Flood relief planned for parking lots in Kings Park and Smithtown

The city of Smithtown will receive nearly $1.4 million in federal aid to address chronic flooding problems at two city-owned parking lots in downtown Smithtown and at Kings Park, officials said.

The city will spend $1 million to improve stormwater infrastructure on the Smithtown property at East Main Street and Landing Avenue, officials said. Because of the aging infrastructure, the property floods during heavy rains. The water pools and flows, inundating sidewalks and nearby businesses and restaurants.

The city will spend $384,800 to fix flooding problems at another property in downtown Kings Park at Main Street and Indian Head Road. That property also frequently floods, making it difficult for people to park or shop in the business district.

“These torrential rains have caused repeated flooding,” Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim said in an interview.

As for the Smithtown parking lot, “some of the businesses adjacent to that parking lot were experiencing basement flooding, so fixing that problem was a top priority.”

Funding will come from the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, according to the office of Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville).

Because parking is limited on East Main Street, many customers and employees of downtown businesses use the city-owned parking lot, Wehrheim said.

The Smithtown parking lot was built in the 1990s and its sewers are unable to handle heavy rainfall.

For years, heavy rains have caused flooding in the basements and sidewalks of businesses near the East Main Street property, says Barbara Franco, executive director of the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce.

“Some of the stores have basements and the water even went down to the ground floor,” Franco said. “It was very bad.”

To prevent flooding on the property, the city will install 16 drainage basins and five retention basins.

Also in Kings Park, sewers near the LIRR business district south of Main Street are inadequate, causing flooding in the parking lot, Wehrheim said.

The repairs will make it easier for customers to park in the Kings Park business district, Wehrheim said.

The projects will reduce the amount of stormwater runoff entering the Long Island Sound watershed and the Nissequogue River tributary, city spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo said.

When it rains, rainwater picks up pollutants from surfaces – including roads and roofs – and flows into drains and eventually into waterways.

According to official information, construction work on both parking lots should be completed by spring.