New York City and Con Edison officials warned people on Wednesday morning to avoid an area of Midtown East where steam was released from a pipe operated by the utility, saying environmental testing for “possible asbestos” was being conducted.
According to NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol, a pipe leaked steam around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and the issue became “progressively worse” over the early morning hours.
Con Ed workers capped the leak as of 6:45 a.m., Iscol said, and air quality testing results were expected later Wednesday.
Residents were advised to stay inside with their windows closed, and Iscol said emergency responders were providing N95 masks in the vicinity.
“We just want to let residents in the area know that we’re doing all that we can to take care of this and expedite things, but people should be staying clear of this area,” he said at a briefing near the sceneadding that some streets were cordoned off to traffic.
In addition to Con Ed and Office of Emergency Management teams, FDNY and NYPD officials were also assisting with the effort.
Con Ed said in a statement shortly before 11 a.m. that crews shut down a portion of the steam pipe in response to the leak, causing service interruptions for eight steam customers.
The utility said the affected area included East 51st Street from Second to Third avenues as well as East 52nd and 53rd streets from Second to Park avenues.
See the below posts from the NYPD for local traffic changes as of shortly after 11 a.m.: