Hope

Mamaroneck, NY

Mamaroneck, NY experienced its worst flooding in history 1-2 September 2021, just 10 days after Tropical Storm Henri caused minor flooding that impacted 50 homes and a church. It was also notably the Village's 100th flood event since records were kept. Consistent with past major floods (14-18 October 1955, 19 June 1972, 23-27 September 1975, and 15 April 2007) the damage is extensive and likely to exceed $100 million, no coincidence because of climate change and development, the latter creating conditions for greater and more intense runoff. In addition, this flood resulted in loss of life – a person returning from work who was swept away by the raging floodwaters along Mamaroneck Avenue near the I-95 entrance/exit ramps. Prior to this flood, the 2007 event had been the worst in Mamaroneck’s history with floodwaters of up to 6 feet deep. This flood smashed the record with waters reaching an incredible height of 14 feet – not surprising since just prior to the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River’s breaching their banks, it had rained like never before. In fact the rain came down so hard, it was like a sheet you couldn’t see through. With the intense rain, my 6-story apartment building was transformed into a towering waterfall.

I created, “Hope,” an abstract digital work of art from a photograph I took in a parking lot along Nostrand Avenue, in which the raging waters from the nearby Mamaroneck River tore out parking barriers and flooded nearby buildings and roads. The original photograph before digital editing captured the patterns and ripples left behind in silt that had been washed up from the river and covered the asphalt surface.

The incomplete red-orange circle in the top left corner is intended to depict the returning sun and represent perseverance while the red, yellow, and pink splotches, depicting the reflection of sunlight from the returning sun in standing pockets of water are intended to depict the coming together of peoples out of love and compassion to help the victims, assist with the cleanup and ultimately the rebuilding. The scattered green splotches and aura around the incomplete circle are intended to represent survival and thus life! The water droplets represent the rains that had caused this great flood. The black linear ripples depict the scars left behind the raging waters that had covered the parking lot in silt, which is represented by the earthen tones and grays. The dated postmarks (bottom left and top right) indicate the date and location of this great flood. Last, the overall cheerful brightness of this abstract embodies hope for as long as there is life, there is hope and thus with people coming together, even the worst of moments can be transformed into things of beauty.

Mamaroneck, NY: 36 Noteworthy Floods between 1877 and 2021

October 1877 – 1st Flood since Record Keeping began (4 October)
September 1882
July 1889
October 1903
March 1936
July 1938
September 1938
July 1942
August 1942
September 1944
May 1946
March 1953
August 1955
October 1955 – Approx. 3 feet, 7 inches of water
August 1960
April 1961
March 1962
August 1971
June 1972 – Approx. 4 feet of water
September 1974
September 1975 – Approx. 4 feet, 2 inches of water
November 1977
April 1980
April 1983
May 1990
April 1996
October 1996
September 1999
September 2004
October 2005
March 2007
April 2007 – Approx. 6 feet of water
August 2011
May 2013
August 2014
September 2021 – 14 feet of water; Worst flood of all-time

Based on information in the 2008 KW Furey Engineering Flood Mitigation Report, there have been 100 "flood events" in the Village of Mamaroneck between 1877 and 2021 translating into a "flood event" once every 1.44 years.

Note: Coastal flooding from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 is not included in the above statistics since the storm did not cause the Mamaroneck/Sheldrake Rivers to flood.

Additional Source: Hydroquest LWRP Report dated 20 March 2016.

Bold – Worst Floods in Mamaroneck, NY history