(19 Jul 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Various of blast hole
2. Car covered in dust from blast
3. Police officers walking towards blast hole, steam in foreground
4. Commuters walking around emergency vehicles
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Joseph Bues, Local:
"Well I came here to come to work and the steam pipe exploded so I'm going to probably hit the beach in New Jersey."
6. Pull from tight to wide shot of commuters walking down Vanderbilt Avenue which is closed due to blast
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Bill Larsen, Local:
"I'm trying to get to the Bronx, they say there's no service on the four, five or the six. And those are the trains I take."
(Q: "What do you think?")
"I think if something goes wrong, they say a steam vent broke, what can you do, right? You got to deal with it."
8. Tilt down of subway stop
9. Police officers diverting pedestrian
10. Close-up of police officer with mask on
11. Congested traffic and emergency vehicles
12. Wide of piles of newspapers
13. Close-up of Daily News front cover
14. Tilt down of New York Post cover
STORYLINE:
It was a tough commute for some on Thursday, the morning after a steam pipe exploded in mid-town Manhattan.
The steam blast on Wednesday evening killed a woman and injured about 30 other people, two of them critically, and left a gaping crater less than a block from Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan.
The aftermath led to near-gridlock on the streets of Manhattan's Murray Hill neighbourhood.
Streams of people walked down Park Avenue as New Yorkers struggled to get to work on a muggy morning.
Some people had their faces covered with masks.
Clusters of office workers, cell phones and BlackBerries in hand, huddled on street corners waiting for word on whether their offices would open.
Joseph Bues is one of the the many who was unable get to work, as Bues' job is within the cordoned-off blast zone.
"Well I came here to come to work and the steam pipe exploded so I'm going to probably hit the beach in New Jersey," he said.
On Thursday morning, emergency management officials said workers would not be allowed into the area between East 40th and East 43rd streets and between Third and Vanderbilt avenues.
But some progress was made: Vanderbilt Avenue was reopened to traffic and pedestrians, and the east side of Third Avenue was reopened to pedestrians.
Most subway services, that had been suspended after the blast, were restored, though subways continued to bypass their Grand Central stops.
The diversion was a problem for Bill Larsen as he was trying to get out of Manhattan.
"I'm trying to get to the Bronx, they say there's no service on four, five or the six. And those are the trains I take, he said. "They say a steam vent broke, what can you do, right? You got to deal with it."
Police required Metro-North railroad commuters to use the northern exits at Grand Central, but people were taking the situation in stride as they trudged around the frozen zone.
The area is blocked to pedestrians due to fear of harmful substances in the debris that could be kicked up by foot traffic.
Tests showed an underground steam pipe explosion did not leave asbestos in the air, but the chemical was found in some solid debris and dust that settled after the deadly blast, the city Office of Emergency Management said.
Tests were continuing, but the agency said in a statement that long-term health problems were "unlikely."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said the possibility of asbestos contamination was the main health worry.
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