Bronx water main break floods apartments, destroys cars days before holidays
NEW YORK — A massive water main break in the Bronx flooded apartments and totaled cars Monday, forcing evacuations and road closures in Bedford Park.
Crews spent Tuesday towing vehicles, clearing mud and trying to salvage what they can. Officials say they are working on surface cleanup before they can go underground to assess.
Water main from 1890s erupts in the Bronx
Tuesday, water was being pumped out of basements and mud was being cleared out of streets.
"It's been a really long day out here. The crews have been doing an amazing job cleaning this up, and there's a number of different phases ... That was a lot of water that was coming into this area," Zachary Iscol, commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, said.
"It was scary because it looked like a tidal wave coming down the street. Never seen like that before," Bronx resident Rafael Casanova said.
"We had to shut off 20 different valves in order to be able to get those water mains to shut off. Talking about a 48-inch water main," said Beth DeFalco, Department of Environmental Protection deputy commissioner of public affairs.
According to officials, the water main that erupted was placed in the 1890s.
"Yes, the infrastructure is old. Just because it's old doesn't necessarily mean it's falling apart, usually it has to do also with the material that it's made out of," DeFalco said.
"Right now what we're doing is waiting for the water to recede. We can then understand any impacts to buildings in the affected area, businesses in the affected area and especially a lot of the underground infrastructure," Iscol said.
While it raises serious concerns over aging infrastructure, city agencies say they've been doing preventative work by replacing pipes and using leak detection crews.
"That at night goes around with essentially like sonar and listens to the street to see if we can hear any leaks before they become big water main breaks," DeFalco said.
Data also shows there's an average of 6.6 breaks per 100 miles in New York City, compared to 30 breaks per 100 miles in Washington, D.C. and 25.8 in Philadelphia.
"The American Water Works Association, their optimal level is 15, so we are below the optimal level and we're also below other urban centers," said Meera Joshi, the New York City deputy mayor for operations.
An interagency task force is working to fix the main and figure out what went wrong. The cause is still unknown.
Bronx residents lose belongings, vehicles days before holidays
Many residents are without gas and power as the cleanup continues.
"Every single one of these buildings, as we bring the gas back on and the power back on, there's individual assessments that need to be done to make sure that we're doing it in a safe manner in addition to all the work that's being done to clean up the street. So really an incredible interagency work being done today by all of the different agency crews that are out here," Iscol said.
From apartments to cars and businesses, many who live and work along Webster Avenue are impacted.
"Destroyed, it's ruined, everything" Bronx resident Jessica Acea said.
Walking through her apartment in the aftermath of the massive water main break is difficult for Acea.
"Distraught, I just feel distraught," she said.
Her Christmas tree is now surrounded by damaged belongings, a reminder the holiday is just days away, but it's the sentimental items that can't be replaced she's struggling with the most.
"That's my grandma's blanket and she's gone. I'm gonna try to wash it and see if I can save it, but if I can't save it, I gotta give that way. That's the most hurtful thing," Acea said.
Crews were working nonstop Tuesday to clear out Acea's apartment building, Bedford Park Manor, where a wall inside buckled. On the other side of it, a day care is now a mess.
The management company for Acea's apartment building says it will be relocating those whose homes are uninhabitable while it works to make repairs as fast as possible.
"I feel horrible, but I gotta move on," Acea said.
Water rushed into Essence Beauty Studio on Monday night, forcing it to close during its busiest time of year.
"We were expecting today like more than 20 people, so we don't know what we're gonna do," said Jose Rumaldo, whose wife works at the beauty studio.
By Tuesday afternoon, damaged cars still lined the street after being submerged in water, and the NYPD began towing those stuck.
"The car don't even start," car owner Rakia King said.
King says she found out by seeing her car floating in the water on the news. Making it even more difficult, she says, is trying to get help on the scene.
"It's hard ... They don't want to even answer questions," she said.
"They need to redo all the piping in, I don't know if it's just this area of the Bronx, but definitely the city needs to step it up," Casanova said.
The city is advising impacted businesses to call 311 and those with property damage to fill out a property damage or loss claim form with the city comptroller's office.
The city and the Red Cross are helping displaced residents. Hotel rooms and meals are being provided. Red Cross representatives will remain on the scene at Botanical Square and Webster Avenue until about midnight.
No injuries were reported.
