Water service being restored at East Harlem housing complex after leak

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Residents of the Wagner Houses in East Harlem will have their water restored Tuesday.

Service was disrupted Monday morning because of a leak in a pipe that may have been caused by the cold.

Sanitation crews cleaned up after leaking water flowed into the street and iced over.

Two 16 story buildings on 1st Avenue with a total of 244 units had their water shut off.

The Housing Authority has a water tower and bottled water on the scene to assist the impacted residents.

Meanwhile in Lower Manhattan, a one-inch fire sprinkler pipe burst in the roof of the Holiday Inn on Washington Street.

Water from the pipe tripped the fire alarm system as a steady steam of water flooded the stairwells, hallways and hotel rooms.

Guests were awakened and rushed down to the lobby. All 50 plus floors of the hotel and 400 rooms had to be evacuated.

"This is a disaster. We don't know where we're going to go, can't get back to our rooms. It's shocking," said a guest, Louise Robinson.

So much water flooded the hotel that ice cycles formed on the elevators. Hotel guests were frustrated early on because they say no one was telling them why they were evacuating the hotel.

"All our stuff is in our rooms. It's 50 floors. How are people going to go out? It's a complete disaster. This is not how s hotel in New York should be," said Robinson.

Hotel management moved quickly to accommodate guests and address their concerns. General manager Greg Riley says the extreme cold likely caused the sprinkler pipe to crack, causing the flood.

"That was probably the biggest problem and cause. I can't tell right now. They're working on it," said Riley.

Some guests returned to their rooms. But those staying on the upper floors, closer to the broken pipe, will most likely have to stay in neighboring hotels at the Holiday Inn's expense.

"It's stopped. It's being worked on so we're taking care of things and trying to accommodate the guests the best we can," said Riley.

The hotel has only been open for a few months so management says the sprinkler pipe was in good condition but in these extremely cold weather conditions, busted water pipes are a common occurrence.