We need to mention that we reached out to DEP and they didn’t get back to us.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for the water main break that took place on Wednesday, April 27th outside of The University Center, yet there has been no communication from the DEP to The New School regarding the exact cause of the water main break. Aside from The New School University Center, local businesses U-Way, Cohen Eyewear, and Reminisce were also affected by the water main break.

The New York City department of Environmental Protection is responsible for fixing the 12-inch water main that caused water to flood the streets of Fifth Avenue, bleeding into Sixth Avenue. As well as lack of communication from The DEP to The New School, The New School Free Press reached out several times to The DEP and received no response.  

“The functioning and maintenance of the city’s water pipes, including the ones on Fifth Avenue, is the responsibility of the New York City Department of Environmental Health,” said Roy Moskowitz, Chief Legal Officer and Supervisor of Facilities at The New School.

According to Moskowitz, the water pipes are 100 years old.

In  2014, a similar instance occurred in the same location.  Whether these two incidents are related to each other, Moskowitz is unsure.

“As of now, we don’t have enough information to make a determination,” Moskowitz said.

The break caused three New School buildings to lose water, forcing the University Center cafeteria staff to relocate to the Lang cafe. Classes resumed but classes in The University Center lower level were temporarily moved due to water damage.

We were able to provide food services in the Lang Café and bathroom services in other buildings on campus,” Moskowitz said. “Classes took place as scheduled as to not disrupt this crucial time in the academic calendar. We hope to do everything we can to help students, but we currently don’t have any plans for compensation.”

The leak was stopped and water was restored to buildings within hours of the water main break on April 27th, and there were few lasting damages caused by the water. For a period of time after, however, water in the UC was discolored.

Moskowitz commented on the discoloration of tap water in Kerrey Hall, stating that the greywater was the result of turbidity, a result of particles in water similar to smoke in air. The level of turbidity determines the water quality, the less turbidity, the higher quality the water.

“If the water coming out of the taps is a slightly discolored grey, this is the result of turbidity,” Moskowitz said, “which is not at all uncommon during a temporary water service interruption. Now when you turn the taps on, the water should appear normal.”

Despite the disturbances the water main break caused and the lack of communication from the DEP, surrounding businesses thrived.
“People tried to escape the jack hammers and came in and saw that it was a pretty cool store,” said an employer of Reminisce. There were, however, no working toilets in the store. “The worst part of all of this is having to hold my bladder.”