You’re damn right about that, too.

The Village Board needs to break the cycle of paralysis by analysis. Having allowed homes to be constructed in harm’s way, the Village has a moral if not a legal obligation to fix that problem. Now is the time for our elected leaders to grow a spine and take action.

Thanks for your consideration.