South Bronx Livable Streets

An update from a recent Parks Department public meeting on the New Yankee Stadium replacement park.

The new park to be built atop the gigantic 7.33-acre “Parking Garage A” will now be bisected by a vehicular ramp that emerges from “below ground”.  While the ramp does not separate this new park into two entirely separate pieces, it will segregate the western half of the park into two pieces, each on the opposite side of a ramp, which will essentially be an open cut.  Yes, kids could fall into the cut, or errant footbals or soccer balls could also conceivably fall into this cut, if not properly fenced.  Once again, the needs of cars trump the needs of pedestrians and park users in this neighborhood.  The principles of  PlaNYC do not apply in this case.

This trailer has been left in this bike lane for two days. When they first added these bike lanes some people said that no one would use them, but a fair number of people use them. I bet even more people would use them if they did something to make the Madison Avenue Bridge more accessible. It’s not a welcoming place for pedestrians right now. Not at all!

This guy was crossing the street when he got chased out of the crosswalk by a honking truck. If if you wait for the walk signs you still get honked at when you cross this intersection!

This same day I saw a traffic cop watching this intersection. I asked him why and he said it was to see why the cars were getting back up here. I told him that pedestrians and people on bikes find this intersection very dangerous. I asked him if there were any plan to do anything about that. He said he didn’t know– Location: Madison Ave. Bridge, Bronx side intersection. At Gerard Avenue. I called 311 about the blocked bike land and I’ve written letters about the intersection in general to the Borough President and the DOT.

The Friends of Brook Park in the South Bronx are removing the asphalt so there will be even more space to grow things. Today was “tear up the pavement day” and a lot of people showed up to help out. City council woman Melissa Mark-Viverito stopped by to cheer us on. I think we got about a third of the asphalt up– so, there’s still more work to be done.

You have no idea how much fun it is to expose the soil a take back a little patch of the earth from all of the pavement. Today the South Bronx got a little more green space for once.

Here’s to the Friends of Brook Park for making this happen!

David Gonzalez, a proud South Bronx native, had two really terrific articles in the Times recently about our part of the borough.

The Bronx Transformed, Through One Artist’s Lens ­

This is about a new book of photographs by Lisa Kahane that document the Bronx in the 1970s and 1980s.

There are images that today seem like warnings from a parallel universe: bricked-up doorways and gouged-out windows, lots filled with smashed-up televisions, open-air apartments whose floors are studded with charcoal-black beams. The mosaic tiles of apartment lobbies peek though the dirt and garbage like volcanic ruins.

Then there’s Gonzalez’s essay on the last game at the soon-to-be old Yankee Stadium:

Melancholy in the Bronx, but Not Because of the Stadium

To love the Bronx is to love it when it is down, and yes, it was battered and staggering 20 years ago. But the beauty — yes, beauty — of that era was that people decided to stay and make it work. A generation of grass-roots leaders had stepped forward to spur the borough’s turnaround.

Friends of Brook Park gave away free garlic grown just a few blocks away in a community garden during their “Garlic Festival” on saturday. Locally grown food along with greenmarkets improve the quality of life for urban residents while reducing the impact we have on the environment.

Friends of Brook park also do a lot of work that helps residents connect with our local waterways. They are expanding the community garden and invite volunteers to come and help “tear up the pavement” (and thus expand the park.) on September 20, 2008. Check the events calendar at their website for more information.

( Parking lots are a drain on our neighborhood. Nothing goes on in here all year long– these big empty spaces are only used on game days. )

I love baseball, and I don’t even mind the crowds, but it seems like the residents of the South Bronx are getting overlooked again. The New York Yankees are building thousands of new parking spots for their stadium and taking away our park land. They are doing this in the Borough with the most kids and teenagers, kids who need lots of space to run play and stay healthy. A lot of people have worked hard to fight the new parking garages, but the Yankees have not budged one bit. When I called my community board they sounded resigned to the whole situation. But, I think that’s the wrong way to look at this issue. In fact I know it’s the wrong way to look at the issue because when I told them about a related issue– people parking on the sidewalks on game days— They sounded resigned and hopeless about that too they said that nothing could be done.

But, it turned out that was not true. I called NY1 news and they came up with a TV camera — ever since that TV camera was up here the garage owner has stopped blocking the fire hydrant! He knew it was illegal and, even though the police didn’t care, the threat of bad press caused him to get his act to together. That’s one little victory for sidewalks and public space over parking! ( NY1 VIDEO here.) My point here is something can be done– So, I don’t think it’s too late to address the issue with the parking garages at all. If little things can be fixed, then big things can be fixed.

The daily news has a pretty good story the other day about what’s been happening with our public parks due to the new Yankee Stadium. Everyone in the area knows how crowded the little “replacement” park is! I’ve seen 2 soccer games, a baseball game, 15-20 kids playing in the sand, 20 or more people on the track 8 guys at the “pull up bar” and half of an aerobic class all going on in this tiny park at once— And they want to make this in to a bunch of parking spots that will only be used on game days? And the “final replacement park” won’t be built until 2011? That is unacceptable! More people live in the Bronx now than 5 years ago but they have reduced the accessibility of our public spaces– at the same time, there will be fewer seats in the new stadium– but they are increasing the amount of parking. It makes no sense.

( 5,041 new parking spaces are being built, with tax payer assistance for a stadium with 5,000 fewer seats. These empty lots will have a huge impact on the neighborhood. )

The public spaces should be for the majority who are here 365 days a year, not for the few (soon to be fewer, since there will not be as many seats in the new stadium) who are only here on game days.

In order to support Sumer Streets the folks at Transalt set up “feeder rides” from every borough. Here are some of the riders from the Bronx, we were nearly 30 strong, including a roller skater!

We went in to the city via Randalls Island– and that got a few of us thinking about how it’d be great if there were more ways to get to that island from the Bronx. I did some searching to find out more about the island and found out about a group called “Friends of Brook Park.” They have worked hard to keep a power plant from being built on the island.

Here is a movie they made about Randalls Island.

(This plaza is in DUMBO. Let’s get some of these in the South Bronx.)

Remember that new public plaza in DUMBO? Well we can do it in the South Bronx too.

I went to the plaza meeting today to find out more about the process. Here is what happened at the meeting. A number of local organizations showed up:

• Friends of Sherman Creek
• Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
  
• Bronx River Alliance
• Yeshiva University (In Washington Heights.)
  
• SoBRO

Then they described the plaza program. Essentially, it means taking street space and turning it in to plaza space. It’s ideal for traffic islands, overly wide streets and other places where the street is just too huge and a sidewalk cafe-like environment might better flourish with some extra space for people. In order to get these kinds of developments in the Bronx we need to have local organizations sponsor the project.

The goal of the meeting was to inform local organizations about the application process for getting a plaza. The DOT will spend up to $4 million, to do the initial construction, but after that the organization is responsible for maintenance, and for programming events for the new public space. (Though there is some funding to help with this aspect during the first 3 years in some low income neighborhoods.)

The applications are due Aug. 19, 2008! But do not despair! There will be a 2nd round of applications accepted next year– but, I bet by then it will be much more competitive, so there is something to be said for getting in early.

I met a lot of nice people at the meeting and I’m DYING to know what kinds of applications they might have in mind. I can think of so many places where this program would be perfect. I hope there are a lot of applications. I wish more local organizations had showed up!

SHORT VERSION: If you want to apply for funds so your organization can create a plaza go here and download the application.

This is what happens on game days on 158th street and 157th in the Bronx. These photos are from Wednesday July 30, 2008. As you can see, cars park on the sidewalk.

I wonder why these trees are so unhealthy?

They block fire hydrants.

These cars have totally surrounded a fire hydrant. Can you see it?

There it is!

I asked the owner of the garage if he got paid by people for these spaces he said “I just move the cars.” (Meaning he moves the cars on to the sidewalk.) Essentially, he’s selling public space. I told a traffic cop who was writing tickets two blocks away by the court house that the hydrant was blocked. He said that he’d “Get right on it.” –He didn’t. The cars stayed there until the game was over and their owners came back for them.

(Police have blocked off 158th Street in the Bronx because of the Yankees game. They do this because so many people are walking too and from the game, and due to “concerns about terrorism.” This is all fine, but does “game day” mean that all rules are suspended? Even the most basic rules about parking?)

(By the way the Hummer in this image isn’t in motion. It’s “parked” like that sideways in the middle of the street.)

I frequently see cars parked on 158th Street and River Ave. (near Yankee Stadium) blocking the fire hydrant. Cars park on the sidewalk as well. The police say that this is for “game day” but it’s a safety hazard to block a hydrant, and it kills the trees and ruins the sidewalk when cars park there. (The sidewalk is cracked and falling apart due to this practice.) These are not city cars and they have no valid permits. The people who run the parking garage move and park these cars on the sidewalk as if the sidewalk was an extension of the private garage. I don’t know if they are charging people for these “parking spaces,” but since uniformed garage valets are moving the cars and parking them on the sidewalk and street it’s not too far fetched.

(A valet from the parking garage gets ready to pull a car in on the the sidewalk next to a fire hydrant.)

(The door is opening as he gets out of the car. Now the hydrant is blocked on both sides! The silver car on the right is the private car of a cop. The car on the left is just a regular private car. These cars remained in these spots for hours.)

I wish that people would respect the sidewalks in my neighborhood. I want to feel safe, and not have the sidewalk and fire hydrant blocked by cars. I spoke in a very calm and friendly manner to the garage owner, but he started yelling at me. He called over a police officer who yelled at me too. The police officer said that the cars were parked on the sidewalk and in front of fire hydrant “To prevent a truck bomb from blowing up the stadium! Do you want that to happen?!” (I said “No.”) I can understand blocking the street for this reason and I’m glad that the police are working to keep people safe. However, I do not understand how parking cars on the sidewalk and next to a fire hydrant makes anyone any safer. Do you? I was careful never to raise my voice and to be respectful to the police officer and to the garage owner. (As always!) Honestly, I didn’t expect such a wild reaction just for taking a few photos.

(Cars park by this hydrant even when there is no game. When I took the photo above the street was not blocked and no police were around. The garage owner yelled at me that time too.)

What can be done about this? I have left a complaint with 311 and I wrote my city council member, (Maria del Carmen Arroyo, 718-402-6130) . I called Jose Rodriguez at Community Board 4, and he was very helpful. If you have seen this problem too he can be reached at: 718-299-0800. What else should I do? What do you think is going one here?