The day after a giant chunk of street collapsed in Bay Ridge, crews were still on the scene, setting up barricades, making repairs and trying to determine what caused the pavement to suddenly crater.
The collapse, around 6 p.m. Wednesday, created a nearly 15-by-20-foot hole near 79th Street and Fifth Avenue. The street sunk around a sewer line that dates back to 1900.
"There's fairly clear evidence that we have a defect in the pipe," said James Roberts of the city DEP. "I don't know what the nature of the defect is, and we won't know until we're able to dig."
Officials said repairs could last into the weekend.
As the buckled concrete spread across the block Wednesday night, neighbors were sent scrambling.
"I heard the fire engine and I got up to look out the window, and, 'Oh, my God, there's a hole in the street!'"said Christine Hansen.
Cars parked around the sinkhole also had to be moved as they started tipping into the opening. One woman who had parked her car on 79th Street witnessed it dangling over the hole just five minutes later.
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"If that had happened while we were in the car, it could really have been bad," said Maddie Flood of Bay Ridge. "Anyone passing could have fallen into the hole."
This is the second time this summer a sinkhole has opened up in Bay Ridge.
No one was hurt.
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