The Sinkhole Situation

It's been nearly three weeks since a portion of Frank Sinatra Drive collapsed between 13th and 14th Streets, resulting in a 50-foot sinkhole estimated to cost Hudson County $1.7 million and require several months to fix.

Although the city and the county have declared a state of emergency, engineers and city officials have said that the luxury condo buildings that line the waterfront are safe. Still, some residents say they're worried the remaining cracks in the street mean the sinkhole will expand farther, and local businesses continue to do their best to cope with the roadblock from 12th to 15th Streets.

At Lua, an upscale Latin restaurant on Frank Sinatra Drive, the evening crew was busy getting ready for the dinner rush one recent weekday night. Despite its location directly across from the sinkhole, Lua has stayed open. 

"We are still running a restaurant as if there's no hole in front of us," said Daniela Calderone, Lua's general manager.

Weekends are still busy, she said, but the weekdays have slowed, and people throwing parties at the restaurant no longer want to reserve the private room on the north end, where a bright yellow excavator outside blocks the floor-to-ceiling windows and the view of the Manhattan skyline.

However, patrons can still see the Empire State Building from the main dining room, and the restaurant has started to offer a $22 prix fixe menu on Mondays as well as Tuesdays. Lua's valet parking is also still in service, but drop-off is now on 14th Street and not in front of the restaurant.

Turning Point, a casual eatery near the corner of 14th Street and Frank Sinatra Drive, also had to make some changes. Its loading doors are currently inaccessible to delivery trucks, which makes receiving supplies difficult, said Matthew Alkon, Turning Point's managing partner.

But, Alkon said, city officials and the county police who now patrol the area have helped him adjust. "I can't really complain because they are being proactive about the situation now," said Alkon, adding that he had been assured the repairs would be made to last.

Near the 14th Street Ferry Terminal, on the pier between Lua and Turning Point, Vito's Lotsa Pasta truck is parked a few nights a week. And though the business is mobile and could easily go somewhere else, Chef Raelene Thorpe said she plans on staying. "We can move, but we don't want to move," she said. "We want to build a business here." The truck, owned by two locals, Vito Gigante and Anthony Morin, has been around for about four months. At lunchtime, the truck is usually parked on the other side of town, said Thorpe, but in the evening, it gets a lot of traffic from people coming off the uptown ferry and looking for a quick dinner.

"This is a great location," said Thorpe.

But some residents are not quite so optimistic about the situation on Frank Sinatra Drive. "I guess I don't trust anything anyone says in this town," said Mary Wright.

Others are still in shock that the road collapsed. "It's kind of scary to think that anyone of us could be walking on this street and something like that could have happened while we were there," said Shabri Mitta. She added that the sinkhole really hasn't caused much inconvenience for her and her family, except for one time when they were recently rushing to get to the ferry. "We didn't realize that this whole area was blocked," said Mitta, "so we almost missed the ferry because we had to walk around."

Another resident, John Scholz, who was walking his dog Frankie on a recent weekday afternoon, said that he appreciates the break from all the traffic along the waterfront.

"It's actually been nice over here because it's quiet," he said. "I just hope it gets fixed up in a timely manner." Hudson County has predicted it will finish construction in May. 

One Hobokenite who wished not to be named said that she's liked letting her kids play on the closed road in front of their townhouse on Frank Sinatra Drive. "They've never been allowed in the street before," she said. "This is normally a very high-traffic, dangerous area." But now, she added, her children are out having fun. "It's actually a silver lining."

But although some people are enjoying the temporary break from the norm, it will still be a while before the sinkhole—and the worries—are gone.