Politics & Government

Town Officials Hold Post-Flood Community Meeting

Three days after Irene, residents—many who have lost it all—look for help and share frustrations.

Tempers were high at the first of two community information sessions held at the Police Athletic League building on Baldwin Road Wednesday morning. About 200 residents, many of them dealing with power outages and/or property losses, came to get answers from township officials.

Sometimes it was difficult to hear the answers as some in the audience shouted angrily and complained about numerous things, primarily the dam release that reportedly took place Sunday and whether ample notification was given to residents of flood-prone lower Lake Hiawatha. 
Mayor James Barberio took the angry comments in stride.

"After all these people have been through, they deserve a chance to vent," he said. "And if they vent at me, that's OK. I can take it."

The mayor started the session expressing his own feelings about the flooding and devastation caused by Hurricane Irene.

"You have my deepest sympathies," he said to the assembled residents. "My heart bleeds over everything that's taken place in Parsippany. We had historic rains. You can see what has happened."

New Parsippany Police Chief Anthony DeZenzo told the crowd that as a lifelong resident of Lake Hiawatha, he understands the suffering people are enduring. 

"We are doing everything possible to protect life and property here in Parsippany and to expedite the process of moving forward," DeZenzo said. "We've identified areas of the community, homes that are vacant and areas that need special attention. We're going to take control of those areas and we'll get as much information to you as possible."

The chief said he would make police incident report forms available to all who suffered property damage,so that they can have them for insurance reimbursement efforts. 

"Nobody could have predicted what transpired," he said, noting that the havoc Irene wreaked was "unprecedented" for Parsippany. 

Parsippany Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Hubner spoke next, mentioning his appreciation of all the work done by officials, responders and volunteers throughout the crisis. 

"Where we stand today is that we have a state of emergency in Parsippany and in the state," he said, adding that officials are waiting for a federal state of emergency declaration. When that comes, residents will be able to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance. We're hoping that will happen in a day or so." 

Greg Schneider, who heads the township's Department of Public Works, told the crowd that he came as a friend and to offer all the services his agency has to offer.

"We have started the cleanup process as of 3:00 this morning," said Schneider. "We were sweeping all the flooded streets, so as you re-enter the areas, you will notice that there is some kind of normalcy, at least in front of your house. I anticipate all of you will need a lot of help, and I will help in any way I can."

Schneider reminded the audience to take pictures of any damaged property they have for insurance purposes. He also instructed residents to put refuse items in front of their homes so they can be taken away by sanitation workers.

"This will not be a normal garbage operation. We will handle this with front-loaders and containers, which have already been placed by the [Lake Hiawatha] Swim Club," he said. "This will be an ongoing process, every day."

Scott DiGiralomo of the Morris County Office of Emergency Management told residents that his office plans to bring more resources to Parsippany. That depends, he said, on getting a federal declaration of a state of emergency.

"That is the first step," he said, noting that federal officials are already assessing damages in advance and preparing to make recommendations to President Obama in the hope of expediting the process.

"Assuming that moves forward, you will see announcements of how to register with FEMA for the damages. Do that as soon as you get it—you can even do it online," he said. "Make sure you register. That gets the process going for you."

DiGiralomo said the county OEM is working with the Red Cross to make cleanup kits available to Parsippany property owners.

"It's important to tell your town leaders what you needs are so that they can address them or push the requests up the chain for you," he said.

"Unfortunately, there's no one who's going to come in with a magic wand and clean your house for you and make it better, but everyone is committed to working with you to help you get through this difficult time."

"We've got water, water everywhere," shouted a man in the audience. "What are you going to do about that?"

Several others followed, calling out insistent questions as Mayor Barberio returned to the podium.

The audience pelted the mayor with questions.

"There's oil and water in the ground," a woman yelled. "What do we do?"

"Did you open up the dam?" called out a man.

The mayor apparently recognized the man.

"I told you already on the phone. We did not open the dam," he replied.

The questions started again, with people, now growing angry, talking all at once. Police Chief DeZenzo stepped forward.

"That's OK, chief," Barberio said. "Let me answer the question. We spoke to [United Water] on Thursday. On Friday, they did release water. I understand it had to do with dam safety. Then they sent a notification on Sunday that they might be releasing water, but they did not. And Eric Hubner, our OEM director, did not release water.

"You're probably not going to like what I'm going to say. It's heartwrenching for me too," the mayor continued. "We received 10 inches of rain in less than 12 hours. It caused an unprecedented rise in the crests; it was a record. I was down there from 11:00 on with Benny Pietropaolo. We saw that water rising from 10:30 on. I've been living here most all my life, and Benny said, 'This is not good.' He knew. He moved his vehicles. The water started cresting at such a rate."

Barberio said he could't speak for United Water and said he will post the water utility's letter to the township on the municipal website. [Patch's calls to United Water have yet to be returned.] But the mayor did defend Parsippany's township workers, rescue units and emergency management staffers. 

"They deserve so much credit. They worked so hard," he said.

The audience began to applaud in agreement and much of the tension dissipated.

After the speeches, a question-and-answer session began. Each of the town and agency officials spoke individually with residents to deal with their concerns. Some walked away satisfied, others less so.

The primary message given to everyone was to register at the Flood Damage Assessment Center at the Lake Hiawatha District 4 firehouse on North Beverwyck Road. At the site, people can receive information on cleaning their homes, dealing with flooded cars and getting assistance for pets. They  also need to check in and receive the OK to visit their homes and assess property damage.

Afterward, Shirley and Larry Brown told Patch that they aren't sure what will happen to their home, which sits next to the retaining wall of Rockaway River.

"We don't know if the house is structurally safe," said Shirley Brown, who added that she and her spouse have lived there since 1999. "The force came from five directions. It's a mess."

Find out what's happening in Parsippanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Browns said the house flooded during their first year there, though most of the damage was sustained by the garage.      

"It wasn't like this one. It wasn't this bad," said Harry Brown. "We got about five feet of water."

The couple said they would head to the firehouse to have their damage assessed, though they've already visited their home and clearly are heartsick over heat they saw.

"[The recovery workers] disconnected our propane and made it safe," Shirley Brown said before growing philosophical. "I know they did what they could do. This kind of stuff happens. All you can do is be thankful we are okay and move forward."

Find out what's happening in Parsippanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The second community information session takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Police Athletic League building.


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