Photograph of the red tow truck by sidewalk_story on Flickr 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." A woman died from a heart attack, while two people sitting in a truck right on top of the explosion were seriously burned: Passenger Judith Bailey suffered third-degree......

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. The NY Times reported on Con Ed's statement, "A contractor was excavating and installing grounding cable in the substation...It appears he came into contact with an energized cable....We are investigating the circumstances of the incident, and we are......

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. Midtown Steam Pipe Explosion On a July afternoon, an 83-year-old steam pipe near Grand Central Station exploded, ripping apart the street. Debris, including asbestos, filled the air and covered people as they ran from the scene. One woman......

A new report from Con Ed reveals that "a tiny clump of leak-sealing epoxy" caused the blast in a Midtown steam pipe earlier this year. The pipe, at Lexington and 41st Street, ruptured on July 18, causing millions in damage; one person died of a heart attack while two people in a tow truck above the pipe and subjected to 400-degree steam were critically burned. Con Ed, as well as the city, is facing......

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." Naturally, Con Ed said the findings......

Con Ed has filed a $25 million notice of claim against the city over the July 18 steam pipe explosion outside Grand Central. The Daily News got a hold of the notice of claim which says the event "may have been caused, in whole or in part, by acts or omissions of the city." Which then prompted the News to exclaim "Watt Nerve!" Con Ed says it may not sue, explaining, "This is a......

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......

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......

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. A lawyer representing the person most critically injured from the explosion, 21-year-old Gregory McCullough who......

A state regulator says that a steam valve was not working prior to the July 18 steam pipe explosion in Midtown. The Daily News reports that in 2006, a "steam trap" type of valve was installed, but some recent post-explosion tests showed it wasn't working. The valve is "supposed to drain water out of the steampipe to prevent a catastrophic condition called 'water hammer,' which causes water to slam into itself with incredible pressure."......

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......

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." McCullough's mother Tanya McCullough-Stewart said, "We were just thankful that someone was there to hold......

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......

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......

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......

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,......

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......

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......

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: Photograph of people walking away, looking towards, the explosion by Horatio Baltz; see the full set Photograph the crowd on the steps of the New York Public......

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......

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. Initially, many people's first reactions were that it was a terrorist attack, what with the loud, thunder-like rumbling that shook buildings and the cloud of smoke and steam. People ran from the area of the......

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......