The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has notified New York City’s government it plans to file a lawsuit seeking damages stemming from an intense fire that erupted under elevated Metro-North Railroad tracks in May.

The roaring conflagration damaged a critical stretch of track along Park Avenue in Harlem, and for days snarled the second-busiest commuter railroad in the U.S.

The MTA has filed a “notice of claim,” an official step that typically precedes litigation or a settlement, with the city comptroller’s office.

The notice cites “carelessness, recklessness and negligence” by the city for allowing explosive and flammable material to be stored under Harlem tracks used by all Metro-North trains entering and leaving Grand Central Terminal.

Also named by the claim is the city’s Economic Development Corp., which leases space under the state-run MTA’s tracks to businesses including Urban Garden Center, cited by authorities as the source of the fire.