Angry residents complaining of extensive property damage in their homes caused by last weekend's torrential rains and the resulting floods, voiced their discontent before the Massapequa Park Village Board during its public meeting Monday, Jan. 11. But village officials could not offer much consolation since the source of the problem remains somewhat of a mystery.

The skies dumped several inches of rain of Long Island Sunday, Jan. 3 in a very short period of time, leaving many streets flooded. Particularly hard hit, according to its residents, were Philadelphia Ave. from Front St. to Pennsylvania Ave. and Ocean Ave. from Pennsylvania Ave to Michigan Ave.

The area also experienced flooding during a June 13th rain storm, which has left many residents wondering what changed in the area to cause floods twice in a seven month period. Following the summer flood, the village used over $50,000 it had set aside to clear vegetation from the drainage system. Residents, who thought that the vegetation might have been the cause of the flood, were disappointed last weekend to see the removal had no effect.

According to Mayor George Nussbaum, who will be stepping down in March, the source of the problem is unclear and may not even originate within Massapequa Park. The problem may extend into drainage pipes that run under Sunrise Highway, in which case the village may have to call on Nassau County, the Town of Oyster Bay or the state to remedy it. The mayor said the village will also be looking into finding out whether the new King Kullen Supermarket shopping center might be affecting the area's drainage. Whatever the case may be, he added, he will be contacting Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, as well as New York State Senator Charles Fuschillo and Assemblyman Steven Labriola to recruit their help in researching the problem.

Venditto said the town has very good drainage experts who could work with the village in investigating the problem. "We'll do anything we can do to work cooperatively to discover the problem and find a solution," he said.

Meanwhile, residents said they are living in fear of another bad rainstorm that may cause further damage to their homes.

"My caravan floated into the middle of the street into five feet of water," said Georgia Gergenti of Philadelphia Ave., who added that the water damage to her car totaled it. She also said the floor in her basement also buckled and split, allowing dirt from the ground to seep into her house. Gergenti, who added that the flooding caused damage to her oil burner and clothes dryer as well, said many of her neighbors were temporarily without gas, hot water or heat.

One resident referred to the area as the cesspool of Massapequa Park, while another told the board that his brand new furnace was flooded.

"I had a river in my backyard. I thought I was living in a Louisiana swamp," said yet another village resident.

During the meeting, residents offered their own speculation as to what might be causing the flooding. Some suspect it was caused by storm drains they thought were closed by the village, while others think the problem started because of some error made when the village did roadwork in the area. Still others questioned whether it might be that the out-flow pipes for run-off water are not big enough or perhaps the sump that collects the water might be too limited in its capacity.

Superintendent of Public Works William Colfer said that although he's not sure of what exactly is causing the problem, he said the roadwork should not have any impact on drainage and residents who think storm drains have been closed and mistook dry wells for storm drains, which have different functions.

According to Colfer, one major contributing factor to the flooding, was the volume of water that fell in a relatively short time period, saying that the system was probably not designed to handle a situation such as that. However, he went on to say that it is very unusual to have it happen twice within a year.

Another factor he said should be looked into is the size of the out flow pipes, which would require the village to work with the town, county or state. The difference in the elevation between the bay and the recharge basin or sump on Front Street may also be playing a large role in the problem, causing a backup of water during heavy rain.

Nussbaum said the fact that people's lawns weren't absorbing any of the rainfall due to the previously freezing temperatures was probably a factor in the volume of water, as well.

Despite the fact that they don't have any clear answers yet, the village is already working on it. The village has been in the process of identifying all its water outlets in order to satisfy federal Clean Water Act requirements that it monitor water quality. This, he said, will also help the village in identifying the flooding problem.

Colfer said it will also be turning to the state for assistance in tracking down any possible problems in the piping under Sunrise Highway and the village may also appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"The framework for cooperation certainly seems to be there and I know the mayor is working very hard to get other people involved," Colfer said.

Nussbaum, who said the village is willing to do whatever it takes to help its residents through this, also stressed that unfortunately whether it's a problem the state has to fix or it's one that the village has to take out a bond in order to do it themselves, there is no quick solution.