INWOOD — A yawning sinkhole that swallowed up part of an Inwood street was finally filled Friday, months after residents started complaining — but not in the way you'd think.
Witnesses said that firefighters covered the gaping hole, which appeared to be about six feet deep, with a table after the FDNY received a call about it just before 9 a.m.
The rut, right in the middle of Vermilyea Avenue, near West 207th Street, had been partially filled with asphalt. Yellow caution tape with the words "Fire Line: Do Not Cross" was wrapped around the temporary stopgap.
Residents said that they had been complaining about the gash for a long time.
It sits just steps from another much larger, but now repaired, hole.
"It's been around for two months or so," said Lenin Berez, 19. "We called the authorities, but they never came up."
Berez said that he called 311 several times as well.
"It's very dangerous," he said. "Two, three days ago I had a friend fall off his bike right here. His feet got stuck in the hole."
Berez said the larger hole was filled last week, but the pavement is already beginning to sag again.
“Lots of cars got stuck [in the large hole] when they go by,” said Berez. “They fixed it last week but it was already sinking.”
“It’s a hazard for the kids and cars here,” said another local, who refused to be named.
John Corallo, 38, who often comes to Inwood Park nearby to play baseball with his friends, is concerned that children might fall into the hole.
“It’s just horrible. Very unsafe for the kids. What we worry is for the kids,” said Corallo.
The FDNY could not immediately confirm the witness accounts.
The Department of Transportatation said it only handles potholes and referred calls to the Department of Environmental Protection, which handles sinkholes.
The DEP said that a broken catch basin connection was responsible for the hole that was covered by the table. The agency said that it would temporarily mend the sinkhole, but would implement a permanent fix next week.
