Results tagged “manhole”

Given that there are manhole fires from time to time—and that many times steam can be seen rising from them—it's no surprise to learn they can leave burns. And now a Bronx woman is suing Con Ed for burns she suffered in 2006. According to the Daily News, "Melissa Mann was crossing Allen St. on the lower East Side on Sept. 5, 2006, when she was hit by a delivery van...She flew through the air and landed on a manhole cover, which burned her instantly, according to a lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court this week." Yikes. Her lawyer said his client has permanent scarring, not to mention seizures, and walks with a cane, "For the temperature of that cap to be so hot that it caused scalding burns to the touch is not right. It poses a danger to citizens walking on the street not to mention any animals walking on the street." Mann is seeking "an award for medical services, lost wages and pain and suffering." Five years ago, a woman got a "manhole tattoo" on her back when she fell (while skateboarding in the East Village) on a manhole.

Continuing the "OMG, SRSLY" story of the Staten Island teen who fell into an open manhole while text messaging, 15-year-old Alexa Longueira has been speaking with the media about her ordeal. Apparently DEP workers left the the open manhole to retrieve some orange cones—and it took a little too long for them to return. She told WCBS 2, "It was just really gross and it was shocking and scary. Because of their careless mistake I got hurt... Regardless of whether I'm texting or not if there was a cone there I'm gong to see a big orange cone. I walk that sidewalk every day, I don't expect a big hole there." So, if there was a big orange, she TOTALLY would have seen it while texting, instead of the manhole, right?

To paraphrase Mel Brooks, "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when a Staten Island teen falls down an open manhole while text-messaging." 15-year-old Alexa Longueira was walking with a friend around 5 p.m. yesterday and was about to send a text when she felt the ground give way: "She literally just handed me the phone and I opened it [and] I felt this big drop. It was four or five feet, it was very painful. I kind of crawled out and the DEP guys came running and helped me. ... They were just, like, 'I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'" Longueira got some scrapes on her arms and back (pictured), but doctors are concerned about possible spine damage and want a follow-up MRI. A DEP spokesperson says workers left the manhole momentarily to retrieve cones from the truck and expressed "regret." But Alexa's mother is determined to sue the city, and argues that it doesn't matter whether Alexa was texting or not; the manhole shouldn't have been left open. She tells the Staten Island Advance that even though the sewer wasn't full, "Oh my God, it was putrid. One of her sneakers is still down there."

Three workers at a private recycling facility in Jamaica, Queens died while trapped in a sewage hole earlier this afternoon. According to NY1, "The men were subcontractors pumping three to four feet of water out of the hole, which was about 18-feet deep. One worker fell into the hole and the two others fell in while trying to help him." And CityRoom reports that two of the workers were a father and a son. The hole was full of hydrogen sulfide and fire officials said there was twice the lethal amount of the colorless gas, which the CDC says "can also result from bacterial breakdown of organic matter. It is also produced by human and animal wastes." Queens Borough Commander John Sudnik said, "It's toxic. At 50 parts per million, it's lethal in 10 minutes." Initially, the FDNY had called Con Ed to bring vacuum trucks, which helps suck debris from manholes, to Regal Recycling Co. but then cancelled the request because the victims were dead.

At least a few buildings on or near Mercer Street lost power when a fire or an explosion occurred in a manhole at Mercer and West 3rd Street exploded this morning. The block was closed off by the Fire Department. We hear there were no injuries, but it's unclear what caused the fire. One witness saw a billowing black smoke and said it smelled "acrid, like maybe it's an electrical fire." And contributor Gideon...

On the front page of the NY Times section A, there was a photograph of some workers in Haoro, India and an article titled "New York Manhole Covers, Forged Barefoot in India." And in fact, the workers are barefoot, bare-chested, bare-handed, and bare-headed as they work in an iron foundry, making manhole covers for Con Ed and other cities. The Times explains that a photographer, J. Adam Huggins, who works with the newspaper brought...

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: multiple manhole fires on Marcy Ave. in Brooklyn, a shooting on Gunhill Rd. in the Bronx, and a stabbing on 7th Ave. in Manhattan. The NYTimes examines the ground beneath our feet and finds out where the city's asphalt comes from and how it's produced. The lives, loves, and world of Second Lifers, where people inhabit a virtual world of their and others' making. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who...

The gas main explosion that rocked a home on 48th Ave. and 41st. St. Wedneday––killing one woman and injuring six others––occurred despite what ConEd and FDNY say was them following proper procedures preceding the incident. Kunta Oza, who died at the age of 69, was burned over 90% of her body. In addition to the six others injured in the explosion, 200 people were evacuated from the block until it was deemed safe to return....

The 69-year-old woman who was burned over 90% of her body in a gas explosion in her Sunnyside home died yesterday. City Councilman Eric Gioia said, "It is with great regret and sadness that I announce the passing of Kunta Oza. My deepest condolences go out to her entire family, and I ask that all New Yorkers keep them in their Thanksgiving prayers." On Wednesday afternoon, calls were made to 911 about a gas smell...

Thanksgiving officially marks the start of the holiday movie season, and this weekend, one film seems poised to make a run for the box office crown. Enchanted, the Disney film that mixes animation and live-action to spoof its classic fairy tales, received some pretty stellar reviews. It's 92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and most reviews are calling this the star-making performance of Amy Adams, who was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for Junebug...

Getting shocked by an electrified manhole isn't just for the winter: Yesterday morning, a Labrador retriever suffered a jolt when he stepped onto a wet manhole cover on Thompson Street.

More updates below, but here's a summary so far (8:20PM): A steam explosion occurred on East 41st and Lexington Avenue (41st between Lex and Third) just before 6PM - right during the evening rush hour. The NYPD does not think it was a terrorist attack. It appears that there is a hole about 25' in diameter with a red tow truck in the center. One person has died (possibly from cardiac arrest) and there are at least 15 people injured. It is a six-alarm situation for the FDNY, which includes 24 engines and 13 ladders.

Chris, the proprietor of 78thand2nd, was nice enough to forward us a post with pictures of what may be a serious contender for the dumbest parking job of 2007. This morning, the driver of an Lexus Infiniti decided that the orange traffic cones encircling an open Con Ed manhole on 78th St., with multiple bundled cables running out of it, wasn't a good enough indicator that he shouldn't park there, so he did. And there was an explosion.

Is Upper East Side the new Queens? Because a series of manhole fires left hundreds of customers (and one customers could mean an entire apartment building of residents) without power from midmorning till late last night. One woman who was without power for over 12 hours complained, "It's terrible if that's how it's going to be. I'm upset with the whole city. Con Ed is becoming a nuisance."

When some Con Ed workers at Ground Zero found some human remains in a manhole last October, the city promised it would expand the search for remains (especially since it was revealed that the initial search for remains was more of a rush job). Now the city says that it will search under two more spots: West Street, in front of the World Financial Center, and Cedar Street, between Washington and West Streets.

New York magazine has a great examination of the Greenpoint pollution problem lurking beneath the neighborhood's surface, and floating along the surface of Newtown Creek. It describes a ten million gallon reservoir of industrial pollution that includes, fuel oil, naptha, gasoline, parrafin wax and likely many more materials that were used along the industrial area of the waterway that separates Brooklyn and Queens.

If you've never seen what an exploding manhole looks like, WABC 7 has footage of a Friday afternoon incident in Sunset Park. It looks spooky, with flame shooting from manhole and puffs of black smoke. And the smoke is dangerous, because it contains carbon monoxide.

“Sometimes when you walk on them, they shake,” said Erica Busby, 41, who was on her lunch break on York Avenue on the East Side.

Continue reading "Con Ed 'On It' Again"

That is a very good point. Unmentioned and unquestioned in the WNBC article linked to and excerpted from above, is why the manhole cover in Queens exploded.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a building collapse on West 193rd St. in Manhattan, a car in the water at Ocean Ave. and Lincoln Rd. in Brooklyn, and multiple manhole fires on 45th St. in Queens.
• The NYTimes takes a stroll down one-time Indian trail now known as Jamaica Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Neighbors on Mulberry St. are so fed up with the Feast of San Gennaro that Community Board 2 recommended against approving organizers' application to conduct their block party this year.
• Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder after his girlfriend was found thrown from a fourth-story window and impaled on the fence below in the Bronx.
• Only his dad can speak to him like that! Donald Trump's son is suing his condo association board for $50 million after telling him he was fired.
• A look at how much certain New Yorkers earn annually. At the rate they're amassing their fortunes, our next mayor will probably be Jerry Seinfeld or Dick Wolf if either wants the job.
• The eight-year-old girl who was tied up in the downtown hotel with her family during a push-in robbery managed to wriggle free, telephone for help, and free her parents.
• A car involved in a drunk-driving multiple vehicle accident, flew off the West Side Highway and landed in Riverside Park.
• Charles Rangel is excited about the prospect of a Clinton-Obama ticket in '08.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Found Explosive at Broadway and 116th St. in Manhattan, a Manhole Fire on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, and a Homicide at 140-10 123rd Ave. in Queens.
• How to get a Manhattan hotel room for less than $200 a night. And it's not the Whitehouse on Bowery!
• Uphill and downhill could be two ways to characterize traffic safety debate in Park Slope, as a proposed bike lane for the incline known as 9th St. is run down by the neighborhood's Civic Council.

Church, by Squid Ink.

The city has announced that parts of West Street will be closed so searchers can look for remains from the World Trade Center attacks. Last October, Con Ed workers excavating a manhole found human remains, leading to renewed searches which have since yielded over 400 bone fragments.

Red Alligator, by Soupflowers.

A Boston terrier died yesterday while walking on Rector Street, seemingly from an electrical shock. The dog, named Boston Bob, was being walked by his dog-walker when he stepped on a sidewalk near a manhole. The NY Times reports the 16 pound dog "suddenly lifted his paws, yelped in pain and went limp in the dog walker’s arms." And the dog walker told a witness that Bob was bleeding after the shock.

Last night's manhole explosions in SoHo were reportedly caused by wires underground catching fire. At least that's the Con Ed line. A Villager article from last year explained that when the fire occurs underground, there's a buildup of carbon monoxide - and then there's the explosion. Then the Department of Environmental Protection checks to see if there's CO in other neighboring buildings.

Manholes on West Houston Street near Sullivan have exploded, creating a smoky, chaotic scene. Windows are blown out and civilians are panicking. Firefighters, police, Con Ed and other rescue workers are everywhere.

With the surprise discovery of human remains in a manhole at Ground Zero on Thursday, the city said they would start a new search for remains of September 11 victims. The contractor who realized that the debris found on Thursday was human remains spoke to the Post:

"By the grace of God, I found the bones. I looked at what looked like bones, but it was muddy stuff. It might have been lumber. It turned out to be an arm bone and a leg bone."