New York's "Natural Wonder": Street Sinkhole

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When Gothamist saw the news footage of the sinkhole on West 56th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, the first thing that came to mind was "It's the Hellmouth!" And what else are New Yorkers supposed to think, when a huge 10 foot deep hole emerges on one of the busiest Midtown streets? A monster pothole? That the streets are unstable? Nah. The New York Times puts it into perspective:

About 7 p.m. Sunday, a privately owned service line connected to the water main on 56th Street broke, and tons of dirt holding up the heavy asphalt above was washed away. With no support, the pavement gave way, opening a 20-by-15-foot chasm in the middle of Midtown and depriving some buildings of hot water and air-conditioning all morning. No one was reported hurt and no cars were lost.

"I told my son that that's exactly how the Grand Canyon was formed," said John Trials, who took a break from his job at Xerox at 40 West 57th Street to examine the hole around noon yesterday. "It's amazing what a little water can do."

Does that mean that our Canyon of Heroes could very well be a Canyon of the City? Hmm... The Department of Environmental Protection patched up the hole by yesterday afternoon, but now Gothamist wonders if the sweltering heat is enough to melt the asphalt and cause more sinkholes, creating city-style natural disasters.

Image from CBS 2

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And I thought the pothole at 81st & Amsterdam was bad (the one with the trashcan sitting in it so that cars don't try to drive through it) ....

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I think you'd need a Sanitation Truck to sit in this so people wouldn't drive in it.

If it is the Hellmouth, I so claim Willow for my own.

methinks the gothamist watches waaaayyyy too much tv

The Big One is coming! Run! Run for your lives!

Actually, I'd hate to give NBC any ideas for the next disaster movie. As desperate as they are for ratings, they might just decide to make it. I can just see it now: "Monster potholes start devouring New York City." Then again, it may get good ratings. Most of the rest of the country wouldn't mind seeing NYC get devoured.

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