A month after sinkhole swallowed van in the Bronx, repairs far from over
NEW YORK - The work is far from over.
A month after a massive sinkhole swallowed up a van in the Bronx, repairs are ongoing.
As CBS2's Kevin Rincon reports, parts of Radcliff Avenue in the Morris Park section of the Bronx have been closed for a month. The city has been working to repair water and sewer lines damaged by a sinkhole that formed after heavy rain.
A 20-foot-deep crater swallowed up a white van belonging to Antonio Papadopoulos. He says the van was a total loss, and he was offered money to replace it, but, he says, nowhere near enough - $2,500.
"I said, listen, get the hell out of here. Take the paper, put it in the garbage," Papadopoulos said.
He's watched as several city agencies have worked day and night to make repairs.
"The other day, broke the gas over here. It smell like crazy," Papadopoulos said. "The people work here overnight. I can't sleep in my apartment. All night with a machine like this, can't sleep all night."
Friday, the heads of several agencies and some city councilmembers did a walkthrough to check on the progress.
"We've identified several thousand other feet that will need to be replaced, and it's having that conversation with the community," said Councilmember Marjorie Velasquez, who represents the district.
She says part of that conversation is making sure they're compensated for damages.
"To the residents here that were impacted, I really want to emphasize, please, there are claims through the comptroller's office," Velasquez said. "Any damages. Just, please - it's filling out that paperwork immediately."
Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers says the same issues are being seen in other parts of the city, and they want to make sure funding is in place proactively.
"So we're working with the city agencies to identify grant opportunities to get federal dollars into New York City, to give us an infusion to make these infrastructure repairs as needed," Brooks-Powers said.
City agencies and lawmakers worry the age of the infrastructure and extreme weather conditions could make sinkholes a more common occurrence in the future.