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Q&A
York College groundwater flooding issue and $30 million allocation
1:06:02
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133 sec
Council Member Williams inquires about the $30 million allocation for addressing groundwater flooding at York College. She raises concerns about:
- Whether this is new funding or a reallocation of existing funds
- The impact on existing commitments and allocations previously made by the City Council
- The need for long-term solutions, such as replacing the basement slab, which is not currently budgeted
- Williams emphasizes the historical underinvestment in Southeast Queens and the urgency of the infrastructure challenges at York College.
- She mentions her efforts to address the issue with other agencies, including requesting the MTA to waive the fee York College pays to pump water into the subway system.
- The council member stresses the financial burden on York College due to this environmental issue and seeks concrete steps for long-term, sustainable solutions.
Nantasha M. Williams
1:06:02
some our And it does signal like what you're prioritizing even though you might have a larger list of requests.
1:06:08
Okay, but just moving on specifically to York College, CUNY has indicated 30,000,000 allocation for addressing groundwater flooding at York College, yet this appears to be a reallocation of existing funds rather than a new investment.
1:06:25
Can you clarify whether this funding is indeed additional or simply a shift in budgetary responsibility?
1:06:32
Furthermore, how does this impact the existing commitments and allocations previously made by the City Council for this critical infrastructure issue?
1:06:42
And then I'm gonna just ask my last question because it's also about York College.
1:06:46
While the short term and medium term mitigation efforts at York College are appreciated, the long term solution such as replacing the basement slab is not currently budgeted and is projected two decades into the future given the historical underinvestment in South East Queens, what concrete steps is CUNY taking to ensure that long term sustainable solutions are funded and implemented in a timely manner to address the persistent infrastructure challenges faced by this college.
1:07:19
I saw that basement slab myself multiple times, I have toured it, it's the foundation wall of the main academic building that is corroded because of groundwater flooding and there's no investments that have been made.
1:07:36
So if you could just answer the two questions on the 30,000,000 and any type of long term investments and just so you know I have also been asking the administration and the MTA to waive the fee because York College also has to pay $1,000,000 plus every year to pump water into the subway system to get it out of their basement.
1:07:55
So I am not just coming to CUNY to solve for this problem but I am also asking the other powers that be to address this issue.
1:08:03
As you know, York College has a ton of funding issues and to have to spend a dime or a penny to pump out water for an environmental issue that is not their problem is like a big issue for me.