Flooding devastates senior housing complex

Community comes to aid of residents displaced from Poplar Village

BY LINDA DeNICOLA Staff Writer

BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

Heavy rains last week exceeded the capacity of the wall and the pumps that were supposed to protect Poplar Village tenants from flooding. Heavy rains last week exceeded the capacity of the wall and the pumps that were supposed to protect Poplar Village tenants from flooding. OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Looking at photographs of flooding at Poplar Village in Oakhurst is like looking at pictures of the flooding in the Louisiana Delta. It is all too familiar.

There is the car that is floating, a door that opens out on a body of water and deck chairs that look as though they are lakeside when in fact they are on a patio that was surrounded by grass.

The devastation resulting from flooding brought on by eight consecutive days of torrential downpours has created havoc for the residents of this community. Starting over is never easy, but being forced to start over late in life with limited resources is daunting to say the least. Thirty-five residents of this community were displaced because of flooding last week and 23 of them have suffered major losses that include furniture and cars. Most of them left their homes with just the wet clothes on their backs.

Ursula Krecman, manager of Poplar Village, a HUD-subsidized senior citizens’ retirement community, said 23 of the 93 units in the garden apartment complex were ruined and the rest had to be evacuated because water filled the crawl spaces under their apartments.

This submerged auto is one of 30 ruined by the flooding at the senior complex. This submerged auto is one of 30 ruined by the flooding at the senior complex. “The insulation has to be pulled out of the affected apartments,” she said, adding that there is 3 to 4 feet of water in 23 of the units in the one-story buildings.

Krecman added that about 30 cars were ruined in the flood.

“This is a hardship because this is low-income housing and they don’t have the funds to replace a car, and most did not have flood insurance.”

She added that Poplar Village is a beautiful little development where each resident has their own patio. “Our tenants sustained a real loss.”

When area residents, businesses, local officials and Monmouth University students heard about their plight, they stepped forward to help the residents whose homes and much of their possessions were ruined.

Not only did people turn up right after the flooding to help pull out furniture and carpeting, but they are also helping the residents to replace the items they lost.

According to Councilman Christopher Siciliano, Ocean Township officials and students were there at the apartment complex on the weekend after the flooding happened to pull everything out of the apartments.

“So many people want to help out,” Siciliano said. “I’ve been going around hitting up various organizations in town. When I approached Ocean Township Pop Warner League president Steve Meyer and treasurer Michael Hayes, and told them the story, without hesitation they were all over it.”

He explained that the Pop Warner Football organization was going to donate all of the proceeds from the snack bar and have hourly 50/50 raffles at Sunday’s game at the Ocean Township High School field.

He said that five or six of the elderly residents will need housing for a couple of months, and the Middlebrook Apartments at Monmouth on Route 35 and Deal Road has donated apartments for up to two months

Siciliano said he has lined up two trailers that are needed for residents to store items that they were able to save. ShopRite supermarket, Ocean, and Fred Stern of Stern Transport, Wall Township, have donated two large trailers. They will be placed in back of the complex where there is a parking lot, he said.

“The couches, chairs and beds are gone, but anything made of wood or metal was saved, as were things hanging on walls and shelves, and on the top of tables,” he added.

In addition, Siciliano said, Walt’s Sleep Shop on Route 35 has donated six full-size beds.

Siciliano explained that a private contractor has been hired to pump out all the crawl spaces and dry out the units. “It’s amazing how they do that. There are four giant fans in each room and a huge dehumidifier. The fans create a mini vortex that circulates the air and pulls the moisture out. The dehumidifier, which is huge and holds about 80 gallons, traps the excess moisture.

Krecman said this is not the first time that this has happened, but it is the worst.

“It happened in 1992, but we built a brick retention wall around the complex and spent $40,000 to $50,000 on pumps,” she said. “Up to now, it worked. This time, the water went right over the protective wall.”

She added, “I’m concerned every time there is heavy rain, and so are the tenants. It’s so sad to see them waiting to be evacuated.”

Krecman said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been at the complex after floods in the past.

“They have studied this problem for the last 25 years. It’s disheartening that nothing has been done,” she said.

Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District), who visited shortly after the flooding occurred, explained that the heavy rains caused a dramatic rise in the height of Poplar Brook, and floodwaters came through a breach between a stone and earthen berm and the brick wall that combine to protect the area from lesser flooding.

The breach could not hold back floodwaters caused by heavy rains over an eight-day period, he said.

As a result of the latest flooding, Pallone has urged the Army Corps to expedite the construction of the Poplar Brook flood control project, which is intended to prevent flooding in the future by creating a basin upstream in Joe Palaia Park.

Siciliano said he was heartened by the response of the people he has reached out to for help.

“The community is rallying to help these people. These people are all on small, fixed incomes,” he noted. “Every little bit helps.”

In addition to the support that the township is helping to gather, the Greater Ocean Township Chamber of Commerce has issued a press release informing the community of the devastation at Poplar Village. The chamber is seeking donations of temporary housing, furniture, linens or clothing for the seniors who will be living in temporary housing for approximately two months. To make a donation, call Marsha at the chamber office at (732) 728-1888, and she will coordinate with the director of Poplar Village.