Midtown East residents anxious over air quality test results after steam pipe rupture
Editor's note 12/27 5:35p: Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday evening there's no indication of elevated levels of asbestos in the area. Below is our report from earlier Wednesday afternoon. For the latest, click here.
NEW YORK -- The steam leak that shut down streets Wednesday in Manhattan caused some confusion with residents who live in the area.
CBS New York's Jenna DeAngelis spoke with people who said they weren't able to get to their apartments because Second Avenue was closed and police were not letting them through.
Residents, like Gail Matthews, woke up to see many first responders and road closures.
"We've got every part of the government here -- we've got the policemen, firemen, Con Ed. Everybody's rallied," Matthews told DeAngelis. "I hope that they find what they're looking for and I hope we don't have any asbestos in the area, because it'd be terrible for us all in New York to be breathing in that steam."
Watch officials share a live update from the scene
Some people said they saw the steam as early as Tuesday.
"From yesterday, from my apartment here, I could see the steam going out the whole day, very strange. The white steam on this corner where you had the explosion," resident Mauricio Abadi said.
Officials said upon arrival they went into shelter-in-place mode, encouraging people to stay in their buildings.
Several DeAngelis spoke with said they had no idea this was going on.
"Nothing, no word about it until I came outside," said resident Rebecca Katayeva. "Definitely am concerned. I didn't know what was happening until just now. So need to get a mask. There's no mask around, I have to figure out where to get one."
The Office of Emergency Management said masks are available on scene for those who want them.
"Feels like we've had a lot of different incidences. Obviously, a few months back, with the air quality and all the wildfires in Canada. Maybe I'm just numb to this at this point," resident Connor Boyd said.
DeAngelis spoke with workers at a local business who were considering whether or not to close for the day, since it fell within the street closure.
There's no word on when the streets will reopen, but officials encourage people to avoid the area.
