16 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 25, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Attorney General launches probe into Court Square fl ash fl ood incident
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Attorney General Letitia James
announced that her offi ce is launching
an inquiry in response to an incident at
the Court Square subway station in Long
Island City Wednesday night when a freak
fl ood knocked a straphanger down and
swept him toward an oncoming E train.
In response to a letter from state Senator
Michael Gianaris, James is demanding
that New Line Structures and Civetta
Construction, the companies responsible
for recent construction work at the station,
produce relevant documents, including
contracts, and that all documents
related to work on this station be preserved.
“Th is is an incredibly dangerous situation
that easily could have resulted in the
loss of a life, and we need answers,” James
said Friday. “Th ese companies are hired
to improve conditions without jeopardizing
public safety. Yet, I am deeply concerned
that instead they may have created
a treacherous environment for New
Yorkers in this incident. My offi ce is looking
into the companies responsible for
this work because such dangerous conditions
are unacceptable.”
In a video that went viral, viewers can
see an individual, who forced off of his
feet by a forceful stream of water gushing
across the platform, just as a train was
arriving into the station. Th e individual
almost collides with an oncoming train
because of the force of the water stream.
Th e water stream can be seen emanating
from an area of the platform that is under
construction and being managed by New
Line Structures and Civetta Construction,
according to the AG’s offi ce.
“As the MTA struggles to deliver on its
mission for New Yorkers, this is another
horrible incident that reveals the dangers
subway riders face just for trying to
move around our city,” Gianaris said. “In
this case, people were nearly killed due
to the negligence of a private corporation
which must be held to account. In situations
like this, too much deference is typically
aff orded to faceless corporate entities
to the detriment of the public and I
thank Attorney General James for looking
into this deplorable episode, holding
these contractors accountable, and seeking
whatever remedies are available for
the serious damages caused.”
QNS reached out to New Line Structures
and Civetta Construction and is awaiting
their response. Meanwhile, the MTA is
welcoming the Attorney General’s inquiry.
“Th is irresponsible action by the developer
and contractor was unacceptable and
avoidable and put lives at risk, we are outraged
by it, and those responsible must be
held accountable,” MTA Chairman and
CEO Patrick Foye said. “Th e developer
Screenshot of video via Twitter/@SubwayCreatures
and contractor have agreed, at the MTA’s
insistence, to numerous measures at their
expense to prevent this in the future, and
we are adding additional oversight at their
expense to their work abutting our station.
I very much welcome this inquiry by
Attorney General James which will help
ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Flash fl ood at Court Square station in LIC that nearly sent man onto tracks
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A straphanger recorded a freak fl ood at
the Court Square-23rd Street station’s E
train platform during Wednesday night’s
thunderstorm outbreak that nearly sent a
fellow commuter hurtling into an oncoming
train.
Th e rush of water burst on July 17
through a construction wall, knocking a
man to the ground and nearly washing
him onto the tracks as a train was pulling
up to the platform.
Posted to Twitter by Subway Creatures
at 8 a.m. on Th ursday, the video amassed
over 13,000 views in just a few hours.
According to the moderator of the Twitter
account, the person who submitted the
video wished to remain anonymous.
Based on the fl ash fl ood advisories
issued Wednesday night, torrential rains
may have caused the incident.
In a statement to QNS on Th ursday
aft ernoon, the MTA pinned the blame
for the deluge solely on an area contractor
“working on a residential development
project.”
“We have already begun taking steps
to make sure the developer and contractor
are held accountable and this doesn’t
happen again,” an MTA spokesperson
said. “We have no reported injuries and
no service impact from this incident as
our trackbed drainage system was able to
remove all of this unexpected water, but
we regret that our customers were inconvenienced
and put at risk by this contractor’s
shocking lapse in best safety practices.”
Th e MTA claims that “a private developer
building a residential tower adjacent
to the subway station – as well as a new
entrance and elevator for the station –
allowed their construction site to become
inundated with water aft er their contractor
relocated utilities and did not have the
proper pumping system in place to act as
a temporary drainage system.”
As a result, the work area became
inundated with water during last night’s
thunderstorms, and the water eventually
breached the plywood which separated
the worksite from the station platform.
MTA personnel responded to the
breach and determined that the “platform
water condition had already cleared.”
Nevertheless, they blocked off the platform
temporarily as a precaution.
“Transit offi cials met with the contractor
and secured numerous measures to
address this immediately: the contractor
agreed to restore proper pumping to
the worksite, agreed to build additional
protections around its worksite including
a dam and a new wall and waterproofing,
and agreed to have more personnel
on site during major storm events,” the
MTA spokesperson added. “NYC Transit
will also have additional personnel on
site to monitor this project during storm
events.”
Th is story was updated on July 18 at 2
p.m.
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