Results tagged “midtownsteampipeexplosion”

A year ago today, a 24" steam pipe installed in 1924 broke and caused a massive explosion on Lexington Avenue and East 41st Street. Right after the blast, the Mayor called it a "failure of infrastructure."

Yesterday afternoon, a contractor came into contact with a live cable at the Astoria substation and suffered a fatal heart attack. John Rodriguez worked for CKR Construction, not Con Ed, and had been installing a new cable.

From rats ruling a West Village KFC/Taco Bell to Governor Spitzer's downward spiral, from a shock jock's questionable words to an up-and-down year for the MTA (and its riders), we bring up the biggest stories of 2007.

An engineering firm hired by the victims of Midtown steam pipe explosion say that there was a "crack-like flaw" in the pipe. Exponent Engineering's Robert Caligiuri wrote, "The observed crack-like flaw appears to be old and is large enough that, in my opinion, Con Ed should have detected it prior to the rupture. Once detected, good and accepted practices would have required that this pipe section be immediately replaced."

Tenants of the office building at 370 Lexington Ave. and East 41st St. are alleging that while they were barred from the building for more than a month during clean-up and decontamination of the area following July's midtown steampipe explosion, their offices were looted of cash, cellphones, electronics, and other portable valuables. The New York Post talked to the president of a graphic-arts company located in the building, who found that approximately $45,000 in items had been stolen from the firm upon returning to its offices in August after six weeks. Stolen items included 12 laptops, every digital and video camera, iPods, memory sticks, as well as cash. He described the robbery as methodical. Other tenants at 370 Lexington complained of similar robberies.

For many people, stopping at a Starbucks is a natural instinct, but don't bother doing that in the face of a disaster. After the steam pipe exploded on Lexington Avenue in July, one woman turned to Starbucks to escape the chaos and find safety. Unfortunately for her, she was denied entrance to the Starbucks on 42nd and 6th, which reportedly turned people away with locked doors due to a company policy. The woman said that things were similar to September 11th, except businesses in Lower Manhattan opened their doors for people.

After questions about whether Con Ed would be able to maintain objectivity when testing equipment from the area of July 18's Midtown steam pipe explosion, a State Supreme Court judge ruled that the utility could test a steam trap. Earlier, a state regulator suggested there could have been build-up in the trap, caused it to malfunction and causing the explosion.

On Tuesday, a Con Ed executive faced a number of irritated City Council members seeking answers about the July 18 steam pipe explosion in Midtown. Senior vice president William Longhi said that the investigation could take another two or three months, but City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "You may not have all the answers and all the Ts crossed and all the Is dotted. I can accept that. But I cannot accept that you have absolutely nothing to tell us about why this may have happened.

The family of Gregory McCullough, the tow truck driver who suffered third-degree burns over 80% of his body from the Midtown steam pipe explosion, had an emotional meeting with the man who helped him. Junior Suarez, a 27-year-old who works at an employment agency, broke down as he described McCullough's pain,"He was just screaming and screaming and couldn't stop screaming."

The family of the tow truck driver who was right on top of the steam pipe that exploded in Midtown spoke about 21-year-old Gregory McCullough's progress. His mother, Tanya McCullough-Stewart, told the NY Times he had opened his eyes for the first time last week, "They can’t tell us if he’ll be O.K. because his injuries are too severe. He is still in a coma but the nurses said he can hear us. So I sing to him and I know he’s listening. I know he can hear me.”

Everyone is a little more aware of the city's steam system - and those steam vents on certain streets - after last week's Midtown steam pipe explosion. The NY Times reports that Con Ed "routinely checks manholes for vapor after rainstorms and pumps out water that reaches the height of the pipes." Hmm, maybe that's why the first lawsuit against Con Ed has been filed. The Post reports a 52-year-old Bay Ridge woman, Francine Dorf, says that she thought the explosion was a terrorist attack (her sister was killed on September 11) and said that the event triggered her post-traumatic street disorder: "I can't sleep, I can't eat."

The frozen zone around the Midtown area of an exploded steam pipe is getting smaller: East 42nd Street is opened to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. East 41st between Lexington and Park Avenues is still closed (the explosion was at 41st and Lexington), while parts of Lexington and Park Avenues are still closed between 40th and 42nd Streets. It's expected to take at least another week for Con Ed to "remove heavy debris from the crater, shore up the edges and excavate by hand to try to isolate the area," according to the Daily News.

Yesterday, Con Edison removed the tow truck sitting in the crater where a steam pipe explosion ripped a 15' by 25' hole in 41st Street and Lexington Avenue. The utility will investigate the damage in hopes of getting a better idea of what caused the Wednesday night explosion. Other clean up crews were working on other parts of the damaged area. One contractor who will be washing the facade of a building told WNBC, "It's a mess. Blown windows and a lot of stuff like that."

The red tow truck sitting in a crater at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, right where an 83-year-old steam pipe exploded Wednesday evening, will be towed out today. The Daily News reports that Con Ed is preparing to remove the truck, and because there are live electrical cables in the hole, the "crews may use nylon wire, which won't act as a conductor, to hoist the vehicle from the pit." After the truck is removed, the utility will be better able to investigate what may have caused the explosion that killed one and injured many others.

The city continued clean-up at the site of Wednesday's Midtown steam pipe explosion at East 41st and Lexington Avenue. Vanderbilt Avenue has been reopened, and Third Avenue was scheduled to be reopened today. Clean up of 42nd Street between Third and Park should be done by Monday, while clean up of Lexington between 42nd and 43rd should be done by the end of the weekend. Here's what the city said about the asbestos samples:

The Department of Environmental Protection tests of 12 air samples showed none of them testing positive for asbestos. The steam, humidity, and rainfall probably helped the situation because it prevented asbestos particles from becoming airborne.

Continue reading "Frozen Zone Shrinks As Clean Up Work Continues at Steam Pipe Explosion Site"

Though some people were running from the explosion, once things calmed down a little, it seems like many people were documenting what was happening. In turn, it gave those of us not on the scene a way to share the experience. Here are some striking photographs from readers:

As we know, Con Edison and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection have confirmed that asbestos was found in debris after the steam pipe explosion at 41st Street and Lexington, but that there is no airborne asbestos. If you were in the area of the explosion and have contaminated clothing, Con Ed is actually accepting clothes and will dispose of them:

Anyone who was in that area around 6 p.m. who has dust or debris on clothing or belongings should put them in a plastic bag and bring it to the Con Edison customer service van parked at the corner of Madison Avenue and 42nd Street. The van will be at that location for the next several days from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Con Edison will arrange for the safe disposal of these items. Customer care personnel will be available to help people fill out a reimbursement request.

During the Wednesday-night rush hour, a steam pipe at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue exploded, sending steam, mud, and pieces of the street hundreds of feet into the air. One person died and at least 20 people were injured.

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.