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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Linda Dada, Owner of Capital Brilliance Alliance, on Sewage Infrastructure Issues in South Jamaica
3:49:39
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174 sec
Linda Dada, a resident of South Jamaica, testifies about the persistent sewage backup issues that her community has been facing for over 20 years. She demands immediate action from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to address the infrastructure problems that have caused significant health and emotional distress to affected families.
- The issue affects 20 newer construction homes in the Bricktown neighborhood, built with undersized sewage pipes.
- Consequences include toxic mold, health issues like asthma, and significant emotional distress for residents.
- Dada calls for immediate funding for infrastructure upgrades, a clear timeline for resolution, and for DEP to fulfill its promises of assistance during flood events.
Linda Dada
3:49:39
Good afternoon.
3:49:41
Good afternoon members of the DEP budget hearing committee.
3:49:45
My name is Linda Dada and I'm a homeschooling mom, a nurse, and the owner of Capital Brilliance Alliance where we provide financial literacy and solutions for for everyone.
3:49:57
For over twenty years, my community in South Queens, Jamaica has endured relentless sewage backups, a crisis that DEP promised to fix decades ago.
3:50:07
Today, I'm basically here to hold you all accountable and demand action.
3:50:11
In our neighborhood known as Bricktown, 20 newer construction homes that were meant to be dreams for us are plagued by sewage backups.
3:50:21
These homes were built on fraudulent infrastructures with sewage pipes that are about two inches smaller than the standard and this negligence has caused raw sewage to flood into our basements and living spaces while the older brick homes with original infrastructure remain unaffected.
3:50:39
For twenty years we've been told this would be fixed.
3:50:43
For over twenty years, we've been ignored.
3:50:46
The consequences are devastating.
3:50:48
Toxic mold caused by sewage has led to health issues like asthma, especially in our children.
3:50:55
Emotional toll is crushing years of mental distress, anxiety, and sleepless nights.
3:51:02
Every time it rains, we all go into a communal panic trying to see who's affected affected and if we can even afford the thousand dollars it costs to call to call private companies to clean the lines.
3:51:15
Sometimes neighbors even go into manholes themselves to try to alleviate the flooding and despite the promises that DEP has made, they do not come out to do the cleaning during the floods which leaves us to kind of fend for ourselves.
3:51:33
Even as early as three years ago, DEP promised to alleviate the cost of of us calling the trucks to come out, but along with other many broken promises nothing has been done in that area.
3:51:44
These are just basically temporary fixes.
3:51:47
They're not solutions.
3:51:48
They're reminders of the of DEP's failures to keep their promises.
3:51:53
We're not asking for special treatment.
3:51:55
We're asking for DEP to do what they said they would do twenty years ago.
3:51:58
This is not about the infrastructure, it's about justice.
3:52:02
It's about holding DEP accountable for decades of neglect.
3:52:06
We demand immediate funding for infrastructure upgrades in South Jamaica, a clear timeline for when the crisis will be finally resolved, and for DEP to fulfill its promise to clean during floods and help alleviate the cost of the trucks.
3:52:20
Enough is enough.
3:52:22
Today, I speak for 20 families in South Jamaica whose dreams have turned into nightmares.
3:52:26
We're just here to demand change that DEP made a promise, and now it's time to keep it.
3:52:31
Thank you.