Flood, Recover, Repeat

Everyone has a list of issues with their job. But what if that list included sudden surges of water that stop everything and scramble your life?

Small street-level NYC businesses are in a precarious position - stuck between more flooding water, a building they don’t own and a sewer system they don’t control.

Despite some recognition of the need and help from city officials, small businesses are seeing gaps in flood protection and the water is coming in.

Here are flooding stories from two NYC small businesses.

If you are a homeowner or renter (not a business) with flooding problems, NYC HPD is now offering a free assessment and plan with cost estimates, more here

#1: Queens

Finest Sushi, on the edge of Sunnyside / Blissville Queens, was flooded recently on Oct 30, 2025…but it has happened over 10 times in the last two years.

Not minor flooding, either. It’s a like a geyser that shoots water up from a drain in the basement with depths that can get over 2 feet deep.

The owner estimates that over the last two years she has spent about $7,000 on flooding recovery and 80 hours trying to get things back in order. And it keeps happening.

10 Times In Last 2 Years

So whenever there’s rain, she has to be ready to drop everything, replace supplies, clean the muck and do aggressive mold prevention on walls and equipment to ensure her staff and customers upstairs are healthy and she can stay open.

Neighbors’ Water Is Hers

She is caught in the cross hairs of multiple flooding forces converging:

• Her location is on a corner where water from two streets converge

• Her roof is lower than neighbors and the pitch brings their roof runoff to her

• There is no clear downspout / diversion system nor use of nearby tree beds

• The low drains in the basement are positioned to be a bridge between a LOT of runoff and an older sewer system - which is clearly not working

NOT in “Flood Zone”

Despite all that, her location is not on the official city flood risk maps: 

• Not for Stormwater risk (see her location below) nor for Coastal risk

• Not under “Moderate” risk…and not even under low chance “Extreme” risk

And that is the map used to designate city funds for flood prevention by the NYC Small Business Services team. They have $5,000 grants for small business tenants which is meant to help prepare and recover. She has already spent MORE than that, but her business doesn’t qualify because she is not in the designated flood risk zone. Requests to get SBS to re-consider the “risk zone” for her have not worked so far.

That said, the NYC SBS team has been responsive. They have met with her, sent a team out to do a free assessment of her space as well as lined up free legal advice…which IS needed help. Also, SBS didn’t create the flood risk map (that’s another story) but were expected to work within it and prioritize certain areas.

Looking For Solutions

Landlord

When she brings it up with her landlord, he says: “it’s the city’s fault” - pointing to older city sewers.

But, she says, the landlord does recognize it happens and has tried on occasion to divert the water from the roof by creating holes on the roof walls so it would go out the sides instead of down internal channels to the sewer drain.

He also says that if she doesn’t like being there….she can leave.

She is fearful of pushing too hard and doesn’t want to lose her lease and her income.

Local Officials

Sunnyside Shines, the local business improvement district, has been trying to get her help, reaching out to the landlord who owns many properties in the area. Also getting her case on the radar of the local City Councilor Won, State Senator Gonzalez, Assemblymember Valdez and even the Congressional office of Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

In September, she came to the Flood Solutions Fair in Sunnyside looking for answers and met with NYC Small Business Services, the DEP, as well as plumbers, landscapers, insurance and legal experts. Many skills needed in cases like this.

 
But so far, despite increased attention, her situation remains the same.

She can wait for sewer upgrades…but that may take years. She can’t get the SBS grant and the costs would be well above that. And even if she could afford to do the work, she doesn’t own the building and would need the owners cooperation. Insurance could potentially help on losses, but it doesn’t stop the water.

So she is stuck…AND trying to understand most of this in English, which is a second language for her, so that also adds to challenges. That said, some city information is offered in Mandarin.

Here is what we would look at:

Option: Roof Runoff

If her roof is getting runoff from nearby buildings and traveling down into her drain, the water needs a different path. It may actually be a good opportunity to consider a green roof solution which can hold a large amount of stormwater at key times.

Consider this example using a 5,000 sq foot roof and a 1.5 inch rain storm…

• A conventional roof runoff would be about 4,200 gallons

• A green roof runoff would be about 1,400 gallons, that’s 2,800 gallons less runoff for that event from this one building

• It also slows water down so sewers have time to catch up

The DEP has been subsidizing larger ones in certain locations where there is a sizable impervious area of at least 50,000 sq feet - which could potentially work in this case given the larger connected roof areas in the block-long building.

They would need to be reviewed by a landscaper, but with the right downspouts and maybe some expanding, and some material called biochar which makes the dirt much more absorbent, they would help reduce stormwater pressure nearby. There are more advanced ways to leverage tree beds (below). But the main thing is if tree beds are nearby, use them as a part of the flooding solution… and maintain them.

Option: Optimize Drains

With various drains in her basement, she needs an expert independent plumber to look and determine if they are optimized.

Questions to ask plumber:

• Are the drains below or above the sewer line grade?

• Is the connection between the sewer and street okay, but maybe there are too many internal drain pipes in the building pointing to one small exit?

• Could a “backflow” valve stop the sewer water, but then where would the roof water go if the valve was closed?

Not Alone

Her story shows how flooding impacts a small business, but also how to breakdown potential causes / solutions. It is just one storefront in Queens, but it could be thousands across NYC. Running a small business is already hard. Thinking through all the “what-if” scenarios of flood prevention should be the responsibility of the building owner, aided by the city, but not on the shoulders of the tenant.

Homeowner / Renter? Free Assessment

#2: Brooklyn

Private Picassos, a kids art-studio, recently moved to Clinton Hill, BK but had no idea the flooding could get this bad.

The owner estimates her costs will be closer to $55,000 once she adds up the physical damages, her lost customers and cancellations, rebuilds, and to put in place better mitigation solutions for next time.

But beyond the money, it was just scary just trying to manage kids in her shop with water rising quickly.

Scene Inside And Outside

After they moved the kids to higher ground in the back, one of her team members videos. You can hear the kids in the background…watch until end as she goes outside and then sees the street.

Door Under Water Pressure

The door became stuck due to water pressure. The fire department helped carry kids out.

Good Documentation

With everyone safe, she went into photography-mode and she is glad she did. But also, she set up a Google Drive where she could backup all photo evidence (…what if she dropped her phone in the water). She later added BEFORE flood photos so she could easily find comparison shots to show the landlord and insurance people.

Speed-Dial: Water Damage Co

She made another important early phone call: a water damage company. Because she called them early, she beat a long line that day; they were there ~2 hours after she called, bringing over 10+ high-powered dehumidifiers, air filters, pumps and cleaning supplies. The next day they removed ruined material and opened walls/floor areas to prevent mold. As things dried out, they restored things to where they were before the flood. She said it cost a lot, but felt it saved her more in the long run and as she got her business re-opened faster. She used Rebuild of Queens: 1-917-834-3390.

“Working With” The Landlord

In her case, the landlord is helping manage some of the repair costs…but it is a negotiation. Questions about “who is responsible for what” are best defined before a flood and in the lease. Landlords are now required by law to notify tenants about flooding history (Right To Know Law) to reduce surprises.

Moreover, specific riders to a renters policy or flood insurance would cover a situation like this…but only IF it is in place 30 days before the flood. Can’t wait till clouds form.

Also…NOT in the “Flood Zone”

She didn’t know about the NYC Small Business Services Resilient Grant program, and she tried looking it up while we visited. After a few minutes trying to open the map on a phone (not easy), she saw that she DID NOT qualify for their flood mitigation grants…her location is NOT in an official “flood risk” zone. Just like the Queens small business.

Walk-Thru With Owner

Hear directly from the owner as she talks about the experience and what she learned. Her story can help you prepare for the next flood.

UPDATE NOV 19: the day after they re-opened, they had ANOTHER (minor) flood from just a little rain. Drain back up, forcing another round of cleaning and scramble. She talks about it here.

Want To Help This Small Business?

GoFundMe Page for Private Picassos (goal is $50K, getting closer but still need)

Brooklyn Paper story 

What Can We Learn (…and Fix)

• WATER DAMAGE COMPANY: Get to know a local “water damage company” before a storm and establish a price and contract with them ahead of time.

• USER EXPERIENCE: People are on their phones during flooding. So the NYC Report Damage Portal and the SBS Help Desk should be connected and made easier to use on a mobile device.

• POLICY: Let’s update the Stormwater maps the city uses to reflect real risk from people on the ground. Until they are updated, documentation, time stamped video and photos proving flood damage should be enough to qualify for small business help.

• POLICY: The small Resilient Grant program from SBS should allow appeals such that someone outside the current risk-zone can show a need for grants.

• POLICY: Lower the threshold for green solutions from DEP - like roof grants or street-level interventions - so smaller business spaces under 50,000 sq. feet can get the diverting, holding, natural system in place. Helps sewers, too!

• FINANCE: Local banks could provide low-cost financing for mitigation retrofits, especially if they ALREADY hold a mortgage on the building…or in the area.

• AGENCY: Bigger idea: but consider a new agency: the NYC Stormwater Agency, which makes it easier for anyone to get help: from assessing the flooding sources to physical/technical options as well as the more nuanced aspects of legal, insurance and finance. One place to coordinate across DEP, DOB, SBS, or even the Mayors Office of Environment Climate Justice. Ideally, they could make house calls without raising the fear of code violations.

   

• FREE HELP: Leverage free advice and contacts from groups like those below.

Small Business Resources For Flooding

NYC SBS Emergency Help Unit

888-727-4692 Contact Form [email protected]

SBS free risk assessment

Center for NYC Neighborhoods

646-786-0888 Contact Form

NHS Queens NHS Brooklyn

Queens: 718-457-1017 [email protected] 

BK: 718-469-4679 Contact Form

Build Up Justice

718-487-2300 [email protected] 

Non-profit legal help resource for small businesses.

NYLAG 

New York Legal Assistance Group, Helps tenants with flood damage, landlord disputes, FEMA, and insurance claims. (212) 613-5000