That’s Got To Hurt

Forget terrorism, subway pushing or even hooliganism, because it’s the time of year again when the sidewalks start to resemble a torture chamber in some third-world prison:

At least a dozen dogs were jolted yesterday when they stepped on an electrically charged sidewalk on the upper East Side, witnesses said.

None of the animals or their owners was injured, but the incidents raised fears that the streets of New York are still dangerous in foul weather.

Con Ed stepped up repairs and inspections of underground cables two years ago after 30-year-old Jodie Lane was killed when she stepped onto an electrified cable cover on E. 11th St. while walking her dogs.

But Mike McNamara, 46, owner of an engineering firm, said his 20-pound papillon, Trevi, got shocked twice yesterday.

When the pooch walked in front of 321 E. 83rd St., “he just started yelping and jumping up and down like he was dying,” McNamara said.

At first McNamara thought Trevi had “stepped on some bad salt,” so he cleaned off his paws and continued on. “But the same thing happened at the same place on the way back,” he said.

Con Ed spokeswoman Joy Faber said utility workers found up to 50 volts of stray current in the pavement coming from a faulty cable. The cable was replaced.

Electrical leakage usually becomes a problem in the winter when melting snow and salt can damage underground cables.