Brooklyn Residents Face New Flooding After Hydrant Leak

BROOKLYN, NY — Water continued pouring from a manhole in Bedford-Stuyvesant less than a day after a leaking fire hydrant flooded nearby streets, leaving residents worried about ice, damaged buildings and lingering safety hazards.

The manhole sits steps away from the hydrant where New York City Department of Environmental Protection crews responded after floodwaters swept through parts of the neighborhood.

Residents said the water created pools of slush and mud across sidewalks and streets.

With temperatures expected to drop, neighbors said they fear the water could freeze and turn walkways into sheets of ice.

In a statement after the flooding, council member Chi Ossé said Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights were "hit hard” by flash flooding that turned streets into rivers.

“Videos showed neighbors swept down our streets by floodwater,” Ossé said. “People stood on benches at bus stops because the water was too high to step into.”

Ossé pointed to city investments in catch basin replacements and stormwater infrastructure projects and said Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights should receive priority in future upgrades.

“In just one hour, our pipes failed, and our streets became rivers,” Ossé said. “Infrastructure work is hard, but the hardest work is exactly what our constituents deserve.”

Patch contacted the Department of Environmental Protection, and did not receive an immediate response.