"Snakes, Spores and Sewage: Life in the Neighborhood Called ‘the Hole’"

"The small neighborhood on the border of Brooklyn and Queens has a colorful history but an uncertain future because of climate change."

"Snakes are not a typical concern for most New Yorkers. Yet this fall, Julisa Rodriguez nearly tripped over one in her backyard.

“I almost passed out,” said Ms. Rodriguez, 38, a stay-at-home mother of two. The snake’s appearance had followed a rat infestation, a septic tank leak, groundwater pooling in her living room and mushroom-like spores growing on her walls. None of this was surprising, she said, when you live in the Hole.

Sitting along the border between Brooklyn and Queens, the Hole is a poor, sunken neighborhood, about four miles from Kennedy International Airport, with small buildings surrounded by vacant lots, wild-growing reed grass, and streets dotted with potholes and abandoned cars.

Also known as the Jewel Streets (street names include Ruby, Emerald and Amber), the swampy area sits at one of the lowest elevations in the city, about four feet above sea level. For this reason, it is not connected to the sewer system — residences rely on septic tanks and cesspools — and the streets flood just about every time it rains."

Hilary Howard reports for the New York Times with photographs by Jade Doskow December 17, 2023.