Several buildings and stores were flooded on the Lower East Side thanks to a 20-inch water main break, said a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. The flooding surrounded the famous Katz’s Deli on Houston Street.
The break occurred just before 11 a.m., according to an FDNY spokesman.
The main, which the DEP spokesman said was installed in 1959, was shut off shortly after the break and the leak was stopped.
Five commercial buildings and eight residential buildings were without water Thursday afternoonn, the spokesman said. A total of four businesses reported flooding and have since been pumped out. It was unclear if Katz’s was one of them.
The eastbound side of Houston Street, between Ludlow and Essex streets, was closed to traffic. Ludlow Street, between Stanton and East Houston streets, was also closed. The DEP expected the closures to last a few hours.
A 20-foot by 20-foot depression formed over the break, the spokesman added, but by the afternoon most of the water had drained.
