It's not that people in New York's East Village, SoHo, and TriBeCa neighborhoods don't want to go to the bathroom, it's just that a bursted water main in the Flatiron District has strangled the water supply for much of the lower portion of the most populous little island in America. We first noticed the water "situation" in our own restroom at our SoHo office, so naturally we checked in with the Twitterverse — because misery loves that much company: 

The water shortage and the reason Lower Manhattan is having a SoPo flashback comes from a water-main break further uptown:

Scene at Flatiron plaza after water main break. 6 foot hole on Broadway now being enlarged by heavy equipment twitter.com/AlexSilverman/…

— Alex Silverman (@AlexSilverman) February 1, 2013

Gothamist reports that the break occurred just before 11 a.m., and it's shut down the N, R, and Q subway lines at the moment:

A DEP spokesperson tells us the problem started at approximately 10:45 a.m. when a 36" water main at 25th and Fifth Avenue broke. The reason that the 1915 pipe burst is still being investigated. While traffic has been closed on Fifth Avenue from 23rd Street to 24th Street, the DEP expects to start reopening some streets soon. 

The Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson added, "We did shut down the water to stop the flooding. You may be experiencing low water pressure but it should be coming back now." Proceed at your own risk, New York.

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Alexander Abad-Santos