By Carol Tannenhauser
West 103rd Street is closed between Broadway and West End Avenue and approximately 200 households are without water following a Tuesday morning water main break near West 96th Street and Broadway, a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told WSR.
There were delays on the 1, 2 and 3 trains while emergency workers responded. At 7:17 a.m., the MTA tweeted:
There are delays and multiple impacts to 1/2/3 train service while emergency teams respond to a water main break near 96 St.
2 trains are running on the 5 line between 149 St-Grand Concourse and Nevins St.
There is no 3 train service in Manhattan at this time.
pic.twitter.com/0AsZJuLL7e— NYCT Subway. Wear a Mask. (@NYCTSubway) February 2, 2021
PIX11 tweeted footage of the break:
W 97th just west of Broadway turned into a river. pic.twitter.com/TqGQiiLsfP
— Robert Barron (@BobRarron) February 2, 2021
By 8:30 a.m., subway service had been restored, but riders were told to expect delays:
1/2/3 trains have resumed normal stops in both directions after emergency teams addressed a water main break near 96 St.
Expect extensive delays in both directions as we get trains back on schedule.
Consider using A/C/D trains for alternate service on the west side of Manhattan. https://t.co/hreuw85wvx— NYCT Subway. Wear a Mask. (@NYCTSubway) February 2, 2021
Water will be restored, “ASAP,” according to the DEP spokesperson.
Update: Water was restored to all by 8:30 p.m.
Let’s talk about the city’s incompetency that goes way beyond the vaccine (which I know is far more important than a shower).
I am living on the UWS on 103 directly in front of where the massive hole is being dug to repair the water main break that happened @ around 5:30am this morning. I called 311 to get some information as to when they thought our water would be back on at about 8:00 and 311 told me they had absolutely no record of this water main break. So regardless of subway service being disrupted and the MTA being involved and many from the UWS FDNY being at the scene, 311 had NO record of this and could not even tell me who to contact. I asked for the DEP# and was told they only have billing and collection. Even my landlord called local politicians who were clueless. If this cities right hand ever spoke to the left hand we could function, but to not to communicate with tenants when there is no heat or water is pretty outrageous. Redtape sucks!
I was at the West 72nd Street subway stop this morning. I asked the clerk in the token booth if trains were stopping here going south on account of the water main break. Others were doing the same. Upon hearing this from the clerk that trains were stopping here, I entered the subway and went downstairs to the platform. I promptly heard an announcement that no trains were stopping here. I went back upstairs to ask the clerk why he was continuing to send people downstairs. No response. Thanks for nothing MTA.
There is no excuse for 311/DEP/local politicians lacking basic facts regarding a water main break that affects 200 households. For the amount of taxes that private homes, condos/co-ops and multifamily building owners are paying on this specific block, they should be entitled to a government that runs its city services effectively.
Ha, you’d think this was Sutton Place or something. How about everyone deserves timely communication in a situation like this?
I agree, and it’s not just the people on that block. So let’s elect public officials that see that the government is run more reliably and efficiently. I’m only surprised no one has thought of that before.
I am wondering if this lack of information is a common problem every time a water mains breaks? When the watermain broke at CPW & 81st street were those tenants in the same situation or did they have a place to get their information. This kind of stuff falls on deaf ears of politicians until they have no heat or can’t take a shower.
Definitely brown tap water at 109th St. this morning, likely related.
“The more forms of communication that there are, the less the chance that important communication will take place in a timely manner.”
Where is that photo from Pix11 taken? That doesn’t look like West 96th and Broadway. We live on the NW corner of 96th/Broadway and our water was not affected.