New Rochelle residents frustrated over uninhabitable apartments post-Hurricane Ophelia

NEW YORK - Residents at the Dorchester Gardens apartment complex in New Rochelle haven’t been able to move into their homes since September when remnants of Hurricane Ophelia dumped a deluge of rain and water into their apartments.

The first floors of the two buildings along Palmer Avenue are now deemed uninhabitable. Residents like Amy Marino accuse Archer Property Management, the company that owns the buildings, of being neglectful and making promises it can’t keep.

"We were told this would take 4–6 weeks from the moment we moved out. We are basically made to feel like nuisances," said Marino.

In a statement to FOX 5, the property manager says she’s working as rapidly as possible to address the problem and that: "All first-floor shareholders that have been impacted by the flooding have been given an abatement in the payment of maintenance. The cooperation has paid to pack, move, and store the shareholders' personal belongings until they can return to their homes."

Both buildings are right behind the Metro North’s New Haven line. The culvert drain along the tracks, residents say, has always been clogged, which causes flooding. Those who live there say it’s the MTA’s responsibility to clean the drain.

A spokeswoman from the MTA says that the culvert drain has been cleaned 15 times since 2019, but that is only at the request of the property manager. As for the runoff, the MTA says very little comes from the culvert, but rather the city’s drainage system and nearby pools and catch basins.