HOLE-Y COW! City workers yesterday remove debris from the massive crater caused by Wednesday’s catastrophic water-main break on Jerome Avenue in The Bronx. (Robert Kalfus)
The massive water-main break that created a giant crater in the middle of a Bronx street has wreaked havoc on local businesses.
Store owners said they lost tens of thousands of dollars in supplies and customers when the busted pipe sent a flood of water through their basements Wednesday and caused area streets to buckle.
Morales Hardware Center owner Richard Secor said his shop was submerged in three feet of water — and it destroyed the wood in his lumberyard.
“We’re one of the bigger hardware stores in the area, so a lot of people depend on us,” said Secor, whose family has owned the store since 1963. “The money we’ll lose in business we’ll never recoup.”
A 108-year-old cast-iron pipe ruptured near 177th Street and Jerome Avenue, unleashing a torrent of water that took three hours for emergency crews to contain. The cause is under investigation.
“It turned Jerome Avenue into a running river. I was waiting for someone to come by with a kayak,” said Secor.
Workers at M.T.D. Halal Grocery threw away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of produce and dry goods after water had spoiled its wares.
“The food is not clean,” said employee Fatoumata Barry, 34.
The timing couldn’t have been worse: The store had been stocking up for next week’s start of Ramadan, one of its busiest times of the year.
“We lost customers, we lost business, we lost product. It’s like a triple loss,” Barry said.
The rushing water also destroyed patient records, medical equipment and medicine at the Jerome Family Health Center, said Dr. Hisham Ahmed.
“This is the last place you would expect to be flooded,” he said.
Hisham spent his day redirecting patients to other clinics while worrying if the water damage will shut his medical practice for good.
“Our patients are really upset,” Hisham said.
Officials from city Comptroller John Liu’s office visited area businesses yesterday to help owners file claims for property damage. They have 90 days to submit a claim.
Damaged gas lines were still being repaired last night, leaving an estimated 1,400 residences and businesses without supply, a Con Ed spokesman said. Service should be restored by Sunday.