Main bursts, flooding a B’klyn intersection
A massive water main break flooded a Brooklyn intersection and the surrounding area early Sunday, officials said.
The pipe burst at 44th St. and Fifth Ave. in Sunset Park about 5:40 a.m., and water broke through the road, leaving bricks and concrete slabs strewn across the street.
Iva Dixit, who saw a car being towed, compared the scene with the “underworld rising in revolt.”
Officials with the city Department of Environmental Protection who responded to the water break at 6:30 a.m. were unable to quickly identify the source of the leak as there are a number of pipes varying in size under Fifth Ave., officials said.
Crews slowly restricted the water flow running through all of the pipes by sealing off a series of gates and valves extending beyond city limits, officials said.
It took several hours to steady the apocalyptic-looking stream of water pumping out onto the street due to its high pressure, officials said.
“That’s how it gets from the upstate reservoirs all the way down to the five boroughs,” Department of Environmental
Protection spokesman Ted Timbers said.
A number of Sunset Park residents and businesses were expected to be without water for several hours while technicians worked to excavate the roadway and identify the affected pipe.
Kaid Alomar, 69, the owner of Azzan Deli Grocery, was confronted with the aquatic eruption as he began his workday.
“No power, no water,” he told the Daily News. “And the rain.”
Local officials worried the water break would affect residents during the holiday season.
“I suspect what we’re going to find out is that there’s a lot of flood damage that people will discover over the course of the next several days,” said David Estrada, executive director of the Sunset Park Business Improvement District, who visited the scene. “And a lot of people are away for the holiday.”