Remember Monday's Brooklyn Heights electrical fire, with the gas leaks and the exploding manhole covers and the power outage and the subway shutdowns and the evacuations? We reported that it was caused by a contractor working for National Grid, who hit an underground MTA electrical line while installing gas service to a home on Willow Place. It turns out the contractor did everything he was supposed to do, including making the required "call before you dig" query, which every contractor must do before ripping into city streets. So what's to stop this from happening again?
That's what City Councilmember Stephen Levin wants to know! In a statement, he worries, "I am relieved that no local residents were hurt but remain very concerned that this explosion, which could have seriously injured residents, even occurred." The explosions crumpled parts of the cobblestone streets, and Kaki Burns, a 25-year old actress who was staying with a friend on Joralemon Street, tells the Times she smelled gas and then heard what sounded like a bomb: "The cat jumps up. I fall down. The whole building shakes." An investigation is underway, but in the meantime wear a helmet and be on the lookout for exploding manhole covers.
