Some Queens residents worried about a gaping hole in their street reached out to NY1 For You for help. NY1's Susan Jhun filed the following report.
East Elmhurst building owner Mike Shehadeh was worried about a huge hole by a street drain that grew bigger by the day, and the danger it posed to his Queens neighborhood.
"As you see, this is a big hole. Anybody could fall in there, it's a safety issue," said Shehadeh. "Anybody from the people, they walk in the street, they talk in the cellular [phone], they send a text message, they could end up landing in there."
Shehadeh was also concerned for the five little kids who live in his building, right behind the hole. He said the drain had been around for three months and he had called 311 about the hazard at least a dozen times.
"They came here twice, they cleaned the manhole but they never complete the job," he said.
After Shehadeh called NY1 For You, the station called the Department of Environmental Protection and a spokesman told NY1 that the agency was aware of the problem and that the catch basin was missing a couple of pieces.
The next day the hole was fixed, much to the resident's delight. "Thank you, and you are not just NY1, you are number 1. Thank you!" said Shehadeh.
If you'd like "NY1 For You" to look into a problem, call our 24-hour helpline at 212-379-3599 or send an email to ny1foryou@ny1.com.