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Congressman Max Rose held a press conference today calling for action to address street flooding in Midland Beach that prevents a wheelchair-bound resident from leaving the house when it rains, impacting their ability to go to required doctors’ appointments.

“If you want an example of the ways government fails us on a daily basis, look no further than the corner of Mapleton Avenue and Olympia Boulevard,” Rose said. “The Pasciak family has gone to incredible lengths to adapt their home to their new reality following their son’s traumatic brain injury, yet the one thing they can’t control is that every time it rains the street flooding literally puts them on an island that prevents them from leaving. This can be fixed and this needs to be fixed, which is why I’m calling on the City to stop playing bureaucratic hot potato and get this right.”

The Pasciak family are longtime residents of Mapleton Avenue in Midland Beach. Years ago their son, Andrew, had a traumatic brain injury which left him wheelchair-bound, requiring the family to build a ramp from their home to the street. Unfortunately due to poor drainage, whenever it rains, Mapleton Avenue floods to the point where it becomes dangerous for Andrew to leave the home, which has caused him to miss multiple doctors’ appointments solely because of rain.

“I’ve been living here for over 20 years, I’ve been dealing with this problem for a long time,” said Stephen Pasciak, Andrew’s father and caretaker. “Now that I need help because of my son, all the city officials here just pass the potato to somebody else. My son has missed doctors appointments, surgeries—everything—because of this problem. I’m hoping the city will listen and try rectify this problem, because my son’s life depends on it.”

Rose has been advocating on behalf of the family in calling for the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to raise the road, or the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to improve the drainage system, but neither agency has thus far shown a willingness to fix the structural problem.

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