MANHATTAN — Dorm residents were told to use bathrooms in nearby buildings after a water main break shut off running water in The New School's main building near Union Square, a report said.
The pipe ruptured about 9:30 a.m. at the school's University Center at 65 Fifth Ave., which also contains a dorm housing 617 students, according to officials and the New School Free Press.
Cafeteria workers are moving food to the Lang cafe because of water shut down caused by water main break pic.twitter.com/YzWclOrlId
— The NS Free Press (@NSFreePress) April 27, 2016
Department of Environmental Protection officials ordered the school to shut water off at several buildings including the University Center, 66 Fifth Ave., 2 W.13th St. and 72 Fifth Ave., according to the Free Press and school officials.
Some nearby businesses closed because of the break, but it wasn't immediately clear how many other buildings in the area were affected.
Though classes in affected buildings weren't canceled, people were asked to use bathrooms in nearby school facilities that still had running water, the student-run news site reported.
Apparently the fact that 90% of the new school has no running water or washrooms is not a reason to cancel class?
— Goldie Poll (@GMPOLL) April 27, 2016
A water main break has caused a water outage at 3 new school buildings, including the Univ… https://t.co/pxrfJbHGOB pic.twitter.com/xiuX9qBhcU
— The NS Free Press (@NSFreePress) April 27, 2016
DEP crews were still trying to find the exact source of the leak more than four hours later, said a spokesman who didn't provide further information. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the leak.
Traffic was closed along Fifth Avenue from 14th Street to 12th Street while 13th Street was closed from University to Sixth Avenue, said a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management.
Water Condition 5th Ave/E 13th St (MN). Vehicular and pedestrian traffic may be impacted. Use caution and alternate routes.
— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) April 27, 2016
"To ensure the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff, we are complying with the order from the NYC DEP and hope to have water access restored as soon as possible," said New School spokesman Scott Gargan.
OEM was on scene with the FDNY and Department of Environmental Protection, the OEM spokesman said.
"There is no known connection between the water main break today and the one that happened in 2014," Gargan said.
UPDATE: This is the scene in front of the UC right now. Story: https://t.co/KtiAn8f3Hy pic.twitter.com/t69vYscRJY
— The NS Free Press (@NSFreePress) April 27, 2016