A repair crew was en route to investigate a complaint of gas odor when the two five-story, one-hundred-year-old buildings in East Harlem exploded, killing seven with eight still missing as of press time. Leaking cast iron pipelines may be to blame.
Aging, cast iron pipes carry much of New York City's natural gas to buildings. Earlier in the week, "a report from the Center for an Urban Future found many items such as water mains, subways, roads and public buildings, in need of serious repair," writes Alec Hamilton.
On WNYC, Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the center, appears as a guest.
"So when you first heard about the explosion..., did your mind immediately go to aging infrastructure?", asks the moderator.
"It really did," Bowles replies. However, he adds that "it's rare that aging infrastructure leads to disaster on this scale but some parts of the city's gas system aren't in good shape," writes Hamilton.
"There's a ton of cast iron gas mains all over the city, and they're not leading to these kind of disasters every day or every week" he said, "But there are a lot of leaks."
"The report found that more than half of the city's gas lines are made up of cast iron or unprotected steel—the most leak-prone material," writes Hamilton, adding that replacing it woud be an exorbitant cost: "$2 million to $8 million per mile and more than a thousand miles under ConEd's portfolio."
However, fines for preventable explosions caused by leaking gas pipelines can be exorbitant as well. Take the San Bruo, Calif. explosion in 2010 that killed eight, for example. Last year, PG&E agreed to pay $565 million to victims.
However, that's in addition to a $2.25-billion penalty proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission, "but the San Francisco-based utility claims the true cost to its shareholders would approach $4 billion," according to ENR California.
Bowles tells WNYC that it's "probably not realistic to expect" all those cast iron pipelines to be replaced, "but we do think there could be an acceleration of the replacement of these gas mains." Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of alerting the utility immediately when the odor of natural gas is detected.
The Brian Lehrer Show has Thursday coverage on the explosion and a Tuesday interview (before the explosion) of onathan Bowles and the Center for Urban Futures report.
For an image of the original tenements that had a church and a piano store on the ground levels and a photo gallery and video of the scene of the explosion, see the New York Times article.
FULL STORY: Report Raised Red Flags About Infrastructure Before Collapse

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.

The Subversive Car-Free Guide to Trump's Great American Road Trip
Car-free ways to access Chicagoland’s best tourist attractions.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont