UWS Resident: W. 72nd St. Streetlamp Fixture Fell Onto My Car

A heavy streetlamp light fixture next to 40 W. 72nd St. separated from its moorings and feel onto a car on Saturday, Nov. 30, the owner of the vehicle told The Spirit. Photos that he shared show the large fixture on the ground, loose wiring hanging from where it used to be, and a visible dent in the hood of the car. The NYC DOT is responsible for maintaining the more than 315,000 street lamps scattered throughout the five boroughs.

The man, who preferred to remain anonymous outside of identifying himself as an “Upper West Side resident,” said that he was a bit shaken up by the early-morning event: “It is what it is.” A resident of 12 W. 72nd St., he explained that he walked outside at around 7:30 a.m. or 7:45 a.m. to walk down the street to his car, when he saw that his hood was “smashed in.”

While he was upset by the damage to his car, he said that what made him the most relieved was that nobody was with him when the lamp fell, such as his wife or daughter. “At the end of the day I’m just happy that my family’s safe,” he said. “Money can be replaced, you can earn it...it could have definitely struck somebody in the head, one-thousand percent.”

He was also relieved that it hadn’t hurt other New Yorkers. There were “5,000 people on my block” just two days earlier for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, he pointed out. They could have been severely harmed as well, especially given sidewalk crowding. “It’s not even an old fixture, it’s one of these new LED ones,” he added. Indeed, the fixture had a sticker on it identifying it as an LED lamp.

The local resident had also brought his car into the shop, as well as called his car insurance provider, although he wasn’t sure if they would cover the damages just yet. “We’ll see what they say,” he said. “They cover the depreciation value, they don’t cover the deductible, so it’s something I have to come out of pocket for a little bit.”

He noted that he had also reached out to City Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side. He said that she had advised him to file a claim with the City Comptroller’s office, which Councilmember Brewer’s office confirmed to The Spirit.

“It should have never happened in the first place,” the man observed, before adding that he was familiar with construction due to managing a building on 72nd St.. “I work with electric, I work with plumbing...when I do work, I make sure it’s done right. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years. When I install a light fixture I guarantee it’s not gonna fall on your head.”

“It wasn’t excessively windy, it didn’t rain, it didn’t snow. It was just cold out,” he added.