Sewage Scooping Woman Named BK Hero For Clearing Queens Highway

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn woman who hopped out of her car during a rainstorm to clear the flooded Long Island Expressway with a traffic cone is a Brooklyn hero, the borough president announced.

Daphne Youree, a photographer from Williamsburg, was named the Brooklyn "Hero of the Month" for July by Borough President Eric Adams on Thursday for the now-viral act of kindness.

Youree had been stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway in Queens during a July 22 torrential downpour when she decided to hop out, pick up a nearby traffic cone and clear dirt from subway grates to help drain the flooded highway.

"I believe in getting involved," Youree said Thursday. "When someone needs help I will do my best to help and I always have."

(Nikola Djordjevic).

A video Youree's son took of her wading into the roadway and scooping up the dirt ended up going viral on social media when she posted it in response to a NYC Emergency Management notice about the flooded LIE.

"Guess what! I cleared it," Youree wrote.

The post got the attention of City Council Speaker Corey Johnson — who thanked Youree for being a "great New Yorker" — and of many of Youree's fellow drivers who were stuck in the traffic jam and thanked her for getting things moving.

Youree, who now signs her emails with "Highway Hero" and three traffic cone emojis, said she never thought the post would get the praise it did, but that she's glad it has.

“Honestly it’s a good thing because maybe folks will pay it forward!" she said. "If you want something bad enough, you will figure out a way to remove the obstacles in your path on your own."

Youree was honored along with the borough president's heroes for June, August and September, including MTA workers who saved people from subway tracks, an FDNY captain that rescued a drowning ferry rider, a Bay Ridge volunteer organization and a resident who started a water collection drive.

“Our Heroes of the Month showcase the best our borough and our city has to offer,” Adams said. “These individuals stepped up when they were needed most, exemplifying the qualities of bravery, selflessness, and sacrifice. We are proud to have these heroes representing our borough, and look forward to their future contributions to Brooklyn and New York.”