STUYVESANT TOWN — Thousands of residents of a waterfront housing complex suddenly found themselves without water for several hours Wednesday morning as the city carried out repairs on a massive sinkhole disrupting the nearby East River Greenway, according to tenant leaders — a mishap city representatives were unable to explain.
Waterside Plaza, which is home to roughly 4,000 residents, was without water for several hours beginning shortly before 8 a.m., according to building management. The city Department of Environmental Protection, which had shut off a water main to facilitate repairs to the sinkhole at East 23rd Street and FDR Drive, had supplied no notice to the complex.
"We have many special needs people living at Waterside, including a group home for individuals with cerebral palsy, two summer camps that need to prepare lunches to feed their campers, a restaurant which feeds the 100-plus employees at Waterside daily, along with the 4000 other residents who had no notice of this shutoff and were unable to prepare for it, leaving people stranded in the shower with soap in their hair," wrote Waterside Plaza tenant association president Janet Handal in an email that included city representatives Wednesday morning.
DEP workers had shut off the water main Wednesday morning so the city Economic Development Corporation could repair a leaky pipe that had caused a massive sinkhole to open up on the middle of the East River Greenway, creating a hazardous obstacle for cyclists using the path.
Handal had been requesting repairs to the sinkhole since July 5, when she first filed a complaint via the city's 311 hotline. Records show another complaint was filed July 11. The Department of Transportation just last week placed barriers around the sinkhole, making the trap more visible to oncoming cyclists, but noted the EDC was responsible for the repairs.
But the DEP first had to shut off the water main to allow the repairs to take place, according to the EDC. The sinkhole gushed water Tuesday as workers waited for DEP to turn off the main, according to video supplied by Handal.
When DEP showed up Wednesday morning to shut down the water, the service to Waterside Plaza went along with it, leaving the complex's residents and facilities in the lurch. The complex's cafe, spa, community room and swim club were all closed as a result of the shutdown, according to an email notice from management.
Water had been restored as of 10:30 a.m., according to an DEP representative, but it was not known why the complex had lost service in the first place.
"We are working to determine why the water in the buildings was impacted this morning and will circle back soon with update," wrote Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs and Communications Michael DeLoach in an email. "We take great pride in proactively and thoroughly communicating potential impacts to residents well in advance of any inconveniences. Clearly this did not happen here and we will work to understand why this occurred and ways to make sure it won't happen again."
An EDC spokeswoman said the agency is working to repair the line and plans to repave the sinkhole by the end of the week.
