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Tracking possible plowable snow Sunday in New Jersey

Oakhurst residents say town isn’t doing enough to fix flooding issues, dangerous potholes

Homeowner Albert Kairey is in his 80s. He sent News 12 New Jersey photos of floodwaters rising in his yard from last week’s storms.

Amanda Lee

Oct 6, 2023, 12:28 AM

Updated 470 days ago

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Residents of a Monmouth County neighborhood say they've been reporting several issues that impact an elderly community in Oakhurst.
Homeowner Albert Kairey is in his 80s. He sent News 12 New Jersey photos of floodwaters rising in his yard from last week’s storms. He says the flood happened because the creek behind the yard is still blocked after heavy rains from Ophelia.
“I took them petitions, I showed them, nothing helped. Can’t talk to these people, but you can look at the back and see how bad it is. It’s disgusting. It makes my home look like it’s nothing,” Kairey says.
The trees are on the verge of falling now. He told News 12 he's been calling the Department of Public Works for Oakhurst Township which usually handles this. He says no one has come to check it out for weeks.
“I said, ‘But you’re leaving it a mess.’ And Friday when the heavy rains came, the water couldn’t flow. It came halfway up the lawn,” says Kairey.
Another neighbor says multiple complaints have also gone to the town about damages to the roads.
Rosaline Cohen lives in the same neighborhood.
“The neighbors and I feel that our neighborhood has been neglected both with night lighting and paving of the streets. We’re an elderly community that has to go to synagogues when it’s quite dark. Not only is the lighting insufficient, but the streets are abominably torn up with potholes,” she says.
Cohen says the potholes have also caused injuries after people have fallen.
The holes have been filled but she says it hasn’t been enough.
“A week later, or after a month or two months, it’s been horrible again. I’ve fallen and had severe surgeries, and my neighbors have fallen,” Cohen says.
News 12 has reached out to the township for a comment and has not yet heard anything.