Con Edison sued over leaving Midtown ditch uncovered 3 blocks from where woman fell down utility company's open manhole earlier this month | amNewYork

A construction company sued Con Edison over an uncovered ditch at a Midtown Manhattan worksite near 5th Avenue and 55th Street. The suit alleges that unauthorized Con Edison contractors entered after hours while the construction crew worked on Midtown sewers. The contractors allegedly severed welds securing a large steel plate covering a massive sewer trench and removed the plate, leaving the trench entirely unsecured and susceptible to movement. The complaint claims the plate shifted, bounced, and slipped as vehicles crossed the road, exposing pedestrians and drivers to hazardous, life-threatening conditions. The company says no one was hurt at that specific location. Days earlier, a woman died after falling into an uncovered Con Edison manhole near 52nd Street and 5th Avenue, which Con Edison described as a rare occurrence likely caused by a truck dislodging it minutes before the fall.

"According to JLJ IV Enterprise's Manhattan Supreme Court suit, as its construction crew worked to fix Midtown sewers, unauthorized contractors for Con Edison entered the worksite after hours and removed a large steel plate that had been covering a massive sewer trench near the intersection of 5th Avenue and 55th Street. The suit alleges that Con Edison intentionally chose to enter the secured site without permission, sever the welds securing the steel plate to the trench, remove the plate, and leave it entirely unsecured and dangerously susceptible to movement."

"JLJ argues that the decision was improper, careless, and reckless, as it put the public at risk at a busy Midtown intersection. [Con Edison's] wholesale failure to secure the steel plate intended to cover the trench, in any manner whatsoever, let alone in the manner required, caused the plate to shift, bounce, and slip, as vehicular traffic traversed across the [road], says the suit, filed last Friday, adding that it exposed pedestrians and drivers to hazardous and life-threatening roadway conditions."

"No one was hurt at the 5th Avenue and 55th Street location, according to the suit. However, just days before this suit was filed, a woman fell to her death in an uncovered Con Edison manhole on May 19 as she stepped out of her car near the corner of 52nd Street and 5th Avenue. The utility giant had described the incident as a rare occurrence, saying video footage suggests that the manhole, about 10 feet deep, likely became uncovered due to a large truck driving over and dislodging it minutes before the woman a"

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