"Within 10 minutes, a wall of water shattered its double glass doors, flooded the 2,000-square-foot studio, and left owner Valeen Bhat standing in knee-deep water, watching her nearly 20-year-old business go under literally. I knew that my child was safe, but this is my other child, Bhat told Brooklyn Paper. The water came so fast that we couldn't stop it. The glass doorframe broke from the pressure."
"By the time the fire department arrived to cut power and rescue the children inside, her studio had sustained thousands of dollars in damage ruined materials, warped floors, destroyed doors and weeks of forced closure during the business's busiest season. It's absurd, she said. Running a small business in New York is already hard enough. Now I have to think about what furniture will survive the next flood."
"Bhat, who moved Private Picassos from Park Slope to Clinton Hill in 2024, had already seen signs of trouble. During a smaller storm in June, minor flooding seeped up through the drains. She spent thousands of dollars out of pocket to repair previous damage, add sump pumps and install sandbags. But when the flash flood struck on Oct. 30, even those precautions couldn't keep the torrent out."
Flash flooding on Oct. 30 inundated the basement-level Private Picassos studio on Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill within minutes, shattering double glass doors and producing knee-deep water. The 2,000-square-foot studio sustained thousands of dollars in damage to materials, floors, and doors and faced weeks of forced closure during its busiest season. Owner Valeen Bhat previously experienced minor June flooding and paid thousands for repairs, sump pumps, and sandbags, but those measures failed against the torrent. Firefighters cut power and rescued children; the event underscores repeated vulnerability of local businesses and failing storm infrastructure in Brooklyn.
Read at www.brooklynpaper.com
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