LIC Main Break Leaves Hundreds Without Water In Queensbridge

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Hundred of people went hours without running water Tuesday morning after a main broke overnight near the NYCHA Queensbridge Houses, according to officials.

The main broke early Tuesday near Vernon Boulevard and 41st Road, flooding nearby streets including Vernon and Queens Plaza South, according to photos and reports.

About 450 households in the public housing complex no running water until Tuesday afternoon, when repairs were completed, according to a spokesperson from the city's Department of Environmental Protection.

Several water mains had shut down hours earlier in order to stop the leak, and were set to be restarted one by one once DEP identified the source, spokesperson Ted Timbers said.

To mitigate the effects, DEP set up "water-on-the-go" filling stations around the roughly 7,000-resident Queensbridge complex, including one on 10th Street and 41st Avenue.

"Priority, as always, is to locate the source of the leak and make the necessary repairs in order to restore water service as quickly as is possible," Timbers said in an email.

While the flooding receded by daybreak, a "thick coating of mud" had been left on Vernon Boulevard — where a similar water main break flooded the same streets in January 2021, according to ABC7.

Anyone whose property was damaged by Tuesday's flood should contact the city Comptroller's office and their own insurance carriers to file claims, Timbers said.