Streetlight Moved, Left Covering Fuel Oil Tank Cap On East Side
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It was a frustrating few days for an East Side landlord, after someone moved a one-ton streetlight and blocked access to his fuel oil tank.
Landlord Stamos Arakas called CBS2, and Tony Aiello set out to find out – whose bright idea was this?
The story of the temporary streetlight in front of 1072 Second Ave., between 56th and 57th streets, is a mystery.
"Why they would move it is beyond me," Arakas said.
But someone did. A week ago, the lamp post was relocated just a few feet, and it created a big problem.
"My oil company called me up and said, 'I can't put any oil in your tank,'" Arakas said.
The tank in the basement has been running dry, because the streetlight was moved right on top of the cap that covers the oil tank filler pipe.
"We need heat and hot water," said Sylvia Arakas, the daughter of the landlord and a building resident.
She said calls to 311 over several days got them nowhere.
"They actually gave us the wrong work-order number. We called a third time, still nothing," Sylvia Arakas said.
"It's upsetting… but that's the city," added Stamos Arakas.
The Department of Transportation said it is not clear who moved the streetlight, but after hearing from CBS2, the department moved quickly to fix the problem.
On Monday night, a crane lifted the one-ton streetlight, freeing the fuel-filler pipe from its concrete confines.
The oil cap is really pretty noticeable – and one has to wonder why whoever moved that streetlight didn't see it, Aiello reported.
"Now you can see you couldn't have missed it," said Sylvia Arakas. "So I don't know where the problem lied, but I'm just happy it's fixed."
But it remains a mystery why it happened in the first place.