A water-main break yesterday on the Upper West Side sent water splashing along a stretch of Broadway during the morning rush hour.
The 12-inch main ruptured at around 6:30 a.m. at Broadway and 112th Street, forcing the temporary closing of southbound Broadway traffic from 116th Street to 112th Street and a fiveminute suspension of service on the 1 and 9 subway lines.
“Nobody lost water service,” said Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ian Michaels.
Gabriel Cartagenn, a building superintendent, said his building at 2875 Broadway had about 6 inches of water in its basement.
“It’s a crazy Monday morning, let me tell you that,” he said.
Wassim Malaeb, 36, owner of Samad’s Gourmet Shop at 2867 Broadway, which sells a lot of soup and coffee, said, “Our water is coming out very muddy,” and that he expected to lose “about 60 percent” of his business yesterday.
Michaels, however, assured that “the brown water is safe to drink.”
“It’s not pleasant, but it won’t make you sick,” he said.
Michaels said it is sediment that “usually sits at the bottom of the pipe, and when there’s a break, it gets kicked up.” It typically settles back down within 24 hours, he said.
Three bus lines – the M4, M104 and M60 – southbound along Broadway will continue making detours onto Riverside Drive until tomorrow, roughly between 116th and 110th streets.