Utility companies are tearing up thousands of city streets to make repairs without permits

Thousands of city streets are being torn up by utility firms making repairs without permission, city records show. The number of fines levied against Con Ed, KeySpan Energy and smaller construction companies for illegally chopping up streets has risen 130% over the past five years, from 937 in 2008 to 2,153 in 2013, according to records obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request filed in November.

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