Debris from Flatiron steam pipe explosion found in 12 buildings, mayoral spokesman says

Debris, contaminated with asbestos, from the Flatiron steam pipe explosion was found inside 12 buildings, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

“Almost half the nearby buildings are safe & open,” spokesman Eric Phillips wrote on Twitter. “12 have some sign of internal debris that must be cleaned to open.”

Two of the 12 buildings, 11 W. 20th St. and 12 W. 21st St., were later deemed safe for occupancy on Tuesday, the city’s Office of Emergency Management said. The other 10 — 129-131 Fifth Ave., 133 Fifth Ave., 135 Fifth Ave., 137 Fifth Ave., 139 Fifth Ave., 141 Fifth Ave./145 Fifth Ave., 144 Fifth Ave., 160 Fifth Ave., 3 W. 20th St. and 10 E. 21st St. — remain closed.

The owners of contaminated buildings will need to get an asbestos abatement done, the Department of Environmental Protection said, but a timeline for when all residents and businesses would be able to return was not set.

“We will have to work with the building owner and landlord to make arrangements with them,” Angela Licata, deputy commissioner at the DEP said at a community briefing Monday evening.

The rupture, at Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, sent a plume of steam into the air and left a large crater on the block. Nearly all the streets around the blast were reopened to traffic and pedestrians, but Fifth Avenue remained closed between 20th and 21st streets.

The following 27 buildings have been cleared and reopened, according to OEM:

• 119 Fifth Ave./3 E. 19th St.
• 123 Fifth Ave.
• 125 Fifth Ave.
• 142 Fifth Ave./1 W. 19th St./5 W. 19th St.
• 146 Fifth Ave.
• 162 Fifth Ave./1 W. 21st St.
• 164 Fifth Ave.
• 166 Fifth Ave.
• 9 W. 19th St.
• 11 W. 19th St./17 W. 19th St./10 W. 20th St./16 W. 20th St.
• 5 E. 20th St.
• 7 E. 20th St.
• 6 W. 20th St.
• 7 W. 20th St.
• 9 W. 20th St.
• 11 W. 20th St.
• 15 W. 20th St.
• 17 W. 20th St.
• 4 W. 21st St./10 W. 21st St.
• 5 W. 21st St.
• 7 W. 21st St.
• 12 W. 21st St.
• 18 W. 21st St.
• 19 W. 21st St.
• 22 W. 21st St.
• 29 W. 21st St.
• 16 W. 22nd St./15 W. 21st St.

The following require cleaning or are still being assessed:

• 129-131 Fifth Ave.
• 133 Fifth Ave.
• 135 Fifth Ave.
• 137 Fifth Ave.
• 139 Fifth Ave.
• 141 Fifth Ave./145 Fifth Ave.
• 144 Fifth Ave.
• 149 Fifth Ave./921 Broadway/925 Broadway
• 155 Fifth Ave.
• 160 Fifth Ave.
• 927 Broadway
• 7 W. 19th St.
• 3 W. 20th St./156 Fifth Ave.
• 4 W. 20th St./150 Fifth Ave.
• 5 W. 20th St.
• 10 E. 21st St./915 Broadway
• 16 W. 21st St.
• 30 W. 21st St.