By Gus Saltonstall
Evan Christopher grabbed a shovel Tuesday evening and set out down his Upper West Side block.
Measurable snow had fallen in New York City on Monday night for the first time in nearly two years. On Tuesday, frustration was growing amid residents of West 74th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues over one building’s response — or lack of it — to the weather.
While the other property owners on the street had gotten to work early Tuesday morning clearing the snow and ice from their sidewalks, those from 160 West 74th Street, the former home of the Calhoun School and the future site of a homeless shelter, still had not done theirs as of that evening, according to neighbors.
With frigid temperatures, the fallen snow had evolved into an icy sidewalk coating.
That’s when Christopher decided to take a shovel into his own hands and clear the snow in front of the address.
“It was already dusk, and it was the only building neglected,” Christopher told the Rag, saying he did not take a photo due to the darkness. “I just tried to make sure the walk wouldn’t ice over during the night. We are a small building on the street, with several older people, and my 2nd grader walks that way every morning to school.”
City law states that “property owners must clear snow or ice from their sidewalks within four hours if the snow stops between 7 a.m. and 4:49 p.m.,” as it did on Tuesday.
The building at 160 West 74th Street is currently uninhabited as its new owner — Bayrock Capital — is not planning to open the new single-women’s shelter until the fall. Bayrock did not respond to the Rag’s request for comment on who is currently in charge of the maintenance of the building, and why the snow had not been cleared.
Bayrock Capital is an affiliate company of Bayrock Real Estate, an international full-service commercial real estate investment firm that has offices in England and Chicago.
“There should be a plan for snow and ice removal,” Barbara Okishoff, another resident of the block, told West Side Rag. “It should not be left to the neighbors.”
Christopher said that it was a bit too soon to be frustrated over the new owner’s care of 160 West 74th Street.
“But if I were Bayrock Captial, given current optics [of pulling a fast one on the community] with this shelter, I would be vigilant about establishing goodwill,” he said.
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They’re not off to a good start.
You can be sure Bayrock is making over hand over fist for housing people here in the fall.
I’m sorry Bayrock failed to do the right thing. Thank you for your service, Christopher and thanks to Gus/West Side Rag. Another property manager waiting for a ‘slip and fall’ and someone to complain. And our system of monitoring and enforcement is so lax that they are willing to risk being sued for the liability.
Shame on you, Bayrock. Maybe if their mom or dad fell and cracked their wrist or broke a hip – possibly never to recover- the real estate company might give a damn. Probably not.
Thank you, Christopher!! What a terrific thing to do.
Imagine thinking anything named ‘Bayrock Capital’ is going to do any snow shoveling ever 🙁
Send them a bill for the work you did.
Thank you, Mr. Christopher! Your thoughtful and community-minded act is greatly appreciated. I hope it embarrasses the owners into doing it next time! But they probably will take advantage of your good nature and figure” let that guy do it”. Shame on them!
If Bayrock cared about goodwill, they would have involved the community.
Isn’t the owner legally required to clear the sidewalk?
Typical for an absentee owner.
Close this place down
Close it down over not clearing a small amount of snow?
Slow news day?
I believe the snow technically stopped after 5pm, so the clearance time would be 11am the next day.
I would not advertise that you removed someone’s snow from their sidewalk when they were still in compliance. If someone injures them self from a incomplete snow removal and it re-ices that can be another problem.
Snow and ice must be cleared from sidewalks within these specific timeframes:
Snowfall ends between 7:00 AM and 4:59 PM – Clear within 4 hours.
Snowfall ends between 5:00 PM and 8:59 PM – Clear within 14 hours.
Snowfall ends between 9:00 PM and 6:59 AM – Clear sidewalks by 11:00 AM.
We have a building owned by Columbia University that follows the ordinance precisely, removing the next day by 11am.
You should do things without complaining, we all do things for the benefit of others and our community its called being selfless not selfish. You don’t deserve anything for this, stop being so lazy
Google “Bayrock Trump” for interesting information.
If anybody slips and falls there will be lawsuits with hefty payouts to injured parties. It is surprising that Bayrock has not considered this possibility. The project is already unpopular. .
Why draw attention to yourself.?
Reminder to Akismet that posts are supposed to be vetted for civility and not for political correctness,
Not every situation produces the outcome you speculate about.