An icy dilemma

From CBS 2:

A water leak is creating dangerous, slippery conditions on a sidewalk in a Queens neighborhood.

As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported exclusively Thursday, complaints are pouring in. But the water is still flowing and turning into ice in the cold.

A two-story cascade of water has created icy dangers on the sidewalk to the below-grade Grand Central Parkway Service Road between Aberdeen and Tudor roads.

The unwanted waterfall started gushing over the top of a wall more than a week ago.

Kew Gardens hotel flooded with water or DHS bookings?

From DNA Info:

Several guests who booked rooms at a hotel and luxury apartment tower in Kew Gardens where the city controversially began renting dozens of rooms to homeless people last month had their reservations abruptly cancelled, DNAinfo New York has learned.

A Kew Gardens resident said three of his family members, who are visiting for his daughter’s bat mitzvah this coming weekend, booked rooms at the Kew Gardens Comfort Inn several weeks ago.

But on Sunday, they received an email from the hotel stating that “Due to unfortunate circumstances recently at our hotel, we have had to cancel your reservation.”

"They said it was a flood," said the local resident, who did not want his name to be used but provided the email to DNAinfo.

An employee who answered the phone at the hotel Monday told a reporter that they “are having water damage on some floors,” but added that the hotel is open and that some rooms were still available. She did not elaborate about what caused the damage.

However, a caller trying to book a room at the hotel for Monday and Tuesday night was told there were no rooms available and was instead offered a room at a Comfort Inn in Jamaica.

A spokesman with the Department of Homeless Services — which alarmed locals by beginning to rent 42 rooms in the hotel on Sept. 29 — said Monday that there was no “water damage” impacting units used by the agency.

The Whitestone Bridge is leaking big time

CRAPPY,

THIS STORY MIGHT INTEREST YOU AND YOUR READERS.

Back in the beginning of April we sent an email to MTABT and DOT regarding a serious flooding issue on the side of the Whitestone Bridge. Ever since they completed construction, the flooding has become much worse.

The DOT referred it to DEP. The MTABT stated that there was no issue and that ONE home along the route has drainage holes (AT LEAST 12 INCHES ABOVE THE GROUND) may be the cause.

So We sent pictures of the water marks and dirt marks from the runoff. NO RESPONSE.

Then this morning with a little rain we took more photos and video of the water runoff and the amount that now falls onto the road. In our opinion this has extremely exasperated the severe flooding issue.

The Whitestone Bridge is a proud representation of our community. To have the managers not take responsibility is an insult to the community. NOT TO MENTION THE LACK OF MAINTENANCE OF THEIR GRASSY AREA AS OF LATE. We take pride in our community and expect our neighbor the MTABT to do the same.

And of course let us not forget the mosquitoes and West Nile issues this brings.

Thank you.

Alfredo Centola
President
Founding Member

Staten Island homeowner has pipe problem that DEP won't fix

From CBS 2:

A Staten Island man said a sinkhole caused by a broken pipe is threatening his home, but the city said it is not their problem.

The man, Morris Indig, has been left fighting to figure out who is going to fix the sinkhole, and CBS2’s Tracee Carrasco was demanding answers Thursday night.

Water has been gushing through Indig’s backyard in the Grasmere section of Staten Island. It has caused the pavement to crumble and has created a sinkhole nearly 15 feet long – creeping dangerously close to his home.

“It’s eroding the soil all around here, including near my foundation wall,” Indig said. “This slab is starting to tip towards the hole already, and I’m really nervous that something is going to happen to the house.”

The problem started weeks ago after heavy rain. Indig believes the pipe carrying water from nearby Brady’s Pond to Cameron Lake, located next to his house, caused the massive hole.

Water main break causes problem in Hamilton Beach

Joe Thompson

From the Queens Courier:

A continuous stream of water has been flowing onto one Hamilton Beach street for over six days due to a water main break, causing flooding along the thoroughfare that turns into sheets of ice when temperatures dip below freezing.

“It’s been six days,” said Roger Gendron, president of the Hamilton Beach Civic Association. “I don’t understand why it is taking so long to fix. In all honesty I just feel like this is the way the city treats Hamilton Beach.”

On Feb. 23, water from the break, which is located directly in the middle of the First Street in Hamilton Beach, was gushing from cracks in the asphalt down toward 104th Street and into a catch basin. But now with temperatures set to plunge well below freezing again Monday night, Gendron is concerned about potentially hazardous conditions if the city doesn’t fix the problem.

The break was first noticed on Feb. 17 by Joe Thompson of the Howard Beach Civilian Observation Patrol during his nightly tour. He observed the water coming out of the ground and turning into ice due to the cold weather that night. He immediately filed a 311 report but the only response from the city, up to this point, was a sanitation truck dispatched on Feb. 18 to salt the road in order to break up some of the ice.

Leaky hydrant causes hazard

From CBS New York:

For days, the leaky fire hydrant on 73rd Place in Middle Village has delivered an unrelenting flow of frigid water. Local residents said the water has spread all the way down the block, turning much of the sidewalk into a treacherous slab of ice.

And frustration was turning to alarm late Saturday, as a deep freeze was set to hit new lows in New York City Sunday night into Monday.

As for concerns that the hydrant won’t work if there’s a fire, an FDNY source said fire crews have redundancy plans in place for any emergency.

And late Saturday afternoon, city workers finally responded – turning off the water and promising repairs, according to local residents. They hoped the city’s move would mean the end of a leaky hydrant that created a rink no one wanted.

DEP ignores reported water leak

"Hi, I live on 170 street between Union Turnpike and 81st ave in Jamaica. Across the street from St Johns campus. It was first noticed that the new water main was broken. A neighbor put in a service request with 311 they closed it stating they couldn't find the leak. I noticed the leak on Wed 9/17 and put in a service request with 311 which as of tonight is still pending. I feel this is just total incompetence of the DEP to leave a water main broken and leaking for at least 4 days that we know of. Attaching a video of the leak. Maybe you could shame these incompetent people at the DEP into doing their jobs. The indifference of this department is beyond belief.

Thought this might be of interest to you." - anonymous

Case of the sinking street

From the Queens Courier:

Residents and politicians are complaining about a cracked and sinking street in Fresh Meadows and are calling for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to repair it.

The middle of 179th Street between Union Turnpike and 75th Avenue has sunk a few inches after underground support for the roadway collapsed, which residents have been complaining about since last May.

Local politicians and civic leaders said the issue is getting worse and it creates a problem for pedestrians and drivers. Councilman Rory Lancman and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic will hold a press conference Monday to rally the DEP to fix it.

The city agency has examined the collapse and found that its sewer line underneath the road is not the problem, but it may be a leak from a resident’s private sewer line that caused the issue, Community Board 8 District Manager Marie Adam-Ovide said at a recent meeting. The DEP is currently trying to find the source of the problem.

Flooded house in Far Rockaway

From CBS 2:

Some homeowners in Far Rockaway, Queens were able to begin drying out their flooded basements Tuesday night, after a service line of gushing water in an abandoned house was shut off.

As CBS 2’s Tony Aiello reported, the residents said they got nowhere with the city until they called CBS 2.

Some residents were stuck sloshing through standing water in their basements for days, all because of the broken water pipe at the house next door.

“I’m frustrated. It’s terrible,” said Junius Crawford of Far Rockaway. “Something should have been done by some city agency, and nothing is happening so far.”

The water feed line at 329 Beach 29th St. broke, filling the basement with countless gallons of water.

The water went on to spill out, following the path of least resistance into the street and neighboring homes.

And why didn’t the homeowners fix the broken pipe?

“He packed up a truck and he left,” said neighbor Maria Scott.

Scott said her neighbor abandoned his house last summer, saying he could no longer afford it after being hit hard by Irene and Superstorm Sandy.

She and others called 311 repeatedly, trying to get the water shut off.

The DEP said it was rushing to get to the house causing the flooding as soon as it could. Neighbors on Tuesday were just glad the rushing water had finally stopped.

Neighbors also want the Department of Buildings to check the abandoned house for structural damage, given the amount of pressure the water in the basement put on the foundation.

City Council actually says no to a developer

From the Daily News:

A Bronx property owner is going to have to trim two stories off the top of his Southern Blvd. building now that the City Council rejected his bid for a zoning exception.

Now, the fate of 57 families who are being sheltered in the controversial and squalid building appears to be up in the air.

“Maybe now, we’ll be relocated to someplace decent instead of this rathole,” said Kevin Sanford, 49, who lives on the sixth floor.

The building owner, Julius Ausch, started trying to legalize the eight-story building — which is two floors taller then permitted — in response to a loud outcry this summer over his alleged disregard for local laws.

The Council rejection disregarded an earlier okay by the City Planning Commission, in August, that appeared to give Ausch the green light.

“The overbuild of the facility was not done in error, but done intentionally in order to maximize the number of homeless families the facility could accommodate,” Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo wrote in a letter to the Council’s zoning committee.

The decision caps months of rallying by Bronx officials and residents, who have called the building’s living conditions “deplorable.”

Tenants have complained of rodents, leaks and shoddy workmanship in the building, which is run by the non-profit New Hope Transitional Housing.

Arroyo and local community board leaders have also questioned why the shelter has been allowed to operate without valid paperwork since last year.

Storm damaged building gets worse

From NY1:

In a duplex in Jamaica, Queens, two families are still enduring damage from Hurricane Sandy.

"It's horrible no one should have to live like this," said renter Natasha Francis. "I feel like the hurricane is in my home."

Her building's second floor, which had been leaking since the storm hit on October 29, finally collapsed after Friday's rain and wind. Francis was left with soggy floors, ruined furniture, mold in a daughter's bedroom and constant scrubbing with bleach with little result.

The landlord told her he cannot afford to make repairs.

"I'm upset. I'm angry, because I've spoken to my landlord about this and now it's gotten so worse and now it's unliveable. I can't live here with my kids," Francis said.

Downstairs, Khaleeda Khan's family said they fear they will soon see damages. By Saturday night, their ceiling was cracking above the Christmas tree, so the decorations were coming down.

"It's not the Christmas I imagined," Khan said. "I did all my shopping, all the preparations to have a good Christmas for my kids, my family and we're not going to have it."

Packing them in at Woodside school

From the Daily News:

A western Queens parents group plans to push the city to build additions at two overcrowded elementary schools where the the lack of space is so severe that students are studying in hallways or in a leaky modular unit.

Community Education Council District 30 will present its concerns about Public School 11, in Woodside, and PS 2, in Jackson Heights, to the city on Jan. 6 in its annual recommendations to the School Construction Authority.

But the city has no plans for any “significant” building additions at this time, a Department of Education official said.

It’s gotten so bad that PS 11 received a city Buildings Department violation this year for obstructing hallways with tables and chairs after a leak in a classroom was reported, a city education department official confirmed.

Help for homeowners?

From the NY Post:

The government is looking to plug homeowners' biggest leaks.

The Department of Environmental Protection wants to know if plumbing companies would be willing to repair private water lines connected to city mains in exchange for low monthly insurance payments.

Last year, 3,508 unfortunate homeowners learned the hard way that they are responsible for fixing pipes hooked up to the city's system, even if the leak occurs in the middle of the street.

Those repairs now average a distressing $4,000 -- a big hit to most families' budgets.

But under an insurance system, which is currently in use in other cities, people would pay the plumbing company about $5 to $10 a month, and there would be no additional cost for a water-pipe fix.

The program would be completely voluntary. Right now, the city has only issued an RFEI -- request for expressions of interest -- to see if companies like the idea.

"Eighty percent of the leak calls we get, the homeowner ends up being responsible," noted DEP spokesman Farrell Sklerov.

DEP to notify homeowners about water leaks

From NY1:

Landlord Lisha Li was totally in the dark as the water dripped-dripped-dripped deep below a home she rents out in College Point, Queens.

But a little grey box around the side of the home was silently sending messages, and those messages prompted an appreciated call to Li's phone.

"They said, 'Miss Li, we've been tracking all the meters, and we found very abnormal high usage in one of your properties,’” recalled Li.

That high usage was going to cost her $100 a day instead of the normal $8.

Li got a plumber, and on Monday, offered up praise to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a new tracking system from the city's Department of Environmental Protection.

"Weeks or months of undetected leaks can result in hundreds or even thousands of dollars, basically, if you pardon the pun, going down the drain for homeowners,” said the mayor.

Homeowners don't have to do anything special to get called if there's a problem. If you want an email alert, call 311.

The DEP is about three-quarters of the way toward installing the wireless sensors citywide. It credits the gizmos with allowing New Yorkers to track their water usage, and the cost, in real time – and more accurately than before.

But Councilman Mark Weprin complains that accuracy should mean paying less for water. Instead, water rates have more than doubled since Bloomberg took office.

"They're making more money than they initially anticipated and rates should be reflecting that,” said the councilman.

Officials say much of the increase is driven by federally-required improvements.

Leak in the street

From the Times Newsweekly:

The Times Newsweekly was contacted by a resident of Stephen Street between Forest and Seneca avenues who claimed that water has been seeping out of a large crack in the middle of the street that stretches from one side of the curb to the other.

In an interview with the Times Newsweekly, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) noted that a crew inspected the street on Tuesday, Feb. 22, and will dispatch a repair crew to the block “in the next few days.”

The problems causing the leak were not specified by the spokesperson, who maintained that work has been scheduled to take place to correct the matter.