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Water Main Break Closes and Disrupts Church Street
A break in a 20-inch water main under Church Street flooded some adjoining basements and cut water service to residences and businesses along Church Street between Lispenard and Franklin Streets Tuesday, March 11. A large sinkhole, filled with water, occupied much of the intersection of Church and White streets. Water service was restored to the neighborhood in the early hours of March 12. The broken main drew a large response from city agencies and utility companies, as crews from the Fire Department the Police Department, the Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the MTA, Verizon and Con Edison congregated at the site. Police quickly closed off a large section of the neighborhood to both vehicles and pedestrians, including both Church Street and Sixth Avenue from Franklin Street to Walker Street. Water from the broken main flooded the sub-basement of Leo and Antoinette Pulito’s restaurant Arqua at the intersection’s southwest corner. The Pulitos raced over from their apartment before dawn, as soon as they heard the news. As the water continued to rise Leo Pulito began running multiple pumps in the basement, trying to save their extensive wine inventory.
Left without running water, the Pulitos had to close both Arqua and their other restaurant, Petrarca, located across the street. Steven Rand, director of apexart, a gallery at 291 Church Street, was to interview a prospective employee that morning, but police would not let her through to talk with him. “The cop on the corner didn’t seem to have a lot of understanding,” Rand said. In the end, he had to conduct his job interview on the street. “I stood on one side of the tape and she stood on the other.” Down the street at the bar and restaurant S.J. South & Sons, owner John Griffin was forced to close for the day, though he did let the odd regular in for a drink, “as long as they really understand they can’t use the bathroom,” he said. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen that often,” Griffin said. “Not since the blackout.”
City officials were initially worried that the floodwater from the main could be contaminated with asbestos, but that possibility was soon ruled out. The close proximity of a gas line to the broken main was cause for concern, however. Repairs continued at the intersection through the night under floodlights, as workers finally located the source of the leak and replaced the damage segment of pipe.
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