After boy falls into manhole, demand for action to prevent future accidents

After a 10-year-old boy was saved after falling into a manhole on January 14, one local official wants to know what’s being done to prevent a similar accident from occurring in the future.

“Obviously this incident could have had a much worst outcome, which is why we need to immediately look into the city’s response beginning with the first 311 report of the broken manhole cover,” said Councilmember David Greenfield of young Moshe Altman’s accident. “We also need to know why the manhole cover was missing. After all, it is incumbent on the city to ensure that its infrastructure is maintained and properly working, and to have a plan in place for when situations like this arise.”

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) stated that repairs to the manhole were completed shortly after the boy was saved. It also told this paper that it hadn’t been working at the location prior to the accident. The DEP has over 500,000 manholes throughout the five boroughs.

After Altman fell down the 20-foot hole, two Verizon workers, Mike Kroski and Tom Prestia, successfully brought him back up to safety after lowering a ladder to the boy.

“These men from Verizon are to be commended for not hesitating and stepping up to help a fellow New Yorker in need. It is very fortunate that they were in the area at the time,” said Greenfield.