A broken apartment pipe in Bay Ridge left 450 residents without heat and water

Overnight repairs remedied the situation, which included a sinkhole

January 9, 2018 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle

FDNY truck closes off the corner of 92nd Street and Marine Avenue after water floods the street. Eagle photos by John Alexander

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A broken apartment pipe allowed torrents of water to flood an entire street in Bay Ridge on Sunday at approximately 5 p.m. The leaky valve with gushing water affected an entire neighborhood as a sinkhole opened at 92nd Street in between Marine Avenue and Shore Road. Icy cold water flowed like a river forcing FDNY and NYPD to close off the block.

And the frigid temperatures only added to the frustration of the families whose water had to be turned off while Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) workers tried to determine the cause of the leak. Many of those affected also lost heat.

The city block lined with apartment buildings felt the brunt of the damage from the burst pipe, but the residual effects could be felt throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

Ninety-third Street resident Jerry Kane said that he was preparing to cook up a pot of pasta when he noticed that the water from the faucet was reddish brown. “So much for our dinner plans,” Kane said.

Chief Richard Lang of FDNY Battalion 40 told the Brooklyn Eagle, “We have to prevent traffic from coming down 92nd Street between Marine and Shore Road to prevent any cars from doing more damage and God forbid falling into the hole.”

Concerned City Councilmember Justin Brannan addressed the situation immediately. He offered continuous social media updates throughout the evening. At 8:30 p.m. he reported that 450 households were without water and assured those with brown running water that the discoloration was caused by rust and was not hazardous. He advised to continue to run the tap until clear.

Earlier Sunday morning, Brooklyn was hit with a water main break that impacted 12 homes in Gerritsen Beach. Cold temperatures also played a part in occurrence when a pipe burst around 5:30 a.m. that left residents struggling to get water out of their basements and main floors. Other weather related flooding was reported in Manhattan, the Bronx and at JFK airport.

In Bay Ridge, DEP ultimately worked throughout the night, located, identified and secured the leak that crews found in the fire line to an apartment building at 9201 Shore Road. The line was fixed, repairs were made quickly and water was ultimately restored.

Contrary to earlier reports, a representative from DEP told the Eagle, “The water condition in Bay Ridge on Sunday was not a water main break — rather it was a break on a private pipe owned by (an apartment building at) 9201 Shore Road. The valve was closed (stopping the leak), the repairs were made, and water service was restored to all other customers.”

Brannan told the Eagle, “Heat and water was finally restored by DEP at around 6:30 a.m. I stayed on the scene as long as I could. I credit folks on social media for bringing it to my attention. It wasn’t pretty but it could have been a lot worse if we hadn’t caught it when we did.”