Riverdale sinkhole grows to car-size before being repaired more than a month later

A sinkhole originally reported to the city’s department of environmental protection July 8 was patched up Friday, Aug. 16, more than a month later.

The hole, located at 3174 Riverdale Ave., outside a residential building, nearly tripled in size during that time. 

The hole was barricaded with reflectors, cones and yellow tape, but as it grew wider than a passenger vehicle, barricades crept into the two-lane roadway, disrupting traffic. 

The first reports of the sinkhole were found in online Facebook groups in mid-June, residents talking to their neighbors to ask for help on how to handle the hole, with many saying they filed 311 reports. The Press reached the environmental protection agency July 8 with requests for comment. According to department press secretary Robert Wolejsza, agency members would cordone off the hole to “make the area safe for the public.” 

When pictures of the same sinkhole resurfaced online in early August, with the hole now measuring nearly the size of a car, the department of environmental protection said Aug 14 the hole would be addressed the following day.

The department did not, however, respond to questions about how the sinkhole would be remedied or why the process to fill the hole had taken over a month to address. 

Mayor Eric Adams’ office did not respond to requests for comment at press time. 

On Friday, Aug. 16, emergency water contractors with American Water Resources were sent to the site of the sinkhole to make the repairs and completed them within the day. 

The city currently has a contract with American Water Resources to handle both emergency and non-emergency water related issues, including the repairs of sinkholes. The contractors are sent out for burst pipes, pipe damage from tree roots, excavating, leaks from pipe corrosion, backfilling holes and more. 

On-site contractors said the process for filling a sinkhole requires filling the hole with dirt then tamping the dirt down to compact it before eventually pouring asphalt over top to close the hole. Contractors also said the cause of the sinkhole was unclear upon filling it but, often, New York City sinkholes are caused by water-main breaks.

Sinkholes typically fall under the purview of the department of environmental protection rather than the transportation department. The city’s transportation department is responsible for the repair of road defects, like potholes, but sinkholes are typically linked to underlying causes that need to be addressed by different agencies. 

According to information published by the Fairfax County regional government in Virginia, sinkholes are often caused as water travels through loose layers of soil, creating underground voids that can cause the roadway to sink inward, collapsing on itself as the soil beneath it erodes. 

City residents are encouraged to report sinkholes, potholes and other road defects using the 311 system. 

Riverdale has an ongoing history of sinkholes.

In March, a water-main break caused a sinkhole to open on Cambridge Avenue. Before that, in January, the corner of West 231st Street and Fairfield Avenue saw its own hole. Other sinkholes have been noted and repaired on Greystone Avenue and West 242nd Street, Johnson Avenue, Independence Avenue and Edsall Avenue. 

On Aug. 13 another resident took to social media to announce a new sinkhole had been spotted, just blocks from the first one, near the intersections of West 235th Street and Riverdale Avenue. 

This new hole has also been reported to the city. Only time will determine the city’s response to a growing number of sinkholes appearing in the greater Riverdale area.