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August 17, 2016

New York City Department of Design and Construction Makes Staten Island More Resilient With Infrastructure Upgrades along Harvest Avenue

New storm sewer system and improvements to sanitary sewers and water mains scheduled for completion in summer 2017

DDC’s project team wearing hardhats and vests
DDC’s project team is installing storm sewers in an area that has never had them

Contact:
Shavone Williams
Public Information Officer
718-391-1583

Dan Leibel
Junior Public Information Officer
718-391-1251

Staten Island, NY—Nearly 1700 linear feet of new 24” storm sewer piping will be installed along West Raleigh and Harvest Avenues in an effort to combat flooding in the West Brighton neighborhood of Staten Island.

The $5.2 million project will also replace 2250 linear feet of old sanitary sewers and 2800 linear feet of existing cast iron water mains. 20 catch basins will be installed to alleviate ponding of storm water on the street. 53 trees will be planted along the street once the work is finished, as well as a curb-to-curb reconstruction of the road.

“In support of Mayor de Blasio’s vision for a resilient city, we are happy to be installing storm sewers in the West Brighton area of Staten Island,” said DDC Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora. “The area never had storm sewers and this project will equip the neighborhood with the proper infrastructure for storm circumvention.”

DDC Resident Engineer Carolina Habashy at the work site on Harvest Avenue
DDC Resident Engineer Carolina Habashy at the work site on Harvest Avenue

The project is being managed by DDC resident engineer Caroline Habashy, who moved to Staten Island from Egypt in 1993. She was a resident of Great Kills for 13 years. The daughter of a doctor, Habashy said engineering caught her interest as a kid because of the freedom for creativity in design.She was the first person in her family to become a civil engineer after graduating with an engineering degree from NYU Polytechnic Institute.

17 years after starting with the DDC as an office engineer, which entailed paper work, data entry, communication with contractors and completing inspector reports from the main office, Habashy is managing this project as a project manager for the first time.

“Making the shift from the office to the field makes you see all the little details of the project,” said Habashy, who began working for the DDC in 1999. “You have to work with the community and make decisions based on them and the conditions of the field. Fortunately this community is extremely understanding and has helped us by making the roads accessible so that we can alleviate the flooding in the area.”

Flood water currently ponds in front of 257 Harvest Avenue and flows through a private street, which ultimately leads the water to East Raleigh Avenue. Two catch basins will be installed in the middle of Harvest Avenue in order to prevent the flooding on both roads.

The project started in October 2015 and is expected to be complete in early summer 2017. Infrastructure improvements are taking place on West Raleigh Avenue between Clove Road and Broadway in addition to the work on Harvest Avenue.


About the NYC Department of Design and Construction
The Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager. In supporting Mayor de Blasio’s lenses of growth, sustainability, resiliency, equity and healthy living, DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings such as such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, new or upgraded roadways, sewers, water mains in all five boroughs. To manage this $15 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative, and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to city projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.