Washington Heights residents concerned over massive sinkhole they say has been growing for months
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) -- Concerned residents may finally be getting some help after complaining for months about a massive sinkhole in Washington Heights, big enough to swallow a car.
On a quiet, tree-lined residential street, where mothers take their babies for a stroll, and four-legged pets have no reason to worry, a massive sink hole looks like it's about to swallow up Bennett Avenue, and it's been there for a while.
It has brought traffic to a standstill, and sometimes, it can be quite noisy.
"All the noise. They must have messed up a bunch of cars," said resident Debbie Checo.
"We hear cars crashing into it every time. People have lost parts of their cars," said a resident named Rachael.
Residents are nervous and say the sinkhole has been growing for about a year.
"People park all the time on top of it. It's incredibly silly," said a resident named Minda.
Residents say in the beginning, it was harmless. Over time, the hole has grown to almost the entire width of the street.
Residents have called 311. They have called 911. They say the Department of Transportation has been out to check the sinkhole many times. Even the UPS delivery man knows all about it.
"They came and they patched it but they didn't actually fix what was causing it," said resident Alexis Yavne.
DOT referred Eyewitness News to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Within an hour after we reached out to the DEP, a crew was dispatched to inspect the site.
A spokesperson says it will make repairs if there is infrastructure damage below the street.
"I think it gets worse every time it rains. I wonder if there's a sewer leak underneath," Rachael said.
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