Bed-Stuy Residents Cry Foul Over Patchwork Fixes For Pesky Sinkhole
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A small sinkhole has been causing big problems in one Brooklyn neighborhood, and repeated complaints have gone unanswered.
At first workers patching up the roadway looked like any other street repair, but it's something Bed-Stuy residents say they've waited too long for -- and it isn't even a permanent fix.
Cory Choy says he first called 311 back in May and despite several attempts to follow up, his efforts went nowhere.
"There was just no communication from the people who were supposed to give it to us," he said.
311 tells CBS2 there have been 15 different complaints about what appears to be the small sinkhole in the crosswalk on Patchen and Putnam Avenues. The Department of Environmental Protection says the problem is underground where the sewer infrastructure is broken.
A DEP says, "The roadway was made safe with a temporary asphalt patch," back in May, but about a month later after heavy rains it sank down into the ground. That's when Alicia Hernandez Simpson tripped.
"They said a little chip of my bone is floating in the bottom of my foot and then the other half is sticking out," she said.
She broke her foot when she tripped in the hole as she was hailing a cab. At the time, she says there were no construction cones warning of the danger. Residents have since put them there.
"I can't put no shoe on, I can't walk, gotta walk on crutches, can't work," Hernandez Simpson said.
The injury was so bad, she says she'll need surgery next month. CBS2 called the DEP to demand answers, and they promised another temporary patch. Workers came through Monday afternoon, but residents weren't satisfied.
The DEP says at some point it will make a permanent repair, but didn't give a timeline for when that will happen.