Water Main Break Floods Ridgewood

Alison Perrini-Caballero woke up Tuesday morning, saw the floods outside her Ridgewood home, and thought of one thing the tsunamis in southeast Asia.
"There was a lot of water," said Caballero. "It was at least a foot and a half deep on the right side of the street. I just kept thinking about those poor people after the tsunami."
But residents on Seneca Avenue between Linden and Gates Avenues in Ridgewood were lucky. The flooding that left at least 41 people out in the cold was due to an early morning water main break. Basement apartments were flooded and residents were evacuated to nearby MTA buses for temporary shelter.
According to Community Board (CB) 5 officials, the break, which happened at approximately 3:30 a.m., affected homes on Seneca Avenue, leaving many residents and business owners without water.
"The homes on Seneca Avenue, those on the even side of the street, are without water," said Cathy OLeary, Community Associate. "The agencies [including the Red Cross] are there hoping to restore the water by today."
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesperson Ian Michaels told The Queens Courier, "The 12 inch piece of main that broke will be removed and examined by engineers to determine what caused it to break. The water has been shut off, and if all goes well it should be fixed by sometime this evening."
It took crews hours to stanch the flow of water, disrupting the usual morning routine of the neighborhood.
The break and ensuing clean-up left some businesses in the lurch.
"We didnt have water in the morning so we couldnt make coffee or tea," said Josefina Manzueta, a worker at Jmas Grocery and Deli on Gates Avenue. "We lost money, but not a lot."
Water was restored after about four hours.
There is no word yet as to when residents will be allowed back into their homes.
toni@queenscourier.com