Burst water pipe causes havoc at Brooklyn Heights co-op

January 23, 2024 Mary Frost

Workers dig multiple holes in Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights

Workers dug multiple holes in Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights following Saturday night’s water pipe break, which flooded the basement of the Cadman Towers co-op. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — At 4 a.m. Sunday morning Toba Potosky, president of the board of Cadman Towers at 101 Clark St. in Brooklyn Heights, was awoken by a knock on his door. It was the co-op’s Superintendent Julio Davila. At about 10:30 p.m. the night before, a water pipe burst under Clark Street, funneling a massive amount of water into the mechanical room of the building’s basement.

Water was “shooting up like a geyser from a drain in the floor,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle. By 4 a.m., it was six feet deep and threatening the electrical system.

FDNY received the 911 call at 10:37 p.m. Saturday night, and had responded to the scene and notified utilities, according to a Fire Department spokesperson. But FDNY could not turn off the water surging into the basement from the broken pipe under Clark Street — only the NYC Department of Environmental Protection can do that.

Workers attempting to fix a water pipe break on Clark Street, which flooded the basement of the Cadman Towers co-op in Brooklyn Heights. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

Davila had shut down the water to the co-op’s apartments. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection “sent three sets of supervisors who surveyed the site and then left without doing anything,” Potosky told the Brooklyn Eagle. “We were told by FDNY that the response time from DEP is eight hours, so we were lucky that they showed up. Unfortunately, they did not shut down the water.”

Cadman Towers’ property management company First Service and on-site property manager Mary Egrie turned to an emergency water pumping company.

“They brought in at least six sump pumps and hoses. The hoses ran from the basement mechanical room up a long flight of steps and out to the street,” Potosky said.

Workers from private water and sewer companies spent several days digging up Clark Street after Saturday night’s water pipe break. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

The water, meanwhile, was flowing along the sidewalks along Clark and around the corner to Henry Street, in front of the Gristedes supermarket. It was 22 degrees at that time. “Our guys threw down salt to prevent the water from freezing over,” Potosky said.

“It was so crazy. We had over 20 people working together to stop the flow of water without the help of the one city agency that could, and that was DEP. I called their number and heard, “Your call is very important to us. Our offices are closed,” Potosky said, adding, “My goal was to prevent a shutdown of the electricity.”

Water shot up like a geyser from a drain in the basement of the Cadman Towers co-op at 101 Clark St. in Brooklyn Heights, setting off a frantic all-night emergency for co-op residents and management. Photo: Toba Potosky, Cadman Towers

According to a letter sent out by building management, Cadman Towers has curb-side shut off valves for the water mains but these valves did not work; they were old and had seized up.

It was discovered that it was not the water main that cracked, but the 50-year-old pipes that run from beneath the street and into the co-op building — meaning that Cadman Towers is responsible for the repairs.

Workers from companies including Easy Street Plumbing and Alex Figliolia Water & Sewer service have been digging multiple holes into Clark Street using heavy equipment since the emergency began.

“Wondering why we can’t get an emergency response from the DEP when there is a water main [sic] break? What if our building hadn’t had the resources to call a private company to fix it?” Cadman Towers resident Nina Birnbaum asked in an email to the Eagle.

Potosky said the building managed to save the electric system, but he is also far from happy with DEP’s response. “Our Property Manager, Mary Egrie, and I today spoke with a DEP representative, Thomas Kozza, who told us that DEP’s inspectors shouldn’t have just surveyed the site and then left,” he said.

He gave kudos, however, to the response of the building managers and staff. “I’m just so happy our property manager Mary Egrie and most of the staff came in when they were called.”

DEP’s website advises building owners to call 911 in case of a water emergency.

The Brooklyn Eagle received the following quote from a DEP official:

“In NYC, the pipe that connects each individual building to the city’s water main located under the street is known as a service line, and this pipe is the private property of the building. The building is responsible for the maintenance and any repairs to that pipe.

DEP crews responded to this incident and when it was determined that the source of the water leak was not the city’s water main but rather the service line, 101 Clark St. was issued an Order to have their service line repaired. (Private plumbers in NYC are available 24/7 to respond to this type of situation.)

Unfortunately, not only was 101 Clark St.’s service line failing, their shut-off valves — which could have stopped the water flow into the basement — were not operable either.

By the following day, 101 Clark St. had private plumbers on-site to repair their pipe and a dewatering company to pump out any flooding.”