Let The Digging Begin To Replace Something Important That Our DPW Superintendent Was Apparently Completely Unaware Of Until Recently

During the DPW portion of this month's informal council meeting, Robert Perry, via Zoom of course, informed the council and the public that Colarusso and Sons had won the bid for the "Union Street sewer replacement project."  He then went on to say this about the large project:  "This project should get moving pretty quickly, probably sometime in July and hopefully we should be done about September or October.  This is the new sewer main on Union Street to eliminate the storm backups that take place in a couple of houses in the middle of the block."  Colarusso was granted the project with a bid of close to $800,000.  July through October is a duration of 3-4 months.

In typical Robert Perry fashion, he omitted a few important details about the project that council members and the public would likely have found useful.  No council members, not even those representing the first ward, asked any questions of Mr. Perry at the meeting, not even one of the following:   Do you know how much of Union Street is going to be dug up and blocked to traffic? If so, for how long will the street be closed and where will you be diverting traffic to?  Is Cherry Alley going to be dug up and closed to traffic as well?  Are there any other streets needing excavation that will be shut to traffic that you failed to mention, Mr. Perry?  How long might those streets be off limits to traffic?  Weeks, months?  Will the sidewalks along Union and elsewhere be accessible?  Will this project affect access to the post office?  Will it affect parking anywhere?  Will it affect any private property?  How many DPW employees will be involved in this project, if any, and for how long?  Why should anyone have to ask you these questions, Mr. Perry?  

Cherry Alley looking east

From the looks of the street markings for the project which recently appeared, Colarusso is going to have their hands full and there will most definitely be street closures.  The entire width of Cherry Alley from Warren to behind Finch will be excavated, as will Union Street from just east of 5th Street to East Court Street and East Court from Partition to Union.  As I understand things, some of this ancient sewer runs between Cherry Alley and Union Street underneath at least one Union Street property.

East Court Street is slated for excavation.
I'm thinking that the ancient sewer Mr. Perry was
surprised by lies right beneath this manhole cover.

The $800,000 going Colarusso's way is likely not the full picture of this project's cost to the city.  DPW will be assisting Colarusso, even if it is just doing traffic flagging, though I imagine DPW employees will be more deeply involved.  While DPW is assisting in replacing a Civil War-era stone sewer that Mr. Perry was not aware of until recently thanks to complaints of basement flooding, they will not be out handling other basic DPW tasks or taking on other needed projects (how about the mess that is South 3rd Street!).

Looking west on Union from 5th Street

ACS stands for A. Colarusso & Sons

If I could ask just three questions of Mr. Perry about this project, they would be the following:  How on earth is it possible that you, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works, were completely unaware that a problematic sewer underneath Union Street was built nearly one hundred and fifty years ago?  Isn't the sewer accessible through sewer manhole covers and storm drains?  Is it possible that there are other accessible or inaccessible ancient stone sewers in the city that you are not aware of, Mr. Perry?

This project comes at the behest of the NY State DEC.  It is entirely possible that Robert Perry has for years been well aware that a Civil War-era stone sewer was underneath and near Union Street but that he just figured he would leave it alone until it became a problem.  Then the calls came in from Union Street:  "Why is my basement flooding regularly with sewer water and when are you going to do something about it?" 

What we have at Robert Perry's DPW is a lot of reacting and very little planning or preventive maintenance.  Act and pay now or react and pay more later.