City ignoring Willets Point sinkhole

"I'm sitting here with a complaint I put in to 311 over three months ago, and the same hole just keeps getting bigger," he said about a sinkhole in front of Fodera Foods at 129-02 Northern Blvd.

Business owners said it's an old problem in the area, also known as the Iron Triangle. In a federal lawsuit filed last week, owners claimed city agencies have deliberately ignored them for 40 years.

Sinkhole swallowing Willets Point road

The Daily News checked on the status of two of Fodera's repair requests to city agencies made through 311.

The first was for the sinkhole, filed on Dec. 18, when it was 2-1/2 feet long by 10 inches wide.

At first, "they told me my address was off the grid," said Fodera, who gave cross streets and noted a utility red spray paint marking on a nearby curb. A 311 dispatcher contacted on April 3 said the complaint was closed on Jan. 9 after a Dec. 23 site visit.

And a pothole complaint to 311 on Dec. 21 prompted various responses from the city Transportation Department, including one report saying "defect not found."