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Bronx business owner, residents concerned over hole in sidewalk of E. Tremont Ave.

A Bronx business owner is sounding the alarm about unsafe conditions on a sidewalk, claiming complaints to the city have essentially gone unanswered. Nicholas Arakas, owner of Westchester Square Car

News 12 Staff

Aug 1, 2014, 8:12 PM

Updated 3,794 days ago

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A Bronx business owner is sounding the alarm about unsafe conditions on a sidewalk, claiming complaints to the city have essentially gone unanswered.
Nicholas Arakas, owner of Westchester Square Car Wash And Lube, says he's worried about a huge hole in the sidewalk on East Tremont Avenue. The hole, near Westchester Square and Lehman High School's campus, is wide enough that someone could fall into it.
Arakas says it has been this way for seven months. Shortly after News 12 The Bronx arrived on the scene, the city's Department of Environmental Protection covered it up.
The car wash owner says he has called 311 several times since January, and claims the Department of Environmental Protection even checked it out, but no one has been back to fix it. Arakas has patched up the hole with boards and even set up hazard cones himself.
He told News 12 that he grew so frustrated, he tried hiring a contractor himself, but was told he's not authorized to repair city property.
He and other residents are calling on the city to do something about the hole before someone gets hurt. One resident claims he saw a city snow plow truck hit the curb during a winter storm cleanup.