Sinkhole Forms Behind Rubin Hall; Laurel Hill Terrace Flooded

At approximately 6:20 p.m. on Monday, a sinkhole appeared on Laurel Hill Terrace, behind Rubin Hall and Furman Dining Hall. A broken pipe caused water to flood the area. Members of the NYPD and FDNY were on the scene, closing the area with police tape. No injuries were reported.

The sinkhole started to appear days ago by the sidewalk, and the area was cordoned off, according to Randy Apfelbaum, chief facilities and administrative officer at YU. The city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the department responsible for water maintenance in New York City, was notified. The situation escalated when the broken pipe caused the road to collapse. The DEP and FDNY responded, closing off the area from vehicular traffic.

“There is no impact to the YU buildings and other than avoiding walking in the areas that are barricaded, there is no danger to any students or the public,” Apfelbaum told The Commentator. “All YU buildings have water and power as of this morning. The university Operations Department is monitoring the situation and will alert the campus if there is any change. The water infrastructure in NYC and in particular in Washington Heights is old and such an occurrence is rare but not unheard of. However, there is no reason to assume that any other water mains in the vicinity will fail as a result of this situation.”

“The street appeared to be caving in more and more, and a parked car was getting closer to the hole. It was frightening to watch the owner slowly get in and back it away to safety,” Yosef Koenigsberg (YUHSB ‘25) told The Commentator.

“A massive hole appeared in the ground, and there was a never-ending stream of water shooting out from the ground as all the pressure started to tear up the street with cracks. [The NYPD and FDNY] showed up around 15 minutes after the hole appeared, they took a look at it, and then called in help from experts,” Ilan Lindenberg (SSSB ‘27), who witnessed the sinkhole shortly after its formation, reported to The Commentator. “I assume that they were aiming to turn the water off because of the cracks forming in the street.” 

 “I went outside, and it was raining a bit, and right away, you could see the yellow tape blocking off the street, and a humongous hole in the middle of the street next to the sidewalk right behind YU,” JJ Grayson (SSSB ‘27) told The Commentator. “I walked around to the side of it to see another angle, and I saw how much damage really happened; part of the sidewalk was cracked, and a huge chunk of the street was just missing. There was a burst pipe, and water was gushing out of it like a waterfall.”

According to security guards on the scene, a similar collapse had taken place on the street several years ago. This is not the first security incident to take place this semester, with scaffolding surrounding Furst Hall collapsing just several weeks ago.

Photo Caption: The sinkhole on Laurel Hill Terrace 

Photo Credit: Yosef Koenigsberg