What is Under Our Feet?

Ok, so I have been trying to discover the good in NYC, but there are some things that I cannot keep ignoring.

Have you noticed streets are covered up with metal plates, or small asphalt patches, or just left all potholed (I sprained my ankle in one of those 6 months ago)?  As cars and trucks pass over metal plates, loud banging is inevitable.  And the small pebbly asphalt patches get stuck in the soles of my shoes and occasionally get tangled in my dog's fur.  Then there is the rippling or melting of whole sections of streets (2nd Avenue in midtown has been scraped and re-laid less than a year ago and the waves are back).

Really, do we live in a third world country, or one of the largest and most advanced cities in the world?

Besides the annoyances, the accompanying dangers are unavoidable.  Check out the heat/smoke chimneys at the street corner in the top picture.  Not only are there 3, but smoke is also rising up through the lamp post!  What is under our feet and are these chimneys doing enough to ease the pressure build up?

Then there are the huge nitrogen tanks just left on the sidewalks (see photo at right).  I'm assuming that they are used to cool or dry the maze of tunnels or cables underground (some have said they belong to Verizon others say they are Con Eds), but aren't they also a danger?  Shouldn't these tanks trigger a security response?  Are these huge nitrogen tanks safe just lying around the City?

Sorry for the venting, but hopefully Mayor Bloomberg and his staff can do something about our city streets.