Sewer upgrades, grassy median will ease flooding in Queens: Mayor

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – Sewer upgrades and other flood mitigation infrastructure have been installed in flood-prone parts of Queens, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

In Queens Village, a 3-acre concrete median was transformed into a grassy stretch dotted with wildflowers that can help drain stormwater when the city’s sewer overflows. This median – which can drain up to 5 million gallons of stormwater – will catch the water that used to run off the concrete and into basements and roadways, Adams said.

“We’re turning New York into a sponge: small green patches are pretty and absorb gallons of stormwater, ponds and basketball courts provide recreation and hold massive amounts of rainwater, and porous pavement soaks in the water rather than letting it pool and flood,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi.

In Maspeth and College Point, areas usually hit hard by flooding , sewer upgrades doubled and tripled storm drain capacity, according to city officials. A new mile of large sewers and nearly another mile of water mains were added in Maspeth, and College Point got around 8.5 miles of new sewers and additional water mains, city officials said.

In Corona, some 300 flood sensors have been installed and another 200 will be placed before next year, Adams said.

At NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses, the city is adding new drainage systems, green spaces and other infrastructure that will ultimately help capture around 3.5 million gallons of stormwater. The project is expected to be complete in 2025, city officials said.

Monday marked three years since Hurricane Ida , which killed 13 New Yorkers.

“Our infrastructure was designed to function in a climate that we don’t live in anymore, but we are working hard to update it to protect New Yorkers from flooding,” said Rohit Aggarwala, New York City’s chief climate officer.

Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered New York City since 2023. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here .

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