NY Post
The massive sewage spill that forced dozens of families out of their homes
in Queens was caused by a catastrophic pipe collapse — and not a grease
clog caused by residents, as city officials initially claimed.
The city Department of Environmental Protection’s six-page review, a copy of which was obtained by
The Post, found the key clue came from a massive sinkhole that opened in a roadway above where the massive 42-inch sewer main broke.
“The road collapsing due to the subsidence of overburden demonstrates that the 42-inch sewer constructed in 1987 is significantly collapsed, and that any other cause for the November 30th blockage is extremely unlikely,” DEP concluded.
The massive 20-foot deep sinkhole revealed that an estimated 250 cubic feet of dirt had disappeared from the site.
“DEP accepts responsibility,” for the flood of sewage and resulting damages.
It filed the report with the City Comptroller on Dec. 16, clearing the way for the city to pay the South Ozone Park residents for damages.
All told, the DEP said 74 homes were flooded when the sewer line, which was built in 1987 and buried 40 feet beneath ground, broke along 150th Street, near JFK Airport.
The result mess left dozens of residents in the southeast Queens neighborhood waking up on Nov. 30 to the putrid smell of sewage in their basements.
City officials initially pinned the mess on a grease clog in the pipe and even suggested that residents may have caused the problem by dumping grease from Thanksgiving meals down drains.
How did it take 3 weeks to find this out when there was a massive sinkhole in the middle of South Conduit Blvd? When did the EPA actually show up there?
The city Department of Environmental Protection’s six-page review, a copy of which was obtained by
The Post, found the key clue came from a massive sinkhole that opened in a roadway above where the massive 42-inch sewer main broke.
“The road collapsing due to the subsidence of overburden demonstrates that the 42-inch sewer constructed in 1987 is significantly collapsed, and that any other cause for the November 30th blockage is extremely unlikely,” DEP concluded.
The massive 20-foot deep sinkhole revealed that an estimated 250 cubic feet of dirt had disappeared from the site.
“DEP accepts responsibility,” for the flood of sewage and resulting damages.
It filed the report with the City Comptroller on Dec. 16, clearing the way for the city to pay the South Ozone Park residents for damages.
All told, the DEP said 74 homes were flooded when the sewer line, which was built in 1987 and buried 40 feet beneath ground, broke along 150th Street, near JFK Airport.
The result mess left dozens of residents in the southeast Queens neighborhood waking up on Nov. 30 to the putrid smell of sewage in their basements.
City officials initially pinned the mess on a grease clog in the pipe and even suggested that residents may have caused the problem by dumping grease from Thanksgiving meals down drains.
How did it take 3 weeks to find this out when there was a massive sinkhole in the middle of South Conduit Blvd? When did the EPA actually show up there?
11 comments:
A buried pipe breaking in just 32 years? This city has infrastructure piping nearly 100 years older than that.
Somebody took a profit and walked away.
Rob in Manhattan
Upper East Side:
Fix immediately and get out the checkbook.
South Ozone Park:
It's your chicken grease and dirty habits--Live in sewage and don't bother us.
“DEP accepts responsibility,” for the flood of sewage and resulting damages.
It filed the report with the City Comptroller on Dec. 16, clearing the way for the city to pay the South Ozone Park residents for damages.
Hey, for once the right thing will be done. Not much comfort to the affected residents. But better than also being stiffed with the expense of repairs on their end as an early Christmas gift.
Awful quiet from the usual raving, ranting peanut gallery - you know, all youze who couldn't stop running your mouths about dem damned dirty I-migants flooding their plumbing with greasy cooking? Not so mouthy now, eh?
How amusing.
Look if they can spend nearly $2 million in Queens to 'refurbish' a park that is a no more than a little traffic island with a dozen trees, we all know the capital budget is payoff time. Quality and workmanship are secondary issues to 'honest graft' for the 'right people.' So sure, when a construction project is predicated on race and gender, and skills second, you can get anything. And none of its good.
We also know that you get nowhere for slamming Third World communities for pulling infrastructure down to, well third world standards, except making the Trump Crowd happy, and God forbid that there is anything out there that counters the careful script we are handed. The Third World is filled with broken sewer systems. So what? We can ignore that. Remember: a Democratic Voting Block can do no harm. So its obviously someone else's fault.
#FakeTurkeyGrease
So the City we’ll pay for the fixes? Ask the people waiting for Sandy repairs how that went.
Going bad after 32 years because the grease from 3rd word cooking is highly crossive and acidic. We didn't have such numbers of these people cooking with currys and animal fats and aminoacids 32 years ago.
@TommyR said... This issue "grease and dirty habits" will keep repeating itself overe and over again so what ? I live in NYC and travel all over the city by bus, subway, foot, car or bicycle and can clearly state here and now NYC in on the decline and has been for many years. The infrastructure is stressed to the breaking point and has nothing to do with race. It's about the Money ! NYC Schmucks keep voting "D" every November so sadly nothing will change....
Tommy are you Red-flagging everyone who disagrees with leftist ideals ?
"Ranting peanut gallery" Facts are NOT RACIST Tommy !
"Going bad after 32 years because the grease from 3rd word cooking is highly crossive and acidic"
Oh for chrissakes. Metal is not the same as body tissue.
And The corrosion happened from outside of the main pipe.
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