'They did zero to protect us.' Rooster River floods Bridgeport condo building again
Cleanup continued along the Rooster River following Tuesday's severe flooding, including at Cartright Towers in Bridgeport.
People living at Cartright Towers in Bridgeport experienced déjà vu Wednesday, cleaning up yet again after storms Tuesday caused the Rooster River to quickly rise out of its banks and flood the condo building’s ground floor.
“I've lost everything in my apartment,” Junior Campos told News 12 as he watched workers pumping water out of the flooded basement units, the boiler room, the laundry room and part of the elevator shaft.
The flooding Tuesday led to the electricity being turned off and elevator service suspended for the nine-story building. It was still out Wednesday afternoon.
“There's no power. There's no elevator, and there's elderly people here,” said Raymond Scinto.
Another person said some residents with health issues were literally trapped in their units on the upper floors because they physically couldn’t take the stairs.
“I wound up in a hotel,” said Robert Jeffrey Brantley.
It's the third major flood there since September 2018, which occurred right after Shpetim Berisha bought his condo there.
“When I moved in, two weeks later, the flood happened. I didn't know about that before because people don't disclose that here, which is not good. I lost two cars here that time,” Berisha recalled.
This time, at least a dozen cars in the parking lot were destroyed, according to one of the building’s employees.
That included an Audi Q7 that Scinto just bought.
“The water was over the hood of my car in five minutes--totally submerged. I would've had to swim to my car to get it,” Scinto explained. “I just had my mechanic here—the guy that I bought the car from—the car is totaled.”
“When I got home, this area, it was Lake Zoar,” Brantley joked. “We're living near a creek that's on its way out to Long Island Sound, and if you get a few logs in the water, some big boulders and debris all piled up, the water's going to back up. When it backs up, you’re in trouble, and you get this.”
Back in 2023, state lawmakers earmarked money for flood prevention efforts along the Rooster River in Bridgeport and Fairfield, but residents said they’ve yet to see any changes.
“They did zero to protect us from the flood,” Berisha said. “It's going to happen again and again if they don't do anything.”
News 12 reached out to Bridgeport officials to find out about the project’s status but did not hear back.
Fairfield First Selectperson Christine Vitale said work is on track to begin in the coming months.
“Fairfield and Bridgeport are moving forward with plans to mitigate flooding of the Rooster River. The project was initially delayed because Fairfield was awaiting permitting approval by the Army Corps of Engineers and CT DEEP. The project has since been approved by the appropriate federal, state and town bodies. Funding is in place and construction should begin this Fall. The Town is also working with RACE and Weston and Sampson to develop a master flood plan to address both coastal and riverine flooding. As sea level continues to rise and severe rain events become more frequent, we need to be proactive in putting flood mitigation strategies in place for the health and safety of our community,” Vitale said.
