Indy rallies for flood relief in Broad Ripple
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
Broad Ripple was largely spared from the worst of the flooding, but that doesn't mean the neighborhood wasn't impacted.
Why it matters: Indy showed up for the village this week, with droves of people making the monthly fun and funky Third Thursday into a show of support.
The big picture: While northern portions of Broad Ripple were evacuated and large portions of the Indianapolis Arts Center campus were underwater, most of the village was undamaged.
- Streets took on water Saturday — enough to make travel tricky and close businesses, but not enough to badly flood the shops and restaurants that populate the area.
- Neighbors gathered quickly to mitigate some of the worst flooding along a stretch of Cornell Avenue with sandbags and pumps.
Zoom in: When it became clear that the neighborhood missed the worst of it, the upcoming Third Thursday quickly morphed into something more.
- In addition to the regular pop-ups, vendors and live music, two dozen businesses signed on to donate a portion of their proceeds from Thursday night to flood relief.
- More opened their doors to serve as donation drop-off sites.
- "We're trying to get people out to support the local businesses to offset what the damage was financially on Saturday," Alissa Moody, co-owner of Create Art Studio and board member of Love Broad Ripple, which sponsors Third Thursday.
- And those in a position to donate to flood relief are doing so, she said.
What they're saying: "It's been really tough," said Shawn Johnson, owner of Peace Together boutique, formerly known as The Elevated Hippie.
- Johnson lives just off the White River, near 80th Street and Keystone Avenue, and her neighborhood was completely inundated by floodwaters.
- Cleanup couldn't start until the water receded Monday, which meant her business was closed for almost a week.
Thursday was her first day open since the flooding began last weekend. She was hoping not just for a big turnout, but also to remind people that the village is there, full of small businesses that will need support beyond a single night.
- "Broad Ripple's really starting to revive itself, and we get amazing foot traffic," she told Axios. "If people could know about Third Thursday, that we still have a few more … and just get the word out to come down and support the small local businesses."