Residents of Flushing hope that flooding near Kissena Park can be mitigated.

Vineciya Vijayajara has lived next to Kissena Park since 2008. She said that during Hurricane Ida, her mother held onto a fence until flooding subsided.

Since that hurricane, there have been other rain events with flooding similar to Ida.

“We need a future plan that can regulate the water system,” Vijayajarah said.

City Councilmember Sandra Ung said at a town hall event Monday that flooding is now much more common.

“We know what’s going on, and we know it’s frustrating. We have not given up. We have not abandoned them. There are really concrete plans that are already here,” Ung said.

At the town hall, city Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala explained what some of those plans are and when projects will be completed.

“What we need to do is start to get fewer and fewer instances of flooding, and that’s a lot of what we’re working on,” Aggarwala said.

Tools to curb flooding include having green infrastructure, delaying storm water from going into drains and looking at strategies to help the sewer system.

Aggarwala said Monday that some ideas are years away, like green infrastructure. Others, like sewer system changes, can take up to a decade.

“The sad reality is the climate is changing faster than our infrastructure changes. Changing New York City’s built environment is a slow process unfortunately, and it is the case that the quick fixes are only partial solutions,” Aggarwala said.

There’s also a possibility of a home repurchasing plan, something Vijayajarah may consider, but the thought of moving is something she doesn’t take likely.

“We think about moving, but it’s not that easy. Moving is a really big deal because of everything. We have to look for schools. We have to see if it’s convenient for work,” Vijayajarah said.

Aggarwala said the city was built for a different climate. Up until 2020, the city was considered a temperate climate zone. Now it's considered a humid subtropical climate zone.