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.
As Con Ed has been able to inspect some of the damaged area since pulling out the tow truck, the utility has found a leaking water main. The NY Times reports that Con Ed hasn't been able to provide steam for five buildings near the area (the buildings use steam for heat and air-conditioning) though it "offered to deliver portable boilers as stopgaps."
You can see the results from air sample testing the Department of Environmental Protection conducted (PDF). Con Ed is offering reimbursement for some contaminated items (this is the form, PDF), but one man, suspicious of Con Ed's interest in collecting his clothes, gave his steam pipe debris-covered clothes to the Daily News, which tested them for asbestos. A lab found "trace" and "no detectable" amounts of asbestos on the objects, which included "a tie, pants, shirt, shoes, blazer, belt, T-shirt and laptop bag." ).
Additionally, the city says that businesses in need of assistance should contact the Grand Central Partnership for help.
