By Carol Tannenhauser
It wasn’t just the kids who took to the hydrants on Sunday afternoon during Columbus Avenue Open Streets.
But the kids loved it, too!
Is it legal? “The practice, commonly known as ‘uncapping,’ has long served as a way for city residents to cool off,” 6sqft explained. “Although it is not entirely legal, it is generally tolerated, especially when temperatures climb above 90…”
Editor’s Note: Of course the Columbus Avenue BID’s sprinklers were sanctioned! “We actually got permission from the local firehouse and they were the ones to come and open the hydrant and add the spray cap and then they came back to close it!” wrote Nicole Paytner, executive director of the BID. The official info on how to do that is here: https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01035
Love to see it – my kids had a blast running through the hydrant and enjoying open streets despite the heat
Not OK for M7 and M11 buses to be diverted, particularly in such hot weather.
There are sprinklers in nearby playgrounds which my kids always used.
Nor is this a low-income area lacking resources.
And BTW there was additional bus chaos due to triathlon.
neighbor’s home health aide uses the bus and was one of the people impacted.
I agree with jal. I’m a senior who relies on busses. To have them rerouted for nearly 6 months of Sundays is unfair. Supposedly Open Streets is for the purpose of generating business for the shops and restaurants on Columbus. Having watched two months of these Sundays now, I have witnessed none of that. Most of what I see is kids drawing with colored chalk on the street or playing cornhole. As jal points out, Central Park,mone block away, is a better location for both of those activities.
Jan,
Seems to me another issue with “open streets restaurants” is it is inherently unfair – only benefits the lucky restaurants situated there. Restaurants elsewhere don’t get more free space .
And most of the restaurants on that stretch are owned by restaurant groups/LLCS – they are not struggling “mom and pop” places.
Columbus Ave was already closed due to the “Open Streets” initiative. The open hydrant had nothing to do with bus diversion.
I think jal is talking about “Open Streets”. I don’t think anybody really has an issue with the hydrant.
Here’s something I didn’t quite understand. At least two of the Sundays over the last month happened at the same time Broadway was shut down for street fairs. It doesn’t make any sense to have Open Streets to “benefit local businesses” on one avenue while loading up one of the other ones with direct competition to those same businesses at the exact same time (the street fairs were packed, Columbus not so much). Basically, this policy has nothing to do with local businesses, that’s just the argument they made up to push it through – after all, it was originally put in place specifically to allow people to be outside while still socially distancing, when local businesses were barely open.
You’d have an issue with this if you’re building caught fire. And in this type of weather it’s much more likely to happen because mechanical and electrical things break down short circuits happen and the last thing you want is your building To be on fire and the department to show up and have no water pressure to put the fire out.
LOL, did you see all that water flying in the air from the hydrant with the spray cap on it? That’s a lot of water pressure, don’t worry. There haven’t been pressure alerts in this neighborhood in a long long time.
Was so nice. Can we figure out a way to get some shade down the center of Columbus?
This program seems like something residents should have been allowed to vote on.
My kids and I enjoyed the water from the fire hydrant yesterday too, along with adults and dogs as well. It was surprising to see so many people from the neighborhood out there, enjoying the streets.
I understand that having the bus lines diverted is a pain and you say there are parks and playgrounds nearby. Well there are also other bus line and subway lines nearby for you too. Please, let’s share the streets.
Erica,
Unless I’m missing a lot, the streets are “shared,” your word, when pedestrians, cars, and buses use them. Pedestrians use an ancient structure known these days as a “sidewalk.” The Closed Street program, a pet project of “progressive” politicians – much virtue signaling! – closes streets to cars and buses while keeping them “open” to pedestrians. (And, by the way, I imagine many of these politicians are at their second homes on summer Sundays, enjoying the use of their cars.)
Ninety percent of the time streets are not shared. They take up a huge amount of the real estate in Manhattan and streets are far from shared. People get a little strip of real estate on either side and motor vehicles get all the rest.
“People get a little strip of real estate on either side and motor vehicles get all the rest.“
These are all self-driving motor vehicles? There are no people at the wheel or as passengers?
Perhaps time to look inside the motor vehicles. There are humans there too.
And what is this TA propaganda term “shared”? All local streets are already shared!
Yes, they are shared but cars and buses get about 90% of them, 90% of the time. Maybe we haven’t reached the right ratio with having Open Streets every Sunday in the summer but I appreciate that it has given us a chance to use the streets for more than just transportation.
Erica,
Respectfully, mass transit needs to be the core priority on streets with bus routes and until Covid, mass transit was the priority – aside from street fairs, there was no regular street shutdown.
The diverting of buses is more than an inconvenience – it is a hardship for elderly, disabled, families with small children who depend on it.
Would you want your grandpa with a walker struggling for blocks in the hot weather to find a bus?
(love my dog but IMO dog enjoyment is not a reason to impact mass transit)
Just a thought.
Open Streets Is a community building activity. There (to me) don’t seem to be many things like this that are free, for socializing with locals and welcome all. After the last few years, I love seeing these sorts of opportunities to meet neighbors.
Is there a way to coexist with those for whom this is a hardship? Maybe make it more palatable? My kids are 4 & 6, and when they were younger (and now) I didn’t have a problem walking an extra block for a bus – I’m a New Yorker. We walk.
For older people, I get it. But maybe we can have community walkers or volunteer helpers who can help these folks run errands, walk with them, etc.
How do we make this work for all?
What if “Open Steets” morphed into “Open Parks”, as a “community building activity” where you could “meet your neighbors” in either Central Park or Riverside Park?
And the best part is, both parks are already open!
And I feel quite confident that I, as well as most park-goers, would wholeheartedly support further restricting car traffic through Central Park.
And what if we had the “older people” volunteer to give directions to the young parents who are unable to locate either Central Park or Riverside Park without assistance? (Point ’em that way, Grandma!)
I think this would work jack-spankin’-dandy for all!
Erica,
I don’t mean to be labor this (real New Yorker here too and my kids walked ) – but if there is a need to use a street to socialize then it could be a sidestreet, could it not?
Not having mass transit access is not just a hardship for users, but the more it become unreliable it ends up sabotaging the system.
And the MTA is already tanking.
How about a vote?
Why anyone would want their children playing on hot asphalt as opposed to grass or sand in a shaded park is a mystery to me. Children are able to walk, ride, or be pushed in a stroller, to the park. It is NOT easy for a senior, or impaired person using a cane, walker or wheelchair to go those extra blocks or entire avenues for alternate bus routes, especially in this heat. : (