Midtown manhole explosion leaves firefighter,
EMS, and Con Edison personnel injured
FDNY offi cials erected a mobile command
center while Con Edison employees
worked on several manholes. The street
was completely cut off from traffi c as
NYPD and FDNY offi cials maintained a
vigilant watch over the proceedings as the
morning wore on to ensure another explosion
would not take place.
Still, this didn’t soothe the minds of
those who heard the eruption with their
own ears.
Henry Smith, 17, and his mother were
jolted awake by a resounding boom. They
reside on the 10th fl oor of an apartment
just overlooking the street where the explosion
occurred.
“It was really smoky,” Smith said, describing
the experience as akin to waking
up in a war zone. After a few minutes, he
left his apartment building and could smell
a strong gas odor. Smith shared that the fi re
department warned that his building might
have to be evacuated.
Con Edison believes that these manhole
fi res are most likely related to the infl ux of
snowstorms New York has been experiencing
over the past few weeks. A representative
shared that when the melting snow
and ice mix with road salt, it gets into the
manholes.
20-year-old man
fights for life
after being shot
in head on Upper
West Side: NYPD
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
A 20-year-old man is clinging to life
after being shot in the head on the
Upper West Side on Sunday night,
police reported.
The incident happened at about 11:41
p.m. on Feb. 28 at the corner of Columbus
Avenue and West 104th Street.
Offi cers from the 24th Precinct, in
responding to a 911 call about a reported
shooting there, found the victim with a
gunshot wound to his head.
Paramedics rushed him to Mount Sinai
St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was listed in
critical condition.
At this point in the investigation, police
have neither determined what sparked the
shooting, nor have they obtained a description
of the suspect involved.
No arrests have been made in the ongoing
probe, cops said.
BY DEAN MOSES
A mighty manhole blast rocked Midtown
Manhattan during the early
hours of Sunday morning, injuring
three workers.
Residents along East 56th Street were
given a rude awakening by an ear-splitting
explosion on Feb. 28 following reports of
multiple manhole fi res before dawn.
According to FDNY Deputy Assistant
Chief John Sarrocco, fi refi ghters had been
on the scene since 4:30 a.m., when they
responded to smoke emitting from numerous
manholes.
“Units responded in about three or four
minutes. They got on scene and found
multiple manholes with smoke issuing from
it. We did searches throughout all of the
buildings on each side of the street, on 56th
Street between First and Second Avenue.
The situation seemed to be under control
at that point,” Sarrocco said.
FDNY, EMS, and Con Edison personnel
remained in the area for several hours.
Everything looked to be secure until about
7:40 a.m., when a massive blast injured
three fi rst responders, each from the aforementioned
emergency services. Immediate
backup support was requested at the scene.
The manhole which exploded, inuring three.
“We had multiple power outages on 56th
Street between First and Second Avenue
with rising CO levels in various buildings,”
Sarrocco said. “We escalated the incident
to have a second alarm assignment respond,
which consists of approximately
200 fi refi ghters. Those fi refi ghters had to
do extensive searches of buildings on 56th
Street between First and Second. Checking
all of the elevators because there are multiple
power outages. We also have civilians
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
that need electricity for life support systems.
Those people were being evaluated by FD
personnel. This is a long and extensive operation,
which is still going on right now.
We had 3 injuries, one to an EMS operation
personnel from the explosion, one from Con
Ed from the explosion and we also had one
fi refi ghter injured with diffi culty breathing
during the operation. Right now, things
are starting to settle down. CO levels have
dropped within the buildings.”
Levine gets endorsements on top of
financing lead in Manhattan Beep race
BY MARK HALLUM
Eelected officials from
the Bronx and Harlem
are backing Councilman
Mark Levine in his pursuit to
succeed Gale Brewer as the
next Manhattan borough
president with four months
to go before the Democratic
primary in June.
Term limited out of
his current seat covering
ofMorningside Heights,
WestHarlem,Washington
Heights, and part of theUpper
West Side, Levine is expected
to formally receive the endorsements
of Congressman Adriano
Espaillat, Councilwoman Diana
Ayala, Assemblywoman Carmen
De La Rosa and Assemblyman
Al Taylor on Monday.
“From the fi rst moment in
the pandemic, Mark Levine
responded swiftly and intelligently,
ensuring that resources
Councilman and Manhattan Borough President
candidate Mark Levine at a 2018 rally in Queens.
were being effi ciently deployed,
while raising awareness and
solutions to keep New Yorkers
safe as the crisis unraveled.
From equitable access to
COVID-19 testing, prevention
strategies, hospital capacity,
support and resources for New
Yorkers and most recently, vaccine
distribution, he has shown
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
remarkable leadership when
our community needed him
most. I am proud to endorse
him for Borough President,”
Espaillat said.
While Levine leads the other
candidates in the fi eld for Manhattan
BP in funding, other big
names in the race include Lindsey
Boylan who recently came
out against Governor Andrew
Cuomo with sexual misconduct
allegations, state Senator Brad
Hoylman, Councilman Ben
Kallos, as well as Kimberly
Watkins of Community Education
Council 3 and former
chair of Community Board 7
Elizabeth Caputo.
“As a Washington Heights,
Upper Manhattan resident, I
feel humbled and grateful for
the support of the community
that is my home. There are diffi
cult times ahead as the city
grapples with recovery and
the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, but together we
can make sure that Manhattan
and all of NYC will come back
stronger and better,” Levine
said.
Gale Brewer is currently
running for her old council
seat currently occupied by
Helen Rosenthal in the Upper
West Side.
4 March 4, 2021 Schneps Media