Brooklyn Drivers Claim Protruding Manhole Covers Causing Tire Trouble
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Drivers in one section of Brooklyn claim construction to make a road smoother has actually caused them more car trouble.
Yehuda Grama says ever since the city began repaving Ocean Avenue in Midwood, Brooklyn, about two weeks ago, it's become a dangerous roadway.
"It's really crazy!" he told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez.
Grama says his wife was driving across Ocean Avenue at Avenue L when she drove over a manhole cover which punctured a tire and damaged a rim.
"As they side swipe it, the tire and back tire usually on the right hand side of the car get slashed," Grama said.
And the Gramas aren't alone. In the last two days, Elite Car Care workers say they've been swamped with customers with flat tires and bent rims, all damaged by raised manhole covers on Ocean Avenue near L and M avenues.
"It's good for the business, but it's really bad for those people, for the customers," Aaron Kime said.
As the Department of Transportation lays the ground work to repave Ocean Avenue, like most repaving jobs, manhole covers have been left sticking out above the roadway. What makes this project worse, Sanchez reported, is that drivers say it's hard to see and navigate around open pockets surrounding those manhole covers.
"It's very bad. It's dangerous, especially in the night. You can't see it," Kamal Persaud, of Brooklyn, said.
Residents CBS2 spoke with say they're not opposed to the city repaving the busy section of Ocean Avenue, they just feel more needs to be done to warn drivers about the protruding manhole covers.
Grama says he put these cones up himself.
"They have to make sure everything's protected, these manhole covers are protected. Put asphalt all around it to make sure when you drive over it it's a gradual drive and not like you're hitting the tire right over it," he said.
The DOT says it is looking into the problem.
Some car owners claim the problem is costing them anywhere between $400-$1,600 to replace tires and rims.
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