By Hannah Reale
A water main broke on Central Park West early on Tuesday morning, flooding the basements of 271 and 275 Central Park West between 87th and 88th Streets. The break, the cause of which is unknown, also disrupted the MTA’s construction on the same avenue.
Both 271 and 275 CPW had reduced or no electricity because of the break, said Con Edison Public Affairs Manager Allan Drury. The New York Fire Department (NYFD) turned off power to 271 after the basement flooding.
Other buildings also experienced disruptions. “As of 5 p.m. today our building (87th and Columbus, a block away) is also without water,” wrote Christine. “I tried calling DEP which directs you to 311 who tries to direct it to HPD (incorrect) and then finally takes the info for DEP.” (Update: Christine’s water came back later Tuesday night.)
The elevator at 275 CPW was still not functioning as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday. There are several seniors in that building who can’t get up and down the stairs, one resident told West Side Rag. She added that grocery delivery services are also unable to deliver food to residents, as they would have to carry the items up many flights of stairs.
The resident also said that the company that runs the building’s storage units told her to remove her items from the basement, but that she doesn’t have access to the basement and would have no other place to store her belongings.
Both basements were being pumped on Tuesday afternoon, but it is not known when the water will be fully drained. Drury said that the timeline of the restoration of 275’s elevator relies on the extent of the damage to its operating equipment, which is in the basement.
When the MTA delays the reopening of the subway at 86th street for another 6 months they will point to this one incident as an excuse…
So Agree
275 CPW is a giant falling down pile. They’re better off tearing it down and rebuilding. We have had years and years of construction work. The facade is crumbling. The boiler is a disaster. The new windows are a problem. On and on. Now the water main. No wonder everyone is moving out. Maybe it is the curse of all those rent- stabilized tenants who were forced out.
A water main broke, flooding the basements of 271 and 275. The city’s solution included opening the hydrants on 87th St. and 89th St. for hours (supposedly to allow residents to fill up buckets to haul up the stairs?) so that even more water could accumulate.