Damaged Sidewalks Still An Issue After Irene

Hurricane Irene may not have been the Storm-To-End-All-Storms as promised, but it did cause a bit of a tree massacre throughout the neighborhood. Dozens of trees were felled, and some blocked streets for days. One month later, those trees are all cleaned up – except the damage that they caused to sidewalks isn’t.

Super-reader Randy Contello sent in the above photo, and an explanation:

The sidewalk on the south side of Avenue T, between East 17th and 18th Streets, has been broken and raised up since the hurricane. Now over a month later, it remains un-repaired, with no tape to stop people from walking over it. The concrete at the highest point is almost two-and-a-half feet above normal sidewalk height.

When walking on the block closer to East 18th Street, it will shift under the weight. This is a serious safety hazard for all people, especially the young and elderly. The photos that are on the site from after the hurricane show that it was been in the same shape for weeks.

Further more, the utility pole at this location also remains in a broken and unsafe, yet somewhat rigged fashion to keep it up, as it was at a 40 degree angle, hovering over Avenue T, after the storm.

I know I’ve seen other spots in similar condition since Irene. If you know of a sidewalk damaged by a tree falling during Hurricane Irene, and it hasn’t been fixed yet, let us know in the comments.