Originally Posted by supcom
Trying to make a claim against the city for a $300 repair sounds like a lesson in futility to me. It will surely take more than $300 worth of both your, and the other guy's time to pursue this avenue.
Not so fast, supcom. I am a supervisor for a waterworks department and depending on circumstances, this looks like a payable claim to me. If the NYC waterworks dept (Fire departments just use fire hydrants, they don't maintain them), was aware of the leak I think your're entitled to the $300. There are many times we get called about small leaks, investigate and decide to repair the next day. In winter, we tend to repair them asap, but occasionally we'll call the roads people to keep the area sanded or salted to prevent mishaps such as yours until the leak can be repaired.
I'd say it's worth a phone call, anyways. Call first, but the claim has to be in writing.