SCRANTON, Pa. — The city got the first round of approval for grant funding that will buy and demolish 21 properties, 18 homes and three vacant lots impacted by the deadly September flood.
“When we did get down to the people who were affected, their houses were filled with mud,” Scranton Council President Gerald Smurl said. “People were just devastated there was nothing left for them. It was just a terrible thing to happen.”
Nearly 10 months later, the homes on North Merrifield Avenue stand still in time. Condemned signs are still hanging in the windows, and water lines mark where the water receded.
“It’s really important not just for the property owners, for the families, but for the city too,” Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said. “For us to have figured out some of this playbook when something like this hits.”
The city will use $2.7 million to buy out these properties. They consider this a win after the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied Scranton’s disaster declaration and the funding that comes with it.
“They've been through the hardship of being flooded, but flooded so many times, it's the correct thing to do,” Smurl said. “It's to eliminate future flooding and I'm very surprised the city stayed with this, stayed on track and they made it over the first hurdle.”
Many of the families affected owned these homes for generations, but the city says they’re ready to say goodbye.
“We're really wanting to close that chapter for these families, help them move on from this,” Cognetti said. “While everyone has pretty much moved away from those homes, it's that kind of thing that's just nagging with them they want to see that processed finished.”
While this is one step closer to the demolition of these homes, there are several more steps before the buyout can be completed. City officials hope that happens within a year.
The city continues to process residents who applied for Scranton’s individual disaster recovery grants, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. Today, 81 applicants received awards totaling nearly $350,000.