Relentless Rain Causes Retaining Wall To Collapse In Gowanus, Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The weekend is starting with a wet, muddy mess following the relentless rain Friday.

For one family on Staten Island, the rain invaded their bathroom, before flowing into the kitchen and bedroom. Flood water left Bay Street looking like a river as it rushed into sewer grates.

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It was a similar  scene in Midtown, where storm water collected in puddles on street corners, and much worse along the West Side Highway.

It's pretty bad when a school bus with kids on board has trouble getting by, CBS2's Jessica Layton reported. Thankfully, the kids were OK.

An FDNY truck also had to fight through the flooding, as soaked good Samaritans helped direct traffic.

The help came a little too late for the owner of a motorcycle, which ended up under water.

Related: Heavy Rain Causes Flooding, Hazardous Driving Conditions Across New Jersey

In Gowanus, Brooklyn, the weather became more than an inconvenience -- it was a safety issue, as a railing fell and part of a retaining wall collapsed just below the Gowanus Expressway. Heavily traveled 17th Street is now closed as engineers try to secure the area.

Drivers who make that part of their regular route were grateful no one was hurt.

"I pass here at least three to four times a day, and I'm amazed. I can't believe how lucky we all are by someone not passing by there and getting hurt at the time that it fell down," Gowanus resident Tommy DeMetro said. "It looks ridiculous. It's rusted out. It was an incident waiting to happen."

With 17th Street closed, traffic on Hamilton Avenue was also snarled.

The city's Office of Emergency Management said it was hoping to have 17th Street reopened around 11 p.m. Friday.

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