A busted water main on Webster Avenue in Bedford Park sent water rushing into the street, halting traffic, stranding a driver and leaving residents without water from Monday evening into Tuesday morning, according to officials.
The heavy flooding rose to hip height in some places as emergency responders helped one driver to safety from a flooded vehicle. Water filled nearby buildings, destroying clothes, electronics, food and furniture. There have been no reported injuries.
The 48-inch water main burst around 7:30 p.m. Monday evening near Webster Avenue and Mosholu Parkway. High pressure water flooded the street, prompting emergency responders to evacuate first floor and basement level apartments in the affected area.
Jessica Acea wasn’t in her ground level apartment when the water main burst, but her children and her pets were. She said that her neighbor and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) saved them.
”Firemen came because I was screaming at them,” said Acea. “They came and really rescued them, opened the door, broke it, everything.”
Once the water was shut off and the deluge subsided, residents and city officials began to assess the damage and start cleaning up. The Webster Avenue block from Bedford Park Boulevard to Mosholu Parkway was caked in mud Tuesday morning as a multi-agency clean-up effort was underway. The cause of the busted water main, which dated back to 1890, is still under investigation, according to officials.
Cleanup crews cut the gas and electricity to some buildings while they pumped water out of destroyed apartments and shuttered businesses. New York Department of sanitation crews shoveled mud from sidewalks and roadways.
Affected residents should go to the City Comptroller’s website to file a claim about property loss.
