Tacony family
had a sinking feeling

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

What’s 6 feet wide, 3 feet deep and swallows cars?
It’s not a riddle. It’s a sinkhole that collapsed beneath Luis Nogueras’ Daewoo Leganza parked outside his Tacony home last week.
Nogueras’ daughter was sitting on the family’s front step with friends about 7:30 p.m. on July 2 when she noticed that her dad’s car was actually inside the street.
Her mom, Leticia Nogueras, called police, who cordoned off the area in front of their next-door neighbor’s home at 6328 Tulip St., just off of Robbins Avenue. They took a report, arranged for the car to be towed out of the hole and contacted the water and streets departments, according to 15th Police District community relations officer Joanne Kitz.
Nogueras’ husband was able to drive the car on Tuesday of last week, with minor damage to the underside of the car.
That afternoon, neighborhood kids on their bikes sped by the caved-in layers of concrete and asphalt, barely giving notice to the taped-off area on the street.
The Nogueras family has lived next door to Raymond Reinhardt, who owns the property adjacent to the sinkhole, for three years.
Reinhardt is selling the house, though, and is expected to make settlement this week.
For Reinhardt, who has lived in his Tacony home for 17 years, the last week has been hell.
"I’m sick to my stomach" from nerves that the problem might hold up the sale, he said.
According to Philadelphia Water Department spokesman John Digiulio, the sinkhole was not the fault of the customer and not a water department issue. It has since been filled by the Department of Streets and is scheduled to be excavated, filled in with concrete and covered with asphalt this week.
Neighbors say the spot has been a problem in recent months.
According to Reinhardt, the water department had come out in November to shut off his water for a $75 delinquent payment and broke his on/off box. While attempting to fix it, workers filled his sewage box with concrete. Plumbers came to fix the sewage box out in the street and broke a line in the street.
The water department spokesman said that while it looks like work was done out there in December, records didn’t indicate anything about workers breaking anything.
"They left it wide open for months. They dig it up and don’t fix it right," said Sandy Grogan, who was enjoying a pre-Fourth of July barbecue last week.
In January or February of this year, the Nogueras family also had outside plumbing problems.
"We had low (water) pressure and could hear the water running out by the sidewalk," Leticia Nogueras said.
Since the pipes were under the sidewalk, the family had paid a private plumber for the repairs.
According to Kevin Koch, chief highway engineer for the streets department, the water department did its tests and cleared the area.
"Hopefully there won’t be any problems in the future," he said.
Koch explained that street collapses can be caused by a variety of issues including tar melting or a water problem in another location washing out the earth beneath the street, but 98 percent of collapses are caused by problems with a sewer or water main break.
"The dirt had to go some place. Streets just don’t collapse," he said. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com