What's That Buzzing?

It's been reported ad nauseum over the past few weeks (to no one's great surprise) that this winter, with all the snow, the tons of salt and the crazy fluctuations in temperature, has left New York's streets pockmarked with thousands of potholes, making things treacherous for drivers. They might wreck their tires, or maybe dent something.

The city, of course, is getting right on the problem-even pushing for some emergency federal funding-because the people in City Hall will do whatever it takes to make life easier for area SUV drivers.

At the same time, we're hearing weekly reports of dogs being zapped by loose electrical current randomly seeping up through the sidewalk. This isn't just a case of electrified manhole covers, metal plates and utility poles the way it was last winter-this time the pavement itself is electrified. On March 1, there was an incident at 5th Ave. and 8th St. Four days before that, there were other incidents up in the 30s.

So far this year, only dogs have been affected and they've all survived. After the incidents, Con Ed assured everyone that they'd taken care of the problems at those locations, but admitted they can't really explain what caused them to happen.

Last year after a woman was killed while walking her dog in the East Village, and several other manhole covers around town were found to be electrified, the city pressured Con Ed into going through the entire underground system, identifying hot spots and making any necessary repairs. The utility giant claimed to have done this (in record time, too!), but within a few months it became clear they were lying.

Just last week, we were walking along 7th Ave. in Chelsea when we heard a loud humming and noticed the sidewalk beneath our feet was vibrating. After a few seconds of sharp worry, we realized it was the result of subway repairs going on beneath us. But for those few seconds, we had to wonder. Taking a simple, relaxing stroll down the sidewalk has become a potentially serious health risk. That isn't something we should have to worry about.

We understand that the electrical system laid out beneath the city is impossibly complex. We also realize that filling in potholes is easier than finding pockets of stray electricity underground. We also understand that it's only been a few dogs who've received some nasty jolts so far this year. But does that mean we have to wait until another human is zapped before anything real is done about the problem? And does it mean that Con Ed shouldn't be held responsible for that sham of a "repair job" they performed last year?

When you get right down to it, the question remains: Is the city telling us that pedestrians are less important to them than a dinged-up SUV?