A hazardous condition has some Brooklyn residents asking for help from NY1 For You. Our Susan Jhun explains.
It's a slippery situation for pedestrians along this icy block in Brooklyn.
"You can walk, slip, fall," said Rickey Bejai, one local business owner. "You have to be careful."
"There’s a lot of ice and people are going to get hurt," said Carlos Ortiz, who also owns a business in the neighborhood.
Those in the neighborhood say for almost a week they noticed water seeping out from the gate of a neglected property onto Hendrix Street near Liberty Avenue.
Residents say the water froze turning the sidewalk and street into an ice rink. They say they believe cause of the leak is a burst pipe in the neglected house.
According to HPD records, the home hasn't been registered since 2011. We spoke to an elderly woman who claimed she was the owner but said there was no leak coming from her house.
Neighboring business owner Carlos Ortiz says the leak definitely comes from the house and he hasn’t seen anyone there attempt to make repairs. Ortiz says he called 311 many times to no avail.
"Nobody helps," said Ortiz. "And I’m not the only one complaining. We got a lot of people complaining.
"It slips when we walk," said neighborhood resident Karun Gahlawat. "And it gets even worse when it snows."
Other owners are concerned the leak is their affecting business. And residents say not only is it a safety hazard, but it also cuts off street parking.
"It affects parking because everybody is going to park on the other side of the road now, as opposed to parking on this side," said Bejai.
After residents contacted us, we reached out to the Department of Environmental Protection and a crew determined that although the burst pipe was private, it was causing a public safety hazard. So they shut off the water connection to the property and stopped the leak.
Now, residents are relieved the street is clear.
"Thank you very much Channel 1 to do all these favors you do to us," Ortiz said.