By Gus Saltonstall
In the fall of 2020, I split my head open in an early morning soccer game on the West 108th Street field in Riverside Park.
After a few minutes of collecting myself on the ground and the good luck of finding there were multiple doctors playing in the Upper West Side pickup game, an ambulance was called.
Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. And then, just after the 30-minute mark, an ambulance arrived — not on the level where we were, but on the park’s upper promenade that looks down on the fields, courts, West Side Highway, and Hudson River Greenway.
I remember looking up at the medics as they looked down, both sides seemingly frozen by the question of how they might get the ambulance to me. Eventually, that goal was abandoned, and the medics simply walked down the stairs and escorted me back up to the ambulance. I was dazed, but in good enough shape to walk.
But what if I hadn’t been?
It turned out I had a concussion and ended up needing nine stitches to fix my forehead.
I grew up west of West End Avenue in the lower 90s. I spent endless hours in this Riverside Park stretch where the injury took place, from around West 101st to 111th streets. In that stretch, there are two soccer fields, two sets of basketball courts, a baseball field, a skatepark, multiple beach volleyball sandpits, athletic rings, and even the new pickleball area. It’s an area almost always packed with people: kids playing their West Side Little League and West Side Side Soccer games, kids at play during summer camps, adults meeting up for early morning pick up games, high school and college students doing the same in the afternoons.
This stretch of Riverside Park is on a very short list of my favorite places in the world.
Over the years, though, something has become increasingly apparent. It’s an issue that came to light as I lay on the astroturf field five years ago, waiting for medics to arrive: this sprawling sports playground has an ambulance accessibility problem.
My experience that morning illustrated two challenges for ambulances trying to navigate this bustling stretch of Riverside Park. First, how to communicate effectively where, exactly, an injured person is in the park. Second, there is only one roadway that leads to the field and court level of the stretch from West 101st to 111th streets.
Understanding the Lay of the Land
Riverside Park has five levels within this 10-block stretch: Riverside Drive, the promenade, the sports fields, the West Side Highway, and the Hudson River Greenway.
The number of different levels in this stretch of the Park isn’t typical; the field level only exists from 101st to 111th streets. This in-between level, situated between the promenade and the West Side Highway, starts with the first soccer field at 101st Street and ends with the last basketball court around 111th Street.
“The main issues, in my experience, have revolved around dispatch,” Mark McIntyre, the longtime former leader of the Riverside clay tennis courts near West 97th Street, told West Side Rag. McIntyre was speaking about the challenges of calling an ambulance. First, if you call 911 while you’re near the river, he said, “the call goes to New Jersey most times. Second, once you get Manhattan dispatch, they insist on a street address and of course you’re in the park and you can’t really give an address.”
“When you try to describe where you are, there is no knowing if that gets properly relayed to the ambulance driver,” he added.
Multiple other people who spoke to the Rag, but did not want to be quoted, also noted the likelihood that an emergency 911 call placed from the field or greenway level in Riverside Park would be routed to New Jersey dispatch. Although the mixup is generally worked out quickly, redirecting the call to Manhattan dispatch, it is something that can cost valuable time.
It is not unique for large public parks to have areas that are difficult for emergency services to reach. As McIntyre noted, simply not being able to give a specific street address complicates the ambulance dispatch process.
But this area of Riverside Park has another challenge. Ambulances have just one roadway on which they can drive to get to that sports field area between 101st and 111th streets. If an ambulance driver doesn’t know that route, they are likely to arrive on the promenade level — as did the ambulance that came for me — only to be confronted by the staircases that lead down to the playing fields.
Staircases that ambulances can’t drive down.
I’ve seen what happens four times when an ambulance was called to this stretch of Riverside Park — twice for soccer injuries, twice for basketball injuries. On all four occasions, the ambulance arrived on the promenade level and medics then walked down, as opposed to arriving on the field level with the ambulance.
Where is the Route that Ambulances Can Take to Get to the Field Level?
There are two entrances to Riverside Park for an ambulance to get to the lone roadway and access point for the field level between 101st and 110th streets. One is a small, unmarked turnoff just before the West Side Highway entrance.
Once in the park, an ambulance can drive deeper into Riverside on the backside of Dinosaur Playground.
Alternatively, there is a nearby ramp on Riverside Drive and West 97th Street an ambulance can use on the frontside of Dinosaur Playground. Both of these roadways, behind and in front of Dinosaur Playground, quickly converge at a fork in the road, just before the 101st Street soccer field.
This is a crucial juncture: if an ambulance turns right, it would enter the promenade level, only having staircase access to the fields and courts for the rest of the stretch. To reach the level of the sports fields, the ambulance must turn left, where it is then met with another fork in the road. A right turn there will keep it on route to the playing fields, but a left turn leads down to the Hudson River.
Once the ambulance has successfully made this right turn, it is now on the field and court level of the 10-or-so-block stretch, and can make its way up this roadway all the way to basketball courts on West 111th Street, while having direct access to all the facilities in between.
Further Complications
That route is the only way in; there is no entrance farther uptown, where the sports fields end at the 111th Street basketball courts. The field-level roadway that starts by that 101st Street soccer field runs all the way to these courts and then begins to loop its way up to the promenade level. But at the 111th Street entrance to the basketball courts, there is a staircase, not a ramp for vehicle traffic.
This means that an ambulance cannot access the field level roadway from the uptown side. Instead, it has to make its way to the 101st Street access point to get down to the fields and courts. Additionally, this means if an ambulance picks up an injured person at the skate park near 109th Street in this stretch, it then has to turn back around and exit the roadway at 101st Street.
At some point over the past two years, large stone barriers were also placed on the promenade level of Riverside Park from around West 103rd to 110th streets. These barriers — three sets of them in the 10-block stretch — block any vehicle traffic in that stretch of the promenade.
This means that ambulances can no longer drive along the promenade level above the sports fields (as that ambulance did that tried to aid me five years ago). That reality makes it all the more imperative for ambulance drivers to know the field-level route from 101st to 111th streets.
The city Parks Department told the Rag that the concrete blocks had been placed to prevent vehicles from driving on this section of the promenade while repairs are being planned for the 90-year-old promenade section that covers the train tracks under the park within this stretch.
What Should Be Done?
West Side Rag reached out to multiple organizations and agencies associated with Riverside Park to see if emergency services were trained on the specific route needed to access the playing fields. We started with an email to the Riverside Park Conservancy, which passed the query on to the Parks Department, which passed us on to the Fire Department.
FDNY responded, though it did not comment on whether it saw the field level stretch of Riverside Park as particularly challenging for ambulances to access.
“Any incident with a location of Riverside Park will have a premise history that will provide the ambulance crew with access points off the Henry Hudson Parkways [West Side Highway],” an FDNY spokesperson wrote in an email.
Conclusion
This stretch of fields and courts from West 101st to 111th streets in Riverside Park bustles with New Yorkers of all ages who come to exercise, compete, play for fun, or just gather for companionship. Injuries can happen there. And as West Side Rag reported in its story of the two Flavias who saved a jogger who had collapsed in Central Park, the speed of care that an injured person receives can make a huge difference in the outcome, especially if it is a cardiovascular episode.
While it is true the majority of injuries that take place in this Riverside Park stretch of fields won’t require an ambulance getting directly next to someone, what about those rare and scary moments when a person’s life or future well-being will depend on an ambulance getting directly to them?
Overall, it makes me feel very grateful that my head injury five years ago did not reach the level of an emergency, where I was fully incapacitated or needed an ambulance to get to me as quickly as possible.
But, it leaves a pit in my stomach knowing others in this stretch of glorious fields and courts may not be so lucky.
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If you had a stroke, you’d be finished.
I see 2 problems. The first is how long it took the ambulance to arrive. The second is how to navigate this difficult path. A few years ago I fell and broke both my arms and couldn’t move. It was on the UES. After 20 minutes of lying on the sidewalk, finally an ambulance arrived. Why does it take so long for an ambulance to arrive in Manhattan?
The best solution is to eliminate the West Side Highway and put a big bike lane which ambulances can use!
Hah! 😀
What a brilliant idea, just get rid of the West Side Highway all together! Whey didn’t I think of that??
roughly *HALF* the EMS “911” ambulance calls for that area get turfed over by FDNY to contracted units operated by Mt. Sinai (hence all the complaints by people about Sinai’s sirens). As such, those EMTs and Paramedics, while every bit as medically qualified and dedicated, don’t necessairily get the same mapping guidance and experience that FDNY’s own personnel receive.
Might be worth contacting the hospital liason.
That’s not how that works. Mt Sinai trucks (like all other hospital-run 911 trucks) all operate equally in the 911 system, and are all dispatched by a centralized dispatch center run by the FDNY. They have computers in the trucks with the same premise information that FDNY EMS gets.
Gus, thank you for raising a very important problem and your detailed report. I never gave this much thought until reading your article. **Minutes can mean life or death, as Dino alluded to. I don’t have a solution, but given how many people make use of these fields, young and old, means this issue should be addressed and not buried as so many other important issues find themselves. The fact that no one has [thankfully] died as a result of a delay in receiving treatment should not result in complacency. Kudos to any UWS politician at any level who is willing to take this on. Hint: Anyone…???
this is a great piece, the inclusion of all the photos really highlights how complex this all is. thanks for your work on this (but sorry it took what sounds like a pretty brutal head injury to inspire it!).
Agree – so enlightening. And – on a lighter note – that unmarked turnoff from the highway (which is sometimes closed to cars, sometimes not) may explain why one sometimes sees bewildered drivers on Park roads who really did NOT want to go there in their vehicle and have no idea how to get out ;D. I always wonder what on earth got them there (and feel sadly ill informed that I can’t point a way out.)
So this issue is very real and effects a majority of riverside park and the Hudson River greenway. I once got in a bike accident near the boat launch and it took over a half an hour to get to EMS. I even had a park employee aiding me, they made the call and provided all the information to the dispatcher. Even with that extra expertise it was very difficult for EMS to figure out how to navigate the park. Eventually a group of fire fighters walked down to escort me to the ambulance. Both the firefighters and the EMS people were talking about how difficult it was to respond to emergencies on the greenway and that this was not the first time this happened.
I saw the same thing happen a year later when that man on a e-bike died near the tennis courts after colliding with a park bench. I was there that night and it was a prolonged challenge to get him emergency care. It was very difficult for the EMS people to get to him.
Thanks for reporting on this. I live right nearby, and I’ve been extremely worried about those stone blocks on the promenade. Keep following up on this, Gus.
Great article. Thanks!
I think the short term solution is that making sure that all ambulance units that might dispatch to this area are well aware of the best routes to get there. In this day of GPS systems, I’m guessing one would not properly route them.
But even just a little further downtown. I was walking my dog blast March when a man broke his ankle sledding on the hill at 91st. I called 912 and the did come almost immediately. But getting to the guy and bringing him to the ambulance was. HARD.
There is also a large gate (big enough for vehicles) into the field level of the park directly from the Henry Hudson parkway right in front of the beach volleyball court. It’s a little area where you can pull over on the side of the road. However this gate is locked with a padlock. Maybe the EMTs could cut the padlock if necessary to get in.
There are openings hidden gates in black fence between park and the 2 highway emergency stop areas. They have padlocks on them. What is the best way to call a ambulance to northbound highway emergency stop areas?
On another note nypd cars, parks vehicles drive north next to fields and turn into skatepark to go back south. This is one reason the new skatepark’s concrete floor is cracking everywhere
Perhaps, in the interim, consider signage?
Absolutely! Well designed and placed Ambulance Access signs would be valuable. At little cost they should be ordered and implemented right away.
I believe I read that discretionary funding is happening now. Maybe there can be a project related to addressing this?
This is such an important article. Oscar Hjuelos died at the red-clay tennis courts, now named after him. I don’t know details but I wonder if delayed response played a role.
Excellent article; thanks.
“Emergency Route” signage might help. In FL, there is plenty of “Hurricane Route” signage.
I had a similar experience with this. I was sitting on a bench slightly north of the 96th street tennis courts facing the river when I saw a gentleman fall off his scooter. He was immobile on the ground. I called 911, and they couldn’t get a read on where this occurred. After about 45 minutes I walked out of the park to 97th and Riverside and there was the ambulance. They eventually took the 96th street northbound exit on the West Side highway to reach him. Scary.
That is scary!
Excellent article Gus. Thanks.
Great article! You point out the difficulty in describing a location within the park. A solution would be to implement the lamppost system that we have in Central Park. For those not familiar, every lamppost in Central Park has a metal tag with an ID number. The first two digits indicate the nearest cross street, The next two are sequential with even numbers on the east side and odd on the west. If you give the number of the nearest lamppost to the 911 operator, responders will know exactly where you are.
As for access to the athletic field level, a last resort option would be for the ambulance to stop on the Henry Hudson Parkway. This is far from ideal, of course, but may well be the fastest way to get there, especially if responders aren’t familiar with the park. There’s an emergency parking area and a gate in the fence at approximately 106th St.
The same problem applies to the tennis courts at 119th down in RSP. Ambulances arrive up top on RSD and emergency personnel have to walk down the steps. They are unaware of an entrance at 116th St.
See my post about Vernon Manley who passed when we were playing tennis on 119.
This article brings up some really good points regarding ambulance access for medical emergencies in this area of the park. It is also important for the nearby fire companies to know the best route to get to a person that needs help. The closest fire engines are dispatched on medical runs and usually arrive first. They can then relay any information, including best access to a patient, through their dispatcher. The truck companies may also be dispatched to a patient if there is a need for special equipment that the engines don’t have. I work at the local firehouse and will be brining this issue up with the fire units that would be responding to an emergency in this area of the park. Thanks for the info.
Signage, signage, signage.
More than signage!! I see a great project for an enterprising high school junior or even public health student from any UWS school who can contact Google maps, Parks people, Hospital people, FD contacts and provide emergency GPS for access to and from a few key access points to courts and fields up and down the stretch. This article could be a base for a really usable tool for first responders! Plus signage, of course. But estimating time and choosing the route are key to response. And we have the technology!
Prior to 1975, Central Park had a similar problem where it would take 45 to 90 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. A few Parkies got together and formed a volunteer ambulance service which cut down the response to an average of three minutes or less, thus the Central Park Medical Unit was formed. No charge to the patient, yes, a FREE service to anyone who needs an ambulance in Central Park, with EMT’s who love Central Park and know Central Park intimately. CPMU is now 50 Years young and growing stronger than ever. CPMU also serves as a training ground for the City’s future, EMT’s, Paramedics, RNs, NPs, PAs and MDs.
Similar, tragic experience. In 2000, we were playing tennis on the 119th Street hard courts My good friend Vernon Manley collapsed on the court and we immediately called for an ambulance. Tragically, the ambulance was not able to navigate the park and took over 25 minutes to reach us. By the time they arrived, Vern had passed. You would think that EMS services would have training on how to navigate Riverside Park. But they don’t.
🙁 so sorry to hear this, my condolences on the loss of your friend. . I have lived here for years and had only thought about access in case of a crime happening, hadn’t considered sudden health issues or injuries! For what it’s worth, I tried to locate my kids phone once when they were downstairs from where I had asked them to stay in Riverside Park and it showed me that their phone was in the Hudson River!? Needless to say I almost needed the ambulance myself thanks to the incorrect tech. So yes yes yes to plain old fashioned signage please.
Honestly, it is very difficult for ANYBODY to navigate the multiple levels and crossings between the streets of the UWS, the promenade, Riverside Park, the bike lanes and the Hudson Greenway.
Please install signage for ALL of us!!
Former EMT here. Why not set up a permanent staging area adjacent to those athletic fields? One ambulance plus its team would be posted there.
When that unit responds to a call on those athletic fields, another unit would immediately go directly to that staging area and wait for the next call.
In this way, there would be medical teams already knowledgeable of that area of the Park, ready to spring into action! And a team would always be ready to respond.
This should substantially shorten the response times. For serious medical emergencies, this could be the difference between life and death!!
Could the park put up some signs to direct ambulances?
And Gus, glad you are okay!!
I found a person in distress on a bench on the lower portion of the park around W. 73rd street. I called 911 and no one could figure out how to get to me. It was a blazing hot summer day. It took a long time. I fail to understand how 911 does not know that there is a lower level to the park.
I’m 95 and don’t play soccer but I do like to walk and use the park. What if I stumble and fall ? What if I have a heart attack? I wear an emergency pendant and always carriy medical I.D. information but how could an ambulance get to me? It never occurred to me about such a problem but the solution doesn’t seem adequate. Bernice Silverman
This is a beautifully written story. A complicated thing to explain, and you have done it well, Gus. It can be hard to determine who is responsible for what in the parks. So much shared responsibility creates gaps in service, and a round robin of figuring out who can fix a problem like this. The 911 routing of emergency calls to NJ has been going on for years. Crazy. Delivery, pick-up and parks vehicles know how to access the playing fields. Until that knowledge is as pervasive in emergency services, one obvious solution is clear, well-positioned signage. Riverside Park has a distinct need for pertinent communication. Visiting pedestrians and cyclist have a hard time figuring out how to get to the river. I don’t love a lot of signage in the parks, as nicely designed as it is – but would prefer useful direction and information to catchy phrases about how to think about the park. I hope your article serves as a call to action. It should!
Wonderful article and thank you for raising awareness of this important issue! Last June while watching my kid’s soccer game on 75th st and Riverside (the track oval) a runner collapsed by the river track and a group of us physicians did CPR while we waited ages for EMS to arrive on scene – and they didn’t even bring a stretcher initially sharing that they had no idea how to get it down to River (granted they could have followed one of the 100s of strollers or bikes down the set of ramps)… fortunately we got a pulse back and they eventually got a stretcher down… but as stated in many posts above… there is a lot of room for improvement!