A friend asked me if I was heading downtown and I asked why? He replied that there had beeen a tremendous steam explosion at Lexington and 41st Street. I live about 10 blocks away and had been there earlier in the day but fortunately I am currently housesitting about a couple of miles to the north of there so I can avoid the area for awhile. There is a large hole in the street and who knows how long it will take to make repairs and have things return to what passes for normal here in NYC.