By Jennifer Glickel and Jeff Mays
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Frigid temperatures caused two water main breaks in Manhattan early Monday morning, leaving families without heat or hot water and businesses flooded.
The first water main break occurred shortly after midnight when a 12-inch water main burst at E. 62nd Street and First Avenue, flooding the street and sending mud and debris into the street and basements of the Merchants NY restaurant and Beekman Condominiums on the block, witnesses said.
A second main, on Broadway between 105th and 106th streets, burst at about 5 a.m. and flooded the basements of area businesses, leaving two hair and beauty salons without water.
Temperatures dipped down below freezing Sunday night leading to the water main problems Monday morning.
"We didn't shower. We washed up and brushed our teeth with bottled water," said Hilary Auerbach, who lives in the six-story Beekman Condominiums with her husband and three kids and was without heat and hot water.
"With three kids it's very difficult, but we made do," Aurbach added. "We acted like we were camping. Although, my daughter made the point that we had more water when we were camping."
The FDNY worked to pump out the east side basements early Monday as workers from the Department of Environmental Protection and Con Edison worked to shut off the water flow and fix the water main.
Water service was affected in First Avenue buildings from 61st to 62nd streets, a DEP worker said.
First Avenue was briefly closed to traffic for emergency crews, but was reopened before the morning rush. Traffic was moving well despite one lane being closed as the DEP worked to fix the break.
Security for the Beekman, which has 96 units, put up a sign to alert tenants that the heat and hot water would be out until at least the afternoon.
Tenant Bob Lee, 59, noticed he was without heat and hot water this morning, but seemed unfazed by it all.
"What can you do? This in New York. You've got to buck up," Lee said.
A DEP spokesman could not give a timetable on how long the repairs would take.
In Morningside Heights, officials shut down traffic on 105th Street from Amsterdam to Broadway. Southbound traffic lanes remained open as of 7 a.m.
Business owners were told that the water, which workers were pumping from a hole, could be back on as early as tonight, or tomorrow morning.
That was cold comfort to the owners along the strip who had to deal with flooding during the holiday shopping season.
At Riverside Liquors, boxes filled with bottles of wine and liquor lay toppled over in more than a foot of water.
"There's thousands of dollars worth of wine and liquor there because we usually stock up for the holiday season. It's going to be terrible this year," said John Alvarez, 71, a manager at the store. "We really depend on the holiday time to make the business successful."
At Blondi's Hair Salon, owner Joseph Nasser said he had to cancel 12 appointments today because he had no water and machines that he had in the basement had been damaged. Puddles of water and brown silt lay on the basement floor as workers piled damaged products into garbage bags.
"These are the best days right now," he said. "I had to tell 12 people not to come. We have to be open by tomorrow."
"Unless you want highlights for your hair with brown water, there's nothing we can do," said hair stylist Diane Policastro. Already, she has had to turn away numerous walk-ins, one of the businesses' best way of making money this time of year.
"This is a bad way to start off the week," she said.
