Riverdale dentists' office floods for second time this month: "Probably the worst that we've had"
NEW YORK -- A pair of family dental practices in the Bronx completely flooded Friday after intense rainfall for the second time this month.
The scene Friday brought nothing but discomfort to employees at Wasserman Cosmetic & Family Dentistry on Riverdale Avenue.
"This is probably the worst that we've had," said Dr. Jerry Wasserman.
CBS New York first reported on the flood problems in Riverdale last week. The families blamed New York City's poor drainage and recent construction that continues to hurt their bottom line.
It's becoming all too familiar for them, as they planned on canceling appointments for a second time this month.
"Here we go again. This is happening all the time, and obviously we can't do business this way," said Dr. Paul Hertz, of Fine Comprehensive Dental Practice.
CBS New York saw inches of rain seeping into the office as employees rushed to sweep it out. The flooding even lifted the floorboards off the ground.
Wasserman said the whole courtyard behind the office was consumed by water within 30 minutes.
"We had two major floods and it's only in the last three years that we've had these problems," said Wasserman.
They believe they keep getting flooded because of poor drainage and a retaining wall behind the property.
"We didn't create this problem, somebody else did," said Wasserman.
After our first report, the Department of Buildings said inspectors went to the site and were unable to determine what's causing the flooding, but that the school drains were approved.
The dentists believe the city isn't taking the time to properly investigate the issue.
"We have no place to turn. We're just left in the woods to deal with this," said Wasserman.
Both businesses said they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair flood damage since 2021. They said lack of support from the city continues to hurt them.
"This is gonna put us out of business for probably a month or more," said Wasserman.
Friday, we asked the DOB if they would send an inspector to see the latest flooding, but we have not heard back.
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