Sinkhole forming on Philly street: ‘The streets are messed up'

A sinkhole formed in the middle of a street in the Nicetown section of Philadelphia, and neighbors told NBC10 that potholes have been giving them issues for months.

NBC10 was on the scene at the 4200 block of North 17th Street on Sunday to find a trash can inside the sinkhole to mark the hazard for drivers.

Lamar Richardson said that he damaged his car driving over the sinkhole.

“It messed my tire up, my hub bearings, my bumper,” Richardson said.

The Nicetown resident also said that the area has lots of issues with potholes overall.

“In the Nicetown area, it’s bad, like a lot of potholes,” he said. “At the end of the day, our cars are breaking and we got to pay these mechanics and car repair shops to fix our cars. We pay thousands after messing up our cars on the roads.”

Sinaya Bradshaw, another Nicetown resident, also said that there are a lot of potholes in the neighborhood and that the city isn’t doing enough to fix them.

“It’s a lot around here. They don’t really fix them, and they aren’t helping us fix our cars, so they should be fixing the potholes on the street,” she said.

Collin Presley said that the potholes are an issue all around the city, and not just Nicetown.

“All over this city. North, west, it doesn’t matter what area you are in, the streets are messed up,” he said.

NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville reported on Feb. 24, 2026, that the City of Philadelphia said they had already repaired 6,900 potholes since the start of the new year.

Anyone can report a pothole to the city by calling 311 or submitting an online form, which can be found here.

NBC10 reached out to the city about the potholes and the sinkhole on Sunday, but have yet to hear back.