TriBeCa Water Main Break Floods Streets, Buildings

TriBeCa Water Main Break Floods Streets, Buildings

SUZANNE MA | 08/ 7/09 08:38 AM | AP


NEW YORK — An aging water main burst in Lower Manhattan early Friday, flooding about 15 buildings, causing evacuations and closing streets within a three block radius.

The 12-inch main broke at the intersection of West Broadway and Duane Street around 2:30 a.m. Friday. The water was up to 4 feet deep in some buildings at the height of the flood. It gushed for about three hours, and continued to trickle as workers dug up the street.

One building houses some phone company offices. Sandbags were used to protect equipment in the basement as the water was pumped out, said Deputy Fire Chief James Daly.

Most of the buildings affected are five or six stories, with apartments and small businesses.

"Everything is totally ruined," said a devastated-looking Sharon Hershkowitz, who owns a heavily affected building and its ground floor business, Balloon Saloon.

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