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Sinkholes Stop Traffic, Devour Cars In NYC

Different sinkhole than the two referenced in story. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Bradley Devlin General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
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A sinkhole emerged on New York City streets, days after another one had partially devoured two cars.

Early Thursday morning at around 9 a.m., the asphalt covering East 89th Street and York Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side collapsed, according to Fox5 News. The result: a massive 20-foot hole that created traffic and threw a wrench in many New Yorker’s morning commutes.

Personnel from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) responded to the reported sinkhole to fill it and investigate how it happened, Fox5 News reported. Utility company employees also investigated whether the sinkhole caused any damage to utility infrastructure.

Later on Thursday, a DEP spokesperson said the investigation remained “ongoing,” and that the “Excavation is being enlarged to examine underground infrastructure in the area,” Fox5 News noted. The spokesperson also said two buildings on 89th street were without water for the time being. (RELATED: Massive Sinkhole Opens In Parking Lot, Swallowing Up Cars)

“Due to a sinkhole, expected extensive traffic delays in the area of East 89th Street and York Avenue in Manhattan,” an email alert from Notify NYC read, according to the New York Post. “Consider alternate routes and allow for additional travel time.”

No harm was reportedly done to individuals or people when the hole opened up on the Upper East Side, the New York Post reported. However, two cars did fall into a sinkhole that opened up Sunday in the Upper West Side.

After the Upper West Side sinkhole collapsed, city Councilman Mark Levine tweeted, “Two cars have partially fallen into a sinkhole on Riverside Dr. at W. 97th St. Emergency crews are on scene. No injuries thankfully. But this yet another reminder: NYC simply must invest more in upgrading our outdated infrastructure.”