20-foot sinkhole opens up in the middle of Upper East Side street, just days after another sinkhole nearly SWALLOWED two cars in third ground collapse since last week
A massive 20-foot sinkhole opened up in the middle of an Upper East Side street on Thursday, just days after a sinkhole nearly devoured two cars on the city's West Side.
Thursday's ground collapse, which occurred just before 9am at East 89th Street and York Avenue, is about 15 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep, according to the NYC Emergency Management agency.
Cities nationwide remain on heightened alert of infrastructure issues following the deadly building collapse on June 24 in Surfside, Florida. At least 94 people were confirmed dead at the building as of Monday.
No injuries or evacuations were reported on the Upper East Side, according to Citizen.
The Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation and Emergency Management agency responded. Con Edison was notified to inspect infrastructure at the sinkhole site.
The DOT is responsible for overseeing the city's 6,300 miles of streets, with the department currently resurfacing the pavement throughout the five boroughs.
While the exact cause of Thursday and Sunday's sinkholes has yet to be revealed, they typically occur when a water main or sewer collapsed due to old pipes giving way. They can also form when water-drainage patterns change, the US Geological Survey reports.
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A massive 20-foot sinkhole opened up in the middle of an Upper East Side street on Thursday at East 89th Street and York Ave
The New York Times reports that much of the city's underground infrastructure has become outdated and brittle, with the average age of water mains being 66-years old.
Last Thursday, a smaller sinkhole opened up in Riverside Park near West 103rd Street.
A passerby tweeted that water was pouring into it during a rainstorm earlier that day. 'Dog walking neighbor saying water was flying into it during Thursday's torrent,' wrote @iragersh in a caption to his photo of last Thursday's sinkhole.
'Will assume anywhere on that lawn could go at any time. Expect a lot of police tape in near future.'
It forced the MTA to reroute the M5 bus away from the area after cars fell partially into the hole, according to the New York Post.
Then on Sunday, two cars were partially swallowed by a third sinkhole on Riverside Drive and West 97th Street.
Two cars were partially devoured in this ground collapse on Sunday on Riverside Drive and 97th Street
'But this yet another reminder: NYC simply must invest more in upgrading our outdated infrastructure' wrote NYC Councilmember Mark D. Levine of Sunday's sinkhole
A third, smaller sinkhole occurred last Thursday on the lawn in Riverside Park, with one passerby saying water was pouring into it during a rainstorm that day
'But this is yet another reminder: NYC simply must invest more in upgrading our outdated infrastructure', Councilmember Mark D. Levine tweeted following Sunday's sinkhole.
Levine, who represents the Upper West Side where the sinkhole opened up occurred, snapped a pic of the scene while noting that the city must invest more money in updating outdated streets.
'Emergency crews are on scene. No injuries thankfully,' Levine captioned the tweet.
Levine's comment comes just three days after the Surfside, Florida building collapse death toll rose to 94, with the remains of the youngest victims, aged 5, 6 and 9 being found in building's rubble on Monday.