City moves to buy out flood-damaged properties in Lackawanna County

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA (WBRE/WYOU) — Nearly 10 months ago, dozens of properties were damaged and two Lackawanna County residents were killed by flash flooding.

On Monday, the city of Scranton announced steps to bring relief to those whose homes were left in ruins.

This is a big step forward for 18 homes and three vacant lots damaged in September. All of those properties in the Keyser Valley and North Scranton areas.

A grant of more than $2,000,000 would provide funding for the acquisition and demolition of the properties on North Merrifield Avenue, Jackson Street, Leggett Street, and Mary Street.

All of the properties sustained substantial damage during flash flooding on September 9, 2023.

The funding is through the 2023 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC program.

This is a good sign for the property owners compared to previous attempts for federal aid that were denied.

“This is a part of natural disasters that’s happen and we gotta try to move on and with the possible grants that we’re gonna receive it’s gonna be a fresh start hopefully for many of us,” Scranton resident David Kozlansky.

“This is really important not just for of course the property owners, those families, it’s also important for the city to figure out some of this playbook of what we can do when something like this hits,” Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti explained.

A public meeting on this project is expected to take place this month.

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