Rooster River flooding again leaves Bridgeport condo residents without power and elevators

Storms on July 21 caused the Rooster River to rise out of its banks and flood ground-floor areas at Cartright Towers in Bridgeport, affecting basement units and critical building systems at the nine-story condominium building.

Electricity was turned off after the flooding, and elevator service was suspended. Cleanup and water pumping were continuing on July 22, according to a News 12 Connecticut report.

The flooding affected the building’s basement units, boiler room, laundry room and part of an elevator shaft. The report did not provide a final damage estimate or a confirmed timetable for restoring power or elevator service.

Residents face access and safety concerns

With the elevators unavailable, residents reported that some older people and medically vulnerable residents were effectively trapped on upper floors because they could not use the stairs.

That account describes an immediate accessibility concern for residents while the building remains without elevator service. The available report did not identify how many residents were affected or say when they would be able to resume normal access to all floors.

The loss of electricity and the affected boiler, laundry and elevator areas show that the flooding reached both residential and core building-service spaces. Water pumping and cleanup were still underway the day after the storm, rather than being described as completed.

Flood-control work remains delayed

The flooding occurred as a planned flood-control project for the area remained delayed. News 12 Connecticut reported that the project had been held up while Fairfield awaited permitting from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The report did not establish a new construction schedule for that work. It also did not say that the proposed project would have prevented the July 21 flooding at Cartright Towers.

Officials had not responded to the outlet’s request for a project-status update when its report was published. That leaves the timing of the permitting process and the next steps for the flood-control project unconfirmed.

For Cartright Towers residents, the known immediate next work was cleanup and pumping on July 22. A restoration date for electricity and elevators had not been confirmed in the available reporting.