N E W S
A U G U S T 8
Whitestone resident calling for DOT and DEP
to permanently fi x huge recurring sinkhole
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
When Whitestone resident Joe
AngenBroich opens his front door
every morning, the first thing he sees
is a huge sinkhole on the street, that has
been a recurring problem for the past
10 years or so on the block, he says.
The sinkhole, located at the corner
of 17th Road and Murray Street, is
formed every year during the summer,
and AngenBroich says it’s time for the
caved-in hole to be permanently fixed.
This past Thursday, the sinkhole was
filled by a private company that was
working down the block, AngenBroich
said.
“The other day, a woman hit it and
she blew out her tire and her front
bumper fell off,” AngenBroich said. “I
had a cone on the side of it and by the
time I got home at 3 o’clock, more of
it caved in so the cone was now inside
the hole. Every single summer, they
continuously dealt with every year,
come, they patch it, people run over
due to the possibility of a water leak
it. It sinks back in, they come again
beneath the sinkhole.
and fill it. It’s good for the winter, then
“Sad that after a year the problem
summer comes and the hole opens
continues and it apparently is a
back again because of the asphalt and
borough-wide problem. Do we have
heat.”
to wait for an accident? Or worse?”
AngenBroich posted a video of the
Centola said.
sinkhole on the We Love Whitestone
Other residents are calling out
Facebook group page, where residents
the Department of Environmental
agreed, saying, “It’s time for the repairs
Protection (DEP), who they say surveyed
to be done the right way.”
the area last year for a water
Alfredo Centola, president of the We
Love Whitestone Civic Association,
said it’s the same issue residents have
leak in the sewer. So far, they haven’t
heard back from DEP about the results
of the test.
8 LEHAVRE COURIER | AUGUST 2019 | WWW.QNS.COM
In a statement to QNS, a DEP spokesman
said, “Crews made a temporary
repair to the roadway this afternoon to
ensure the area is safe and engineers
are reviewing the findings of their
investigation and will formulate a plan
for a permanent repair.”
According to AngenBroich, they
have also filed complaints every year
about the size and depth of the sinkhole
to the Department of Transportation
(DOT).
“We call to file a complaint because
DOT wants to hear what our complaint
numbers are, but when we complain
about the size of the hole they automatically
forward us to 911, then it
becomes an issue,” AngenBroich said.
“This year, I’ve called at least four
times, my parents have called maybe
five to six times.”
A crew arrived at the site Tuesday
afternoon to fill the sinkhole. (Courtesy
of AngenBroich)
AngenBroich has been in touch with
Councilman Paul Vallone’s office
about the issue and was recently told
that they’re communicating with DOT
and DEP to have the sinkhole fixed the
correct way, he said.
“I won’t really believe them because
I’ve been arguing this every year,”
AngenBroich said. “If that hole isn’t
fixed you can literally get hurt bad. I
can guarantee by the end of next week
that hole will start caving in again.
Throughout the years, people haven’t
gotten hurt but their tires have been
blown.”
A spokeswoman from Vallone’s
office told QNS that “after being alerted
to the street condition at Murray
Street and 17th Road, Councilman
Vallone asked the DEP to expedite
needed repairs at the location.”
“On Monday, DEP confirmed
a work order to repair the sewer
was submitted to DEP Emergency
Construction. Our office will continue
to monitor the issue to see that
the appropriate repairs are made,” the
spokeswoman said.
AngenBroich said he hopes that
everything gets fixed the right way.
“I feel like this is my responsibility
because I’m the closest one to it. I just
hope that they finally realize what the
problem is and fix it the correct way,
so we don’t have to deal with this anymore,”
Angenbroich said.
L E H A V R E
The caved in sinkhole at at the corner of 17th Road and Murray Street. Courtesy of Joe
Angenbroich
(Courtesy of AngenBroich)
A crew arrived at the site Tuesday afternoon
to fill the sinkhole. (Courtesy of
AngenBroich)
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