PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – The Plattsburgh area continues to clean up from a storm Thursday that damaged roads and caused localized flooding.
“This is where the water ended up coming through the first floor, coming into this lower level,” said John Ceiden, a property owner on Durkee Street in Plattsburgh, who was among those contending with damage from Thursday’s intense storms that flooded parts of the city.
In Plattsburgh Town, sinkholes formed at the former Plattsburgh Air Force base, which Town Supervisor Michael Cashman says could take days to weeks to fix. “The Town of Plattsburgh assumed infrastructure from the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base. This is not the infrastructure we put in originally. So, a lot of it is dated and we have to get in there and understand some of the dynamics we are dealing with,” he said.
Several SUNY Plattsburgh buildings were also damaged, including a sinkhole just outside Mason Hall. College officials say they are assessing the damage and that all buildings are still operational.
Back downtown, Ceiden says he has never seen flooding in the more than 25 years he’s owned the property. He says he rushed after receiving a water damage alarm Thursday night. “When I came down, I was able to find out where it was coming in. It breached the Margaret Street entrance,” he said.
Now, he says he’s trying to figure out the cost to fix the damage, which he won’t be covered by his insurance. He says the flooding is due to recent upgrades to Margaret Street. “Clearly, whoever designed the Margaret Street improvements, something failed,” he said.
But Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest said in a statement that flooding occurred throughout the entire city, not just downtown.