Department of Environmental Protection officials say a 1956 water main broke at 1:00 p.m. Friday at 152nd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, leaving about 100 families without water for hours.
The flooding that erupted as a result shocked area residents.
“I saw a whole bunch of water just pop out of the ground,” said one resident. “I was expecting there to be a flood and I was just scared as heck. My mom was just running all over the house. It was practically almost like an earthquake, except not the ground shaking.”
Con Edison representatives say the water main break damaged a gas line and that thousands of residents between 141st and 159th Streets on Seventh and Eighth Avenues could be without gas service for days.
Residents are understandably upset.
“You go to a family member’s house or you try to buy something in the street,” said one resident. “My daughter’s afraid.”
Anyone without gas is asked to call 1-800-75-CON-ED.
Meanwhile, politicians seemed satisfied with the city’s response.
“You go from 144th Street to 155th Street, you see a couple of hundred blue helmets. DEP and Con Ed are doing everything they can under the circumstances. As a City Council member representing this area, I think they’re doing a good job,” said Councilman Robert Jackson.
Some subway riders felt differently.
“This is very, very frustrating,” said a passenger whose commute was cut short by the water main break. “No trains are going uptown and I’m stuck here. Now I have to go back upstairs and catch a bus, and I’m going to be late for work. I hope my manager’s watching this.”
Meanwhile, MTA officials say customers on the A,B, C and D lines should expect delays because the water main break clogged drains.
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