Residents and businesses on Franklin and Calyer in Greenpoint have already been having a tough week with sporadic water shutoffs by the city due to construction. And to add insult to injury, this morning around 3am a water main burst on Calyer Street between Franklin and West, causing a gaping hole in the middle of the street.
The incident was an obvious emergency, but residents and business owners are distressed that the previous water shutoffs over the last week were served with less than a 24-hour notice.
Calyer Street resident Sidney Blank reports, “We’ve had shutdowns all week and always find out just the night before whether we’ll have another one the next day.”
According to a 2014 city council bill, the city is meant to provide a 72-hour advance notice of water shutoffs to NYC neighborhoods, but apparently the mandate is being followed as more of a guideline than a hard rule across the borough.
Josh Cohen, owner of Jimmy’s Diner at 92 Calyer Street says, “They repeatedly turn off the water at Jimmy’s with less than 24 hours notice, and do it totally random. This affects me personally much less than the kitchen and waiters who work very hard; and some live paycheck to paycheck.”
I live over on Kent St, and I couldn’t understand why my water was off the other day at about 3 am, and fine the next morning. No warning. Wondering if this has anything to do with the constant sidewalk construction.