MIDTOWN — A gaping pothole that has been slowly growing over the past month on West 52nd Street was temporarily fixed Friday — just hours after DNAinfo New York wrote a story about the massive crater.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection sent a crew of contractors at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon to patch up the pothole on the northwest corner of W. 52nd Street between Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
“They called us just now,” said a worker from John Picone Contractors, as he and his crew made the repair. “It’s not a total fix – it’s just a band aid.”
The crew placed a steel plate over the three-and-a-half foot wide and nine-inch deep crater and leveled it out using asphalt, he said.
Workers said that they will be back to make a permanent fix, but added that they did not know when that would be.
Councilman Daniel Garodnick, who represents the area, immediately called DEP about the crater after reading DNAinfo New York’s report, according to a spokesman.
Wow. Spoke w DEP; they will fix. RT Massive 52nd Street Pothole Still Unfilled a Month After Complaint via @Dnainfo http://t.co/K7LyJISMZa
— Dan Garodnick (@DanGarodnick) September 26, 2014
A 311 request was called in about a street cave-in at the site on Aug. 21, according to a 311 service request map — but instead of repairing it, the website says it was inspected by an unnamed agency and referred to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection for repairs.
Locals said that they were thrilled the crater was covered, putting an end to a month of headaches it has been giving drivers.
“We’re very happy it’s being taken care of,” said Frank Rego, the general manager of the restaurant and bar Rosie O’Grady’s, which is right next to the hole. “It’s been here for a while.”
