The Northeast corner of 79th Street and West End Avenue.
A major project on West End Avenue inspired a reader email with the subject line “Armageddon”.
The reader, Jerry, wanted to know: “The six blocks between Broadway and West End and 78th and 80th look like Berlin after the WWII bombing by the Allies. What gives? I live on 79th at Riverside and have seen nothing in the way of explanation from the city.”
Good question Jerry! The Department of Transportation is ripping out curbs on 77th, 78th and 79th Street and West End to create curb extensions as part of its Safe Routes to School Project. The wider curbs are meant to ease the walk to school for students going to and coming from Collegiate School at 260 West 78th Street. The DOT spokesperson did not send any info on why Broadway is also under construction (notice the walk signs in the middle of the sidewalk below) and didn’t respond to a follow-up question. MS 54 and the Ascension School are also on the Safe Schools priority list.
Construction, led by the Department of Design and Construction, started last October and is expected to be complete next February.
But it does seem odd that the city is undertaking a project specifically designed to help this school right now. The Collegiate School expects to move into a new home on West End between 61st and 62nd Street in the 2017-2018 school year, and its old building will be replaced by condos.
This is not a school project. This is most likely an infrastructure project paid for by tax payers to benefit the new buildings being erected at on the blocks of Broadway and 79-80th. They have been working on electric issues, sewage, and god knows what else, for almost 6 months.
The only curb issue right now is on 79th at west end, and I venture to guess it will benefit Calhoun, Micky Mantel and the Manhatran Day school (as well as all of us pedestrians) once Collegiate exits the neighborhood. But guaranteed the other work has to do with the huge buildings going up in the neighborhood.
Ctp – was 9/11 an inside job?
@Ish Kabibble, there is nothing theoretical about the fact that there is a 20 year tax abatement in place for the new building at 2230 broadway. There is nothing theoretical about the fact that public schools on the Upper West Side are over crowded and need more money. There is nothing theoretical about vacancies and new affordable housing in this neighborhood being at an all time low. But sure, say I’m silly for being incensed that 6 months and millions of dollars are being spent on the project of a wealthy developer to build luxury housing for just 72 new, high end tenants who will not pay taxes while the ground floor retail is given over to another bank or another national chain who pays no taxes while we pay for their entire infrastructure to be implemented and suffer through noise, terrible traffic, broken streets, unsafe pedestrian conditions. If you think that’s silly, that is just weird.
Hey, my kids go to private school and I own my apartment, it doesn’t matter to me on a meta level, but the fabric of this neighborhood suffers every time hedge funders and developers are favored over public school children and mom and pop shops; that isn’t a conspiracy, that is a fact.
No, it’s an infrastructure project.
One can try to look this sort of stuff up on the city maps site. https://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/ although it can be messy.
In this case, I had to click the Design/Construction checkbox for those corners to be marked and to get the Safe Routes info that’s in the article
Broadway involved some sort of utility line work, though not sure of the use of the pipes that were installed.
Worth remembering that use of delivery/instant gratification shopping – Amazon, Fresh Direct, Google and others – has skyrocketed over the past few years, leading to an increase in trucks on the West Side and throughout Manhattan.
New luxury buildings will result in more truck traffic.
“The DOT spokesperson did not send any info on why Broadway is also under construction (notice the walk signs in the middle of the sidewalk below) and didn’t respond to a follow-up question.”
Probably Top Secret and on a Need to Know basis.
And why was the street torn up at the bus stop on W. 72nd and Columbus? It took forever for the M72 bus stop to return, and now the M7 around the corner is uprooted.
yeah, i asked one of the workers what was up .. making it safer for kids to cross .. but there’s no school on Bway/80th and the street across from Calhoun hasnt been altered ..
Dear Jerry,
I just looked at pictures of Berlin post WWII, this looks nothing like it. No one’s roof has been ripped off, or the walls of their building bombed into rubble on the street.
Anyone who uses our sidewalks, especially if they need a wheelchair, will be glad of this project. Real curb cuts and more space is absolutely a win win. It just takes work to get there.
Eventually the DOT will make West End Avenue impassable. They’ve already ruined our neighborhoods with congestion, polluiion and noise
It’s a runaway train.
That will end up a crash.
(or a runaway car, if you prefer that image)
This should be the standard at every intersection. Bulb outs.
What is the city’s plan to make all the new curbs visible to drivers at night or when the curbs are covered with snow? Won’t many drivers, unaccustomed to the curbs, crash into them, with resulting damaged wheels or worse?
Barry
First day after the erected the barrier at Cooper Stock & WEA, a vehicle drove over the barrier and got hung up.
Maybe the DOT learns.
Maybe they don’t.
Those barriers prove how important it is to protect vulnerable pedestrians from people who can’t operate vehicles safely. Had those barriers not been there and a pedestrian standing on the island, another killed or maimed person we would’ve had.
Those barriers proved themselves the second that woman snared her car on them.
There you go again asking for apologies….
Well, at least you didn’t go about it in ALL CAPS.
So when other members of the CB vote against one of your ideas do you demand an apology too?
Is that you, Helen Rosenthal?
sending me a link to an anti-car webite is very offensive. perhaps your apology is forthcoming?
Funny, I thought you two were kindred spirits:
https://www.streetsblog.org/2015/04/28/uws-residents-ask-helen-rosenthal-why-she-kept-street-safety-foe-on-cb-7/
the city is being ruined by the construction companies
there have been tons of bike accidents and a few cars got stuck on the concrete additions sticking out into traffic the bike lanes make it so dangerous to cross from your car or street
this will destroy our city because traffic has become impossible for anyone to get to work on time
or any emergency vehicles to get to hospitals
who can we talk to , we were never informed
agree
The City has now outsourced this whole thing. There is Big Business in building shit in the middle of our roadways. It is being done constantly, since the profit motive has replaced civic responsibility.
I read of the resulting maimings and deaths with sadness.
By “shit” you surely mean features that are designed to slow down traffic at critical locations to safeguard the more vulnerable users. By all means bring on more “shit” please!
I will give but one example for your consideration, others can be provided if necessary.
The redesign of most streets is now done with paint. I ask that you take your bike out and ride down any “redesigned” avenue. Please note the paint on the street, intended to redirect traffic.
Many of these patterns do not convey ANY MEANING. This causes confusion to drivers and bikers. People end up hurt and dead, oh well.
Many of these painted designs are intended to separate cars, bikes, pedestrians. Except they are unique to one group. So now, bikes that believe that they are riding in a designated area find cars in that same area. People end up hurt and dead. oh well.
Let me know if you want more examples or wish to meet up for a walk around this ‘hot mess’ of…
And what, everything before was honky dory? Weren’t people getting hurt and killed before the streets (some of them) were redesigned. It may not be perfect but it’s a start. Would you just rather let it be and not do anything about it? It’s a rethorical question, I already know your answer.
These sort of curb redesign/construction projects are happening all over Manhattan/NYC. East Side, West Side, Mid-Town, etc…
Just go down to Astor Place and north to about 12th Street to see same sort of thing.