Kingsbridge water main break floods streets and halts construction after pipe strike

A water main break floods both construction sites at 160 Van Cortlandt Park South.

GARY JEAN-JUSTE photo

Emergency crews had all hands on deck after a water main break June 25 unleashed muddy, murky water into the streets of Kingsbridge.

The incident unfolded at 160 Van Cortlandt Park South, where construction is underway on adjacent lots for a New York City charter school and an eight-story apartment building. According to city officials, Metropolitan Water and Sewer, a private subcontractor working on the latter project, struck a 24-inch distribution main during excavation, triggering the cascade.

Just a block downhill from the break, the Riverdale Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership on the corner of West 240th Street and Broadway was one of the first to feel the impact.

“Water just started coming through the door,” salesman Derek Bennet said. 

With numerous vehicles parked on the showroom floor and more stored below ground, employees scrambled to defend the dealership. They lugged and stacked salt bags — generally reserved for icy weather — against doorways to curb the flow, an effort that proved successful.

New York Fire Department officials said the first 911 call came in at 10:34 a.m. Within the next hour, numerous people took to the Riverdale NYC Facebook group to inquire about changes in their home’s water pressure. 

“Low pressure on Greystone Ave.,” read one comment at 12:18 p.m.  “Very rusty water, low pressure at [Henry Hudson Parkway] and West 239th,” said another a minute later. 

According to a post by FDNY officials on X, crews quickly responded to the water main break and moved to evacuate the flooded construction zone and neighboring buildings, where water was spilling into basements.

“They were digging, and so it’s hard to tell exactly where the lines are running,” a firefighter told The Press. “And then, once the flooding started, it just escalated. The street got flooded quickly, and we couldn’t find where the water main shut off.”

Among the many city agencies that responded to the break was the Department of Environmental Protection, an official for which said it was able to “isolate” the break, shutting off water to that section and rerouting it. 

The Department of Buildings was also at the scene. Officials told The Press buildings personnel were called to 171 West 239th St., the site of the residential structure, to conduct a structural stability inspection on a 300-foot crane parked in the middle of the work zone.

At the time, the water main had been shut off and work crews were installing a pump to clear the flooding.

“They’re talking about the crane being unstable,” one firefighter said, while blocking off a strip of West 239th Street with yellow tape. “The water has submerged the base — the crane might be losing its stability. I don’t know what direction it’ll fall in.”

Ultimately, the Department of Buildings determined the tower crane’s foundation was sound. As a precaution, a cease-use order for the machinery was issued until the flooding could be cleared, along with a partial stop-work order for all operations except dewatering.

Both have since been lifted.

“The water pressure was really, really low and then it completely shut off,” Tommy Cee, who lives across from the construction site at 3816 Review St., said. “It came back at like 9 or 10 [p.m.], but it was dirty and brown. It finally cleared up to where I was comfortable to use it at like 4 [p.m.] the next day.”

In a written statement, the developer of the apartment building where the main broke, Trishman Speyer, expressed regret for the disruption.

“As public safety is our highest priority, we immediately alerted all relevant New York City agencies and were in constant contact with our elected officials and Community Board 8 as we worked to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” Speyer said. “We are committed to preserving the safety and quality of life of the communities we serve, and we apologize for the inconvenience this situation caused local residents.”

The School Construction Authority, which oversees the charter school project, did not respond to requests for comment at press time.

The Press returned to 160 Van Cortlandt Park South on June 27, two days after the main break, and observed construction crews pumping streams of water from the work site onto the street, which flowed into the sewer.

According to Speyer, construction activities resumed June 30 following a final inspection by the department of buildings.