Sunset Park water main break another in a growing list of local street issues
It’s been a rough road for Sunset Park, literally.
The massive water main break at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue on Sunday is just the latest in a series of infrastructure issues that have plagued the neighborhood and its residents over the past few years, creating massive headaches for people living and doing business in the neighborhood to go with the massive sinkholes and water main breaks.
In August 2015, a sinkhole 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep opened up at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 64th Street, closing the street to traffic. Repairs were finally completed in September 2016, over a year after the hole formed. It had originally been slated to be fixed by November 2015.
Stores near the sinkhole suffered during the intersection closure. “It really created a mess for business there and on the other side,” said Renee Giordano, the former executive director of the local Business Improvement District, back in 2016. Not only did the closure reduce traffic to the affected area, but, said Giordano at the time, “An essential need was getting the water back on for the Wash Club laundry business across from the sinkhole.”