Neighbor Says 'Sinkhole' In Roadway Ignored

MAMARONECK, NY — When is a pothole more than just a pothole?

A neighbor post about the condition described the growing void in the roadway as a "sinkhole," but it is perhaps his assertion that the road hazard has gone unaddressed for months that makes this more than a run-of-the-mill pothole. This is an assertion neighbors curious about a reporter peering into a hole in the ground concurred with — though there was a consensus that the string of seemingly unending torrential rains seemed to have made the under the asphalt erosion worse in recent days.

UPDATE: ConEd Stabilizes 'Sink Hole' After Neighbor Complaints

UPDATE: Within hours of being contacted about a large pothole, described as a "sinkhole" by neighbors, Mamaroneck officials have addressed neighbors' concerns.

A metal plate now covers the hole on New Street in Mamaroneck. (Jeff Edwards/Patch)

A ConEd gas main under the hole in the road complicated efforts to make repairs. According to the Village of Mamaroneck Department of Public Works, ConEd crews placed a metal plate over the damaged roadway Tuesday night.

Technically, the hole in the roadway more closely fits the definition of a pothole than a sinkhole — though a Venn diagram might put the particular hole in the asphalt in a space with shades of both pothole and sinkhole.

"A sinkhole is a closed natural depression in the ground surface caused by removal of material below the ground and either collapse or gradual subsidence of the surface into the resulting void," according to the US Geological Survey. "A pothole is usually a fairly small feature caused by failure of paving materials, usually associated with roads, parking lots, and airports."

But were city officials aware of the existence of this not quite a pothole/not quite a sinkhole?

Although it seems like a traffic obstacle of this size is something road crews would want to address right away, the village could hardly be blamed for ignoring a problem they didn't even know existed.

None of the neighbors Patch spoke with could recall anyone having actually called the village about the potentially dangerous roadway hazard.

"When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." - Friedrich Nietzche (Jeff Edwards/Patch)

Pothole tales are like fish stories — people tend to exaggerate, so it was no surprise that the affable woman who answered the phone at the Village of Mamaroneck Department of Public Works was dubious of the description of this chasm in the road not being like any ordinary pothole. Still, she promised to enter a report about the pothole.

She could not confirm whether or not collapsing asphalt had previously been reported to the village, though she did indicate that the presence of an orange traffic cone would seem to indicate that someone in the department was aware of the pitfall in the roadway.

Pothole or sinkhole? (Jeff Edwards/Patch)

Messages to Village Manager Jerry Barberio were not immediately returned on Tuesday. So far, the village has not indicated when the very small sinkhole or very large pothole might be addressed.