By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Crews returned to work Thursday morning after nearly a month's delay to begin repairing a botched construction job that had turned one of Midtown's busiest intersections into a pedestrian danger zone.
"Finally, they started working," said a relieved Ohaidur Nabi, 48, of Brooklyn, who works at the newsstand on the north-west corner of West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue, where uneven sidewalks and haphazardly stacked wooden planks have sent dozens of people flying, neighbors said.
"A lot of people were falling," Nabi said.
As DNAinfo first reported, the problems began nearly a month ago when a crew hired by the 34th Street Partnership to fix the sidewalk accidentally punched through the ceiling of the subway entrance stairwell at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue.
While the partnership and MTA engineers worked to coordinate a fix, much of the corner stood blocked off by orange and white plastic traffic barriers. Sections of the sidewalk began to resemble an obstacle course, which neighbors said caused numerous falls.
"It's very horrible," said James, 25, who works at the Golden Mall Jewelry store one door down and reported watching numerous people trip on the uneven ground.
"It’s full if ups and downs, so people keep on falling," he said, describing the situation as "really, really bad."
But on Thursday, workers from JFK Construction returned to the site, accompanied by representatives from the MTA and the partnership. Men in bright yellow vests were seen tidying the site, jackhammering and inspecting a small hole in the ground.
Nabi said he was thrilled to see the crew's return after losing thousands of dollars every week in lost business that he blames on the mess.
"I’m very happy," he said, smiling.
Repair work on the corner is expected to take about two weeks, a partnership spokesman said. The subway entrance is set to re-open by the third week of June, the MTA said.
JFK has not returned several calls for comment.
