Monday, November 18, 2024
Sunny. High 63 degrees.
While the drought continues in New York City, rain is forecast for Thursday this week.
Notices
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Upper West Side News
By Gus Saltonstall
The “Street Seat” that is being installed at the corner of West 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue has progressed in recent weeks. The cordoned-off area provides new roadbed seating as part of the Smart Curbs Pilot Program that launched at the end of last month on the Upper West Side.
The “Street Seat” is just the fourth of its kind in Manhattan.
In the past two weeks, there have been planters, greenery, seats, and tables added to the “Street Seat” area. The planters, along with plastic bollards and lane lines, act as a divider between the passing traffic and the seating area.
Here is what it looked like in mid-October.
And here is what it looked like this past weekend.
The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) is the city’s partner in helping to maintain the “Street Seat.”
You can read our past coverage of it — HERE.
Last week, hundreds of Israelis, including members of civilian guard groups from different kibbutzim that were attacked on October 7, 2023, visited an Upper West Side synagogue for a meal.
The civilian guards, along with their families, had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and gala on November 12 at the Rodeph Sholom synagogue on West 83rd Street. The meal was part of a week-long trip during which the Israelis lived with host families in New York.
“I was born in Kibbutz Reim, I’m 55, my father was one of the founders,” Harel Oren, who defended his kibbutz against Hamas attackers, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, when asked if he had any anxiety about returning to his home: “I don’t see anywhere else that I can live.”
Many of the families in attendance on the Upper West Side last week had just recently returned to their kibbutzim, after spending much of the year living in hotels.
You can read more about their stories and the Upper West Side evening — HERE.
There is a new interactive map that allows you to see all of the honorary street co-namings in New York City, including on the Upper West Side.
The map, which was established through legislation introduced by local Councilmember Gale Brewer, went live earlier this month. It includes 2,496 total entries, 1,610 of those are co-named intersections, while 886 are co-named streets.
“Our City’s history is long and deep, and we need tools to remember those who came before us — whether their name is on a building or on a street sign — and why they’re being honored,” Brewer said in a news release.
You can search the map by typing in the name of the individual honored, a ZIP code, different categories or people, or simply using your keyboard to move around the five boroughs and zoom in on specific areas.
Honorary street co-namings on the Upper West Side include Miles Davis Way on West 77th Street and Norman Rockwell Place on West 103rd Street.
You can check out the map for yourself — HERE.
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It seems strange that DOT would put street seating at a busy intersection which is one block from Central Park and close to numerous cafes with seating.
(BTW is the bank now responsible for the trash?)
Where street seating should be situated- in front of senior housing especially supported housing, for residents with limited mobility.
why is it strange?
do both. put them everywhere.
deegee,
In front of West Side senior residences or senior centers (like Project FIND) makes sense to me.
But apparently DOT or CB 7 thought of it or thought of prioritizing our elderly over more seating for coffee in a place where there are already lots of places to eat….
Might WSR ask CB 7 if this has ever been considered?
My typo…meant to say apparently DOT or CB 7 never thought of putting street seating in front of senior residences or senior centers or thought of prioritizing our elderly….
Parking would be better on such a busy corner. Also, please pick up all the trash on the street.
no, every corner should instead be daylighted.
Parking makes it difficult for pedestrians to see incoming cars (and vice versa) when crossing the street, so this is about improving pedestrian safety on this busy corner.
Dining sheds are worse. Parked cars are not the biggest problem.
It looks so safe, doesn’t it?
Just when you think DOT (and the Columbus Ave. BID) couldn’t come up with what might be their dumbest idea ever, they fool you. Out door seating on a busy commercial roadway on an avenue lined with sidewalk cafes, a block from Central Park , on a commercial street desperate for temporary parking for shoppers and restaurant patrons , may rank 1st in t he pantheon of idiocy.
It’s pretty simple actually – pedestrian friendly areas are better for cafes, shops and restaurants. Cars don’t shop, people do.
funny that the businesses in the BID disagree with you
There’s no way of knowing whether the majority of the businesses in the BID approved of this. Those controlling the BID might have agreed.
Businesses need access, no blockades, and parking so people can use the business.
no they don’t.
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/11/18/car-free-streets-are-good-for-business-yet-another-report-shows
Once again the Department of Transportation has NOT consulted any community groups on what the impact will be on our neighboring streets. This is one of the busiest intersections and the worse place to put a street seating. WE LIVE HERE and the traffic conditions are terrible. DOT seems to do whatever they want never checking with community groups or CB7. Who is going to clean up the mess during the day??? How can we get rid of it?
so then do something about the cars. i live here too and want much less of a car sewer. if the reason the seating is a problem is cars, then get rid of the cars.
Get rid of the bike lanes.
why? they are useful and used.
As a pedestrian who crosses Columbus Ave at 72nd all the time, I feel much safer now that I can clearly see oncoming traffic. I don’t know how the seating part of this project will fare, but the daylighting aspect is a big win.
I remember several workshops and CB7 presentations on this. Maybe you just missed them.
Agree Dale! Shame on DOT for thinking they know best – without consulting with the community. What a waste of money! Central Park is one block away, with plenty of outdoor seating. We need roadway for essential services.
CB7 supports DOT in whatever cockamamie ideas they present. Hence the 96th street dedicated bus lane. Sitting in the middle of traffic. Open streets. What could go wrong? CB7 is public enemy #1.
Lordy Lord. Would you sit there with your kids? Insane location.
Admittedly, those of us with normal hearing are a small minority of UWS residents, but when will the city provide outdoor reading spaces for us?
Bryant Park has done a great job of that.
One more obstacle for bus drivers to maneuver around.. .
Maneuver around? Any driver going into that area was already endangering pedestrians, so its good that is no longer even an option
Jimmy’s fresh food truck has been in that spot since 2010. Now they have pushed him back to the fire hydrant into a spot with a tree not nearly as accessible for people ordering. And he has paid “rent” for that spot for 15yrs to all of a sudden be told, nope you move, we want to make a spot for people to sit in Columbus Ave. Why in the world would anyone want to sit on busy Columbus Ave?! Craziness.
so its ok to sell food in the space but not site there and eat it?
Yes noticed that as well.
Am curious – do food trucks get City permits for space? And pay “rent” to the City?
Yes, food carts and trucks pay a yearly permit fee to the city. There have been articles detailing how much rent food carts pay for the prime spots around the park – in excess of $200,000 a year!!
but the permit is not location specific, so they aren’t “paying rent” for an exact spot – just for the ability to operate
Thanks for the info.
I knew that carts and trucks had to pay a fee for a license but did not realize there was a structure (or fee) for location.
Streets & sidewalks are a shared space for getting around an about; shared by pedestrians, cars, taxis, busses, roller bladers, cyclists, people with baby strollers, tourists, etc. Streets in particular are not for sitting. Leaving an open space on a corner is a perfect idea so non-vehicular users can see safely. There simply is not a safe way to sit in a street, particularly that street.
Breathe in the fumes from cars snd trucks?
Bad idea How many more things are going
to be put on our streets??! Stop.