The city dealt it, and Brighton Beach smelt it!
A city water pipe burst underground at E. 14th Street and Neptune Avenue on Jan 5., creating a gas-spewing sinkhole in the pavement that took hours to seal.
The Fire Department reported getting a call about a gas odor in the area at 12:23 pm — and arrived to find a gaping, reeking pit in the asphalt. The smoke-eaters phoned National Grid, which descended on the scene with city employees. The workers closed off the street and shut off water and gas service. They then excavated the mains and found the 73-year-old water pipe had broken, unleashing a stream of water that ate away at the soil and caused the street to cave in. It is not yet clear what exactly ruptured the gas main.
The workers plugged the leaks, and restored water service to the area by 4:30 am on Jan. 6. National Grid said it was still working to return natural gas service — used exclusively for cooking, not heating — to several nearby buildings as of 6:30 pm on Monday.
