CBS 2 Gets Action After Bronx Neighbors Say Sinkhole Complaints Fell On Deaf Ears
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A giant sinkhole that opened up weeks ago in the Bronx was finally repaired after CBS 2 began investigating.
As CBS 2's Don Champion reported, the sinkhole posed a serious danger to drivers and repeated complaints were made, but neighbors said nothing was being done about it.
It was a case of drive at your own risk on the stretch of Osbourne Place until recently.
"Just kept sinking, over and over and over," one neighbor said.
A pole marked the spot where a nearly 2-foot hole started to open up right in the middle of the street about a month ago. Neighbors called it an accident waiting to happen.
"I come late at night. Lucky that orange indicator was there or I would've gone right over it," said Morris Heights resident Angelo Ramirez.
From one vantage point, you can see the hole is so deep it swallows a huge bucket and the bottom of a pole. Both were placed there by a neighbor as a warning to drivers.
Even more frustrating, neighbors said calls to the city fell on deaf ears.
"A lot of people have been complaining, especially at night," Domingo Ortiz said.
"The city hasn't even done anything, nothing at all," another neighbor said.
That is until CBS 2 got involved.
Not even two hours after CBS 2's Champion started making calls, city crews showed up and started drilling and repairing the hole.
Department of Environmental Protection officials said it was caused by a leaking sewer line.
Neighbors said they're just happy to see action, finally.
"We had to take matters into our own hands and actually put that there -- otherwise, God forbid," said one neighbor.
For now, crews put a steel plate over the hole, Champion reported.
The city said a more permanent fix will be in place in the coming days.
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