So, that explains it. From the NY Observer. I came damn near close to being flattened by a garbage truck last week as I stopped in the middle of the street to peruse one of these:
Manhole Mystery
The end of summer has ushered in a subtle change beneath New Yorkers' hurried feet: All across Manhattan, manholes have become covered with a translucent slop that gives the rust-colored iron disks the appearance of a murky puddle. Other times, when the sun hits just right, the clear coating glints like some kind of frosted splotch of ice that has absorbed a year's worth of Manhattan grit.
The see-through coverings now spread around the city are not some toxic spill or anti-terrorism strategy; rather, they are the culmination of Con Edison's citywide program to insulate the 6,600 steam manholes dotting the intersections across Manhattan. Eight years ago, according to a Con Ed spokesperson, the power utility began insulating the city's manholes with a clear epoxy sheath to reduce the surface temperature of the scalding hot steam below. Underneath the streets, steam races through a 105-mile labyrinth of pipes at nearly 9.7 million pounds per hour to more than 1,800 buildings all over the island. While it's environmentally friendly, sizzling steam can be treacherous, as seen when a 26-year-old Brooklyn woman was recently "branded" when she fell onto a billowing Con Ed manhole on Second Avenue. An exploding electrical manhole forced the evacuation of three Times Square restaurants and one bar in March. And earlier this year, a similar tragedy struck when a woman stepped on an electrified East Village utility-box cover while walking her dog and died (luckily, steam manholes can't electrocute). Between Code Orange terror alerts and last summer's blackout, New Yorkers have had to add crosswalk calamities to the urban-risk equation.
But now it appears underfoot safety has been improved. Last week, Con Ed finished sealing up the last of the unprotected steam manholes on the Upper East Side "in an around-the-clock operation," a company statement said. The epoxy coating may keep us safe, but like any change"”from the Bloomberg smoking ban to having Republicans flood our city"”New Yorkers aren't sure what to make of their glossy-topped manholes.
"It looks a little toxic to me, or like some kind of jelly" said Alexandra Cohen, a 21-year-old artist from the Upper East Side as she warily eyed a pair of manholes in front of the Park Café on a recent afternoon. The covers had the greenish hue of mossy rock. "They look gross."
A little while later, Mort Hochstein, a wine and travel writer who lives in the Village, ambled up Park Avenue and stopped at the traffic signal. "Green slime"”that's what they look like to me."
In front of the Christ Church near East 60th Street later that afternoon, Rich Green, a real-estate broker in from Long Island, looked down at three manholes lining the intersection, equally flummoxed over their new appearance.
"They look kinda slippery to me, almost as if they're wet," he said. "I just walk around them."
Chris Olert, the Con Ed spokesman, assured The Observer that New Yorkers have nothing to fear about the manhole makeover.
"Don't be afraid of the epoxy," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"”Gabriel Sherman