Cleanup continues for Webster landlord, business owner

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – The Webster community spent much of Tuesday evaluating any damage and cleaning up after heavy rains caused severe flooding in the area Monday evening.

The storms hit right around dinner time, lasting for about three hours, causing flooded roadways, downed trees and powerlines, numerous calls to the fire department for flooded basements, among other disruptions.

Steven Smith is the Owner of Limelight Automotive on Ridge Road and is also the landlord of a property which sits just around the corner on Jackson Road. He describes it as a “work in progress”, only having purchased it a few years ago. Smith tells News8 he was wrapping up his day at the business office when he first heard the rain come through, but didn’t think much of it — then he received a call from his tenant alerting him to the flooding.

“Where we’re standing even, it would be up to my knees right now with it,” Smith describes in an interview on the property Tuesday afternoon, gesturing with his hand on the side of his leg.

“It was pretty crazy. We came over – immediately had a concern about the basement and it was completely – almost completely submersed…If i had gone down there i would have been up to about my neck,” he adds.

Tuesday morning, a long pump was brought in to get the water out of the basement. Smith explains what he first encountered when getting into the doors to the lower-level Monday night.

“As soon as I opened the door it was a sight to see – let me put it that way. Fire Department said this is one of the worst they’ve had ever. Other houses are getting affected from what I hear – I got a buddy over at another place pumping some water out, but we’re talking maybe a foot in those places. We were about 5, 5.5 feet,” he says.

Smith tells News8 he is grateful to have support, but if he had to estimate, he would be looking at about $10,000 worth of damage. His tenant did have to find temporary housing due to the severity of the flooding in the basement.

“It was weird because they didn’t have any power go out at all or anything yesterday but when we saw how much water there was in the basement, we were worried about you know the panel being soaked. Again, no power was really lost to them we didn’t think anything was going to be a serious matter like that but when the fire department came and really broke it down for us, they recommended and had RG&E come and shut all the water and the gas off,” Smith says.

By the time News8 wrapped the interview with Steven Smith, most of the water had been expelled from the basement. He is hoping to have his tenant back into the home by the end of the week, if not sooner.

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