Finally! Bay Ridge sinkhole fixed

October 17, 2012 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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It took more than three months to get the job done, but the infamous 92nd Street sinkhole in Bay Ridge has finally been repaired.

Earlier this month, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (D.E.P.) completed repairing an underground sewer pipe, which had caused the sinkhole to form on 92nd Street near Third Avenue back on June 28, officials said.

“We are pleased to report that D.E.P. has kept its promised timeline by repairing the 92nd Street collapse and filling in the street bed,” Community Board 10 Chairman Joanne Seminara told her members at an Oct. 15 meeting.

During a town hall meeting in July, Deputy D.E.P. Commissioner James Roberts promised residents that the sinkhole would be repaired by the end of October.

The sinkhole, which formed in front of an apartment building at 278 92nd St., was caused by a rupture in a sewer line located 70- feet below the surface, according to officials, who said the tear in the pipe caused water to escape. The water undermined the roadway, officials said.

The fact that the sewer line was 70 feet below ground complicated the repairs, Roberts said. “It’s like a mining expedition,” he told residents at the town hall.

During the repair process, residents were forced to live with parking restrictions, as space was cleared for the repair trucks and other equipment on the street. Residents at the town hall also complained of noise and dust coming from the work site.

The sinkhole was first discovered when it swallowed a tree that had been planted on the sidewalk near the curb in front of 278 92nd St., Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann said. It was only when Beckmann was at the site inspecting the sunken tree that she realized the enormity of the situation. She looked into the hole and discovered that the soil was completely gone. “I could see all the way to the foundation of Paneantico,” she said, referring to a café located across the street from the hole.

D.E.P. officials plan to return to Board 10 to update the board on final street repairs, Beckmann said. No date has been set for that meeting. The repairs will not require street excavation, she said.

The July town hall meeting, as well as a well-attended second session held a few weeks later, helped keep D.E.P. on its toes, Seminara said.

“Our summer meetings, so well attended, greatly contributed to D.E.P.’s responsiveness and our time and vigilance paid off for residents and businesses in the area,” she said.