The Envoy

On a Monday afternoon last month, the jaws of Hunter students and faculty dropped as a brown, soggy ceiling panel crashed to the ground on the third-floor sky bridge.

It’s unclear for how long, but water had been leaking before the panel fell. 

Students gathered and watched in awe as brown water streamed from the now-exposed pipes above. Both gasps and tired sighs can be heard in videos taken by observers. They watched as the murky water seeped under the doors of neighboring rooms.

Hunter sent a mass email at 4:40 p.m., a few hours later, confirming that a water pipe had burst on the North Bridge and that access to the bridge would be restricted until further notice. 

The college said maintenance personnel were addressing the issue and advised students and faculty to use the entrances outside 68th Street to avoid the area. 

The email said classes would remain in session and urged everyone to “please travel safely.” 

On Feb.10, the day after the pipe burst, Hunter sent out another email providing the same alternate route. 

Herds of people trekked outside in the gloomy weather to travel to and from the North and West Buildings, and many wished the college had closed instead.

This isn’t the first time Hunter has found itself in such a situation. 

From broken ceiling panels to holes in the walls, poor infrastructure is not new to students and faculty at Hunter. 

The 2022 Curbed article “Hunter College Is Falling Down” explored various complaints about Hunter’s infrastructure and upkeep. 

The CUNY New Deal, promoted by the CUNY Rising Alliance and the Professional Staff Congress for City University of New York, aims to fund colleges to address structural problems. The bill has not yet been passed, so in the meantime, Hunter remains plagued by issues. 

Current and former students at Hunter seemed to be both shocked and unfazed by the incident. 

Senior Hanna Mishan said watching the ceiling crumble at “one of the busiest parts” of Hunter was “really frightening but also disappointing.” She’s not alone in this.

One video of the incident has amassed over 350,000 views on TikTok, with users who say they are alumni commenting that they aren’t exactly surprised by it. 

One commenter said it was “interesting to see…the infrastructure is still falling apart,” and recalled “plants used to grow out of the water fountain,” an infamous occurrence highlighted in the Curbed article. 

One of the rooms near the bridge was the radio room, a small space that serves as the center of the Where Hunter College Speaks Radio station. Last month, creativity came to a halt as water crept under the doorway. 

The president and general manager of WHCS Radio, David Horn, was at work when Skylar Cooper, the events and promotions manager, called from the radio room and described the situation.

Horn left work early to help. 

Despite efforts from people present at the scene, about one to two inches of water flowed. “At first we tried barricading off the room…but then it started coming from the walls instead,” Cooper said.

No equipment was damaged thanks to the staff and radio contributors’ efforts to unplug what they could and move it to the center of the room. 

“However, our carpet was in bad condition,” Horn said, “and we had to close our station for multiple days” to allow it to dry and for Hunter’s Office of Facilities Management & Planning to assist. 

The leak forced the radio room to close for four days of operation. Although the station is now up and running, members are still concerned about potential mold.

Despite the challenges, WHCS continues to stream its shows and operate as usual.

Four years after the Curbed article, Hunter is still struggling to fight its reputation as a poorly maintained institution. 

“I don’t want to have to be worried about burst pipes and soggy ceilings when I’m trying to learn,” Mishan said.

The sky bridges reopened by 8 p.m. on Feb.10, but as of now, Hunter students still must pass under the remaining black hole that exposes rusty pipes above. The facilities office has yet to comment on the situation or a timeline for repairs.