Sanitation Truck Meets Huge Hole in Union Square

A number of city agencies, including the FDNY, NYPD, and Department of Transportation are on West 17th Street, off 5th Avenue, to inspect a sanitation truck that is stuck in a hole that's reportedly four feet deep. No one is touching the truck because it's leaning on a van that it crushed!

We heard that a crane was needed to extract the truck. It's definitely not your average pothole - and we guess the Mayor's fleet of street inspection scooters didn't make it to West 17th yet.

Though the city wants to use technology to track issues, other organizations are stepping up in the interim. For instance, Stay Free magazine created a Flickr photo pool called "The People's 311" where people can submit pictures of things just like potholes, dead trees, open/damaged fire hydrants, etc. as a response to the city's SCOUT program.

Previous sinkhole/Hellmouth incidents: One in midtown Manhattan and another in Brooklyn.

Update: We hear the truck is now a "hazmat condition"! Then again, aren't most garbage trucks? Or could it be leaking fuel?

Update 2: It's a possible hazmat situation because the truck is leaning next to a gas main. Oh, dear.

Update 3: The street is being closed and buildings are being evacuated (initially some buildings' occupants were told to stay put). In fact, the truck is right in front of SVA's sculpture building (with kilns!) and students have been sent home.