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Thanks to the Action Desk, Howard Heller no longer has to fear for the worst, as a dangerous catch basin in Flushing will be repaired within the next two to three weeks.

From his apartment window, Heller has seen elderly women topple and baby strollers take spills because of a six-inch sinkhole that exists at the southwest corner of 172nd Street and Crocheron Avenue.

In addition to what he has witnessed, Heller has had to replace a muffler, a tire and a wheel after his car fell into the hole on separate occasions just months ago.
“I’ve never seen anything this bad,” said Heller. “I can’t let this go on anymore,” he told the Action Desk.

Over the past 10 years, Heller said the hole has gotten deeper with each passing season and summer rains that cause flooding eventually turn into icy terrain, making the corner even more dangerous.

Thanks to help from the Action Desk and a city councilman, the Department of Environmental Protection conducted an inspection of the site and found that the hole needed to be fixed.

Although the hole is scheduled to be repaired within the month, Heller won’t be getting anything in return for his car damage, according to a letter he received from the Comptroller’s office, which read, “the incident was not due to the City’s negligence.”

Even still, Heller said Monday that the hole’s repair is satisfying enough.

After submitting complaints to 311, Heller contacted the Action Desk last month and then wrote to Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who forwarded a letter to DEP asking for an inspection of the site.

“We went out to look at it and did secure it,” said DEP spokeswoman Natalie Millner.

A road horse was evident Monday and the catch basin had absorbed a number of fallen leaves, which covered the entire portion of the hole. After a few quick rakes, it was obvious that the hole had not been repaired yet.

Coincidentally, less than a week after contacting Avella, Heller ran into the councilman campaigning in front of Waldbaum’s on Francis Lewis Boulevard over the weekend.

“(Avella) was as understanding as you can imagine,” said Heller, who made it no secret who he was voting for on Election Day. “I am definitely voting for him.”