Update: Monday, 3 p.m. — The spikes that were on top of the tree guard surrounding a tree bed in front of 70 West 71st Street on the southeastern corner of Columbus Avenue have been removed.
Jon Penny, District Manager of Two Boot’s pizzeria, which shares a portion of the part-residential building, told West Side Rag that at approximately 1:15 p.m. on Monday, October 23, the super of the building cut down the spike strips. Penny expressed satisfaction at their removal, describing them as “ugly.” He also extended gratitude to the Upper West Side community for their generous patronage since the pizzeria opened at the end of September.
Happy Halloween to all! The original story follows.
By Bobby Panza
Last weekend, this West Side Rag reporter noticed “spike strips,” typically intended to deter birds from landing, installed around the top of a tree guard surrounding a tree bed in front of 70 West 71 Street, on the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue.
This discovery coincided with the fairly recent opening of Two Boots, a quirky-named pizza chain at the same address, at the end of September. Previously, the space was occupied by Big Nick’s Too. A local resident told us that, during its vacancy, the location had served as a popular hangout for delivery workers, who would occasionally rest by sitting on the tree guard.
Upon inquiry, a Two Boots employee responded, “No, I don’t know,” when asked about the strips.
A week later WSR returned and found the spike strips still in place on the tree guard. Attempts were made to contact the landlord of the building, Aywid Realty, Inc., both by email and phone, but no response has yet been received.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” remarked a U.S. Food Service employee, exiting Two Boots after making a delivery. “This is definitely concerning to me, as we often navigate through tight spaces and I wouldn’t want to get hurt.” He pointed out the potential danger of someone tripping and falling on the spikes.
A middle-aged man who lives at 70 West 71st and preferred to remain nameless, confirmed the tree guard’s popularity as a resting spot for delivery riders, and suggested the spikes might have been installed as a “defensive measure” to deter people from sitting on the guards — and to prevent dogs from jumping in, he added.
A dog owner named Daniel, who resides at the far end of the block, nonchalantly said, “Oh, I don’t care, I’ll let my dog go anywhere.” Refraining from sharing his last name for obvious reasons, he did note the deteriorated state of the tree bed, and suggested the spike strips could be beneficial. He pointed out the litter, including cigarette butts and other waste, in the bed. When asked whether his dog would leap over the tree guard in question, which is actually higher than on most other tree beds, he responded with a simple “No.”
WSR will be monitoring the tree bed and will update this story as it develops. This does not look like a Halloween decoration.
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If they bother people,just snip em off.
Would you snip them off?
There are some evil people out there. I hope someone takes it upon themselves to “fix” this condition.
Sharp spikes sticking straight up. That is too dangerous and has to be removed.
An accident waiting to happen! The parks department should remove them.
Ugh!
The spikes could injure a dog’s eyes or stab a child. This is horrendous.
Begging for a lawsuit to happen.
They are attached with zip ties. Anyone with a pair of utility shears can take them off in a few minutes, and someone should.
And a big Eff you to whoever put them there… if my kid tripped and impaled himself on that, I’d raise hell.
Someone should just snip them off. Landlords can’t just install long metal spikes wherever they want. If it was on my block I’d take them down myself. A dog or child will get hurt, and why are we being cruel to delivery drivers when we as a society order an unprecedented amount of deliveries??
If the store owner does not want delivery workers sitting on the tree guard, they should put some out some chairs or a bench for the delivery workers. I’m sure the workers would prefer to sit in a chair.
I would ask those who previously when was the last time they admonished those sitting in the fence or dog walkers who let their pet jump the fence.Want a civil New York,open your mouth.Were these the same delivery guys who race down the sidewalk?They deserve a seat???
“Want a civil New York, open your mouth.” Paul, first, you are a man, so easy for you to say that. Second, when is the last time you said something (in NYC, not somewhere else) and how well did it end?
Yes, people should not be criticized for sitting when they are working extremely long days and get 5 minutes where they are waiting for a delivery order to finish being prepped. For anyone who wants to complain about ANY aspect of food delivery/drivers at this point, I would expect you are not using their services yourself. As a society we are now ordering delivery of takeout from all over this city. It used be you would order from your immediate vicinity, or even more shockingly, we would pick up our own food. Additionally more and more people are using delivery services for EVERYTHING, especially heavy items they can’t he bothered to get themselves. Yet we will then complain about what delivery personnel are doing to keep up with it. And of course not acknowledge that most drivers are not earning a living wage and are being exploited by tech companies and middle man.
Thank you for an actual non-retributive response.
I’m sure it’s more that the owner doesn’t want the delivery workers sitting there at all, yet the owner probably does a ton of business of deliveries. Sad if this is really due to Two Boots. I never associated them with that kind of NIMBY vibe. Used to live near their EV location
You really don’t know why they were installed? They were installed because people are sick and tired of inconsiderate dog owners allowing their animals to urinate and defecate wherever they please. Curb your dogs! Stop allowing them to piss on buildings, cars, bikes, in the middle of the sidewalks and on trees and plantings. Curb them. Stop allowing them to defecate wherever they please. Curb them and clean it up. Not just the bulk of it. ALL of it. There’s no excuse.
There’s a simple, safer solution: install a higher fence around the tree, one that can;t be jumped over by a dog (or, for that matter, be sat upon).
“I’ll let my dog go anywhere” — this is the entitled attitude of this new wave of upper west siders. Curb your dogs!
a good defense to cause dog walkers to take their dogs to the curb—the actual curb—one of the few things a considerate dog walker can do in our uncivil society.
Does anyone know where to report this? I tried 311 online and couldn’t find a category that seemed appropriate.