Brooklyn neighborhood plagued with flooding, poor infrastructure to receive $75 million investment
Officials say the Jewel Street neighborhood known as "the hole" has been neglected by the city for decades.
A Brooklyn neighborhood that has been plagued with flooding, poor infrastructure and waste for decades will receive a $75 million investment from the city.
Residents who live in the Jewel Street neighborhood say it is long overdue.
Unpaved roads, abandoned property and garbage are seen all over the area.
"This Jewel Street neighborhood, also known as 'the hole,' has been disregarded for decades by New York City," said Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Residents like Julisa Rodriguez, who moved to the neighborhood 15 years ago, have been forced to bear the brunt.
"We couldn't really afford a house in New York. We found this great opportunity and we bought the house thinking it would be marvelous," Rodriguez said.
But that was not the case.
Rodriguez quickly learned the neighborhood sits 15 feet below the surrounding area, making it prone to major flooding.
"From there on, everything went downhill, we had mold, we had to replace all the walls pertaining to all the apartments," she said.
Over the last several decades, the conditions have continued to worsen.
"Overgrown weeds, crime, homeless people just taking over the empty lots," Rodriguez said.
Now the neighborhood conditions have finally caught the attention of the city, which has announced a $75 million investment to fix "the hole."
"We really need to start thinking about the future, about housing, about jobs, about quality of life," Carrión said.
On Saturday, the city held its first workshop at the Spring Creeks Garden Community Center to get feedback from residents.
Rodriguez said she has a few ideas in mind.
"I think personally they would need to raise the street and connect us to the sewer and then start redeveloping the area, adding sidewalks, street signs," she said.
The city will hold a few more workshops over the next few months. The city hopes to release a plan for the neighborhood by next spring.
