Prospect Park Zoo reopens 8 months after flood damage caused closure

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Prospect Park Zoo welcomed visitors for the first time in eight months on Saturday, ushering in the summer season after repairing extensive damage to zoo infrastructure caused by flooding in September.

Tropical storm Ophelia hit the New York City area on Sept. 29 and poured six inches of rain on the city in a 24 hour period. Rainwater and runoff from surrounding streets flooded Prospect Park Zoo’s basement—where boilers, HVAC, electrical, aquatic life support and other systems were kept—with 25 feet of water, zoo officials said.

None of the zoo’s over 400 animals were harmed by the flooding, and zoo officials said that all 50 zoo employees were kept working during the repairs.

Now, $6.5 million later, the zoo is completely back on the electrical grid and the primary electrical room was moved from the basement to ground level, but full restoration efforts remain ongoing.

“The full restoration work will take quite a bit longer, and also the key part is, we’re working with city, state and federal officials on mitigation steps that we can implement to prevent from future flood events,” vice president and director of city zoos for the Wildlife Conservation Society Chris Piper told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880, noting that the zoo has also suffered damage from storms Henri and Ida in recent years.

Complete restoration costs, not including mitigation efforts, are estimated to be over $20 million. The zoo’s recovery has been funded in part by FEMA funds secured by Gov. Kathy Hochul at the end of January after she made a Major Disaster Declaration, which was approved by President Joe Biden.

“The September flooding which forced the Prospect Park Zoo to close to the public upended life for so many Brooklynites, and we must do everything in our power to combat climate change and to protect sites like the Prospect Park Zoo from the devastating effects of severe weather events,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said.

Despite the ongoing need for more permanent protection against extreme weather, the completed repairs allowed for a joyful reopening Saturday as several thousand Brooklynites and visitors were reunited with the 12-acre community institution.

“We actually just heard yesterday that it had reopened, so we booked tickets as soon as we heard,” Megan, who was visiting the zoo with her husband and baby daughter, told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880.

“We went to the Bronx Zoo, we’ve been to the Queens Zoo, but we live right here so it’s so nice to be able to just walk over in the morning,” she continued.

New animals were added to the Prospect Park Zoo for guests to visit, including a pair of southern pudu, the world’s smallest species of deer, and a female Hamadryas baboon who was born during the closure.

“Throughout the closure, New Yorkers told us every day how much the zoo meant to them, and they’ve been so expectant to have the zoo open,” Piper said. “So we’re just really celebrating by welcoming everyone back to the zoo.”