The Streets Where We Live

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Upper Manhattan Bike Lane Education Workshop Scheduled for Spring

UPPER MANHATTAN — Pedestrians, car drivers and bike riders will get a chance to debate the introduction of new bike lanes in Inwood and Washington Heights when Community Board 12 holds a workshop in the spring.

Members of the Traffic and Transportation committee decided to put off a public hearing originally slated for January, saying it wants to be inclusive of the entire community, including older members who are more likely to attend then than in the "dead of winter."

The committee has been mulling a proposal from the Inwood/Washington Heights chapter of Livable Streets that calls for several changes to the Upper Manhattan biking landscape, but has said it wants to hear more community input before recommending a plan to the Department of Transportation.

The DOT said that because the bike lanes would not be implemented until 2012 anyway, the board's delay in submitting a recommendation would not make a difference.

Read more about the bike lane discussion at DNAinfo.com. 

 

WaHi Residents Worried About Speeding Cars Despite Major Roadway Changes

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Despite radical changes made to a large intersection at the southern end of Washington Heights, residents say cars are still continue to present a hazard to pedestrians near the intersection near the southern end of Washington Heights.

Zoila Almonte, a resident of the area and member of the Mount Calvary Church on 162nd Street, presented a letter to the NYC Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Monday, asking the department to implement new methods to reduce the speed of the cars in front of the church on 162nd Street, between St. Nicholas and Edgecombe avenues.

"Cars enter the block at such a high speed that pedestrians (seniors and children especially) are constantly at risk of being hit by one of those cars," she wrote in a letter.

Read more about the traffic issues and changes made to the intersection at DNAinfo.com.

'Emergency Town Hall' Meeting Called Over Harlem Hospital's Fate

Doctors rallied in protest of planned cuts at Harlem Hospital in October. (DNAInfo/Jeff Mays)

 

By Jon Schuppe

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HARLEM — In an attempt to quell rumors of Harlem Hospital's demise, community leaders are holding what they call an "emergency town hall" meeting Saturday morning to discuss the future of the troubled facility.

Harlem Hospital is not closing, organizers say. But it is, like all of the city's public hospitals, in serious financial straits and facing service cuts. The point of Saturday's forum, they say, is to set out the facts and rally the public to fight against further reductions.

The news is grim. Earlier this year, the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation announced a massive restructuring to close a $1.3 million budget deficit across its entire hospital system. The cuts include layoffs, combining services and ending affiliation contracts with medical schools.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.

Upper Manhattan Residents Invited to Give Their Opinion on Bike Lanes

UPPER MANHATTAN — Bike riders, pedestrians and car drivers are invited to weigh in on bike lanes in Inwood and Washington Heights at Community Board 12’s Traffic and Transportation meeting on Monday.

Earlier this month, the committee postponed making a recommendation to the Department of Transportation after listening to a presentation on the plan by the Inwood-Washington Heights Livable Streets group, which had gathered approximately 700 signatures of support.

The plan includes protected bike lanes on Dyckman Street, painted bike lanes on major cross streets, an expansion of the Hudson River Greenway and Croton Aqueduct path and a more direct path between the Greenway and George Washington Bridge.

Monday’s meeting will not be dedicated to the bike lane petition, but the matter is on the committee’s agenda, said CB12 Chair Pamela Palanque-North.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.

Northbound Dyckman 1 Train Station Closed Until August 2011

INWOOD — Commuters headed for the 1 train at Dyckman Street Station had better wear comfortable shoes.

Starting Monday, all northbound 1 trains will bypass the Dyckman stop. The service changes are in effect through August 2011, authorities said.

The MTA says MetroCards will not be charged twice for any straphangers who exit at the last northbound 1 train platform before Dyckman Street and re-enter on the southbound side.

Read more about the detours and closure at DNAinfo.com.

Disability Advocate Sues MTA for Failing to Put Elevators at Dyckman St. Station

UPPER MANHATTAN — A disability advocate who believes that the MTA has not met the needs of disabled 1 train riders in Northern Manhattan filed a class action suit Wednesday against the transit authority.

James Weisman filed the suit on behalf of the United Spinal Association, a disability rights advocacy group, after he learned the MTA's renovation plan for the Dyckman Street Station would not improve accessibility for disabled straphangers.

"Without access to the subway, the MTA makes travel next to impossible for New Yorkers with physical disabilities and prevents them from getting to work or seeking employment," Weisman said in a statement.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.

Public Input Sought on Washington Heights and Inwood 2011 Budget Priorities

Capital improvements requested by the community and community board can range from more police officers to improved living conditions for senior citizens in Inwood and Washington Heights. (Flickr/Jag9889)

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER MANHATTAN —  Community Board 12 will hold a public meeting this week to create its annual list of priorities for the Inwood and Washington Heights community.

Residents are asked to come prepared to add important services, projects and proposals for the board to present to the mayor and City Council.

Previous requests have included capital improvements such as funding for educational and elderly home care services, renovated homes for seniors, an increased number of police, and more police cars and vans for the district.

The hearing will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 7:15 p.m. at the community board’s office at 711 W. 168th St.

http://www.dnainfo.com/20101008/washington-heights-inwood/public-input-sought-on-washington-heights-inwood-2011-budget-priorities#ixzz12Z7J9tFC

 

MTA Gives Columbia University Free Shuttle to Football Field

Credit: Jon Reznick

INWOOD — It’s a tale of two straphangers.

While Inwood commuters are stuck with years of headaches caused by construction on the 1 train each weekend and snail’s pace shuttle bus service that replaces the skipped stops, the MTA is footing the bill for a special free shuttle for Columbia University students and alumni en route to football games at Baker Field, DNAinfo has learned.

The agency said it agreed to supply the University with an extra bus that runs a special loop from 211th Street and Broadway, where northbound riders are being detoured, to a custom-made stop at Broadway and 218th Street, the same street where the Ivy League’s football field is located.

Read the full story at DNAinfo.com. 

Land Use Committee of Community Board #12 to Discuss Columbia Univeristy Plan at Baker Field

Message from  Ebenezer Smith, district manager for CB12:

The Land Use Committee of Community Board #12, Manhattan will have a Public Hearing to consider an application submitted by Columbia University to the NYC Department of City Planning.  Columbia University is requesting to the City the modification of the waterfront zoning regulations and the design standards to facilitate the construction of a new five-story building for the Campbell Sport Center. 

 

The Public Hearing will take place on Wednesday, October 6, at 7:00 pm at the Inwood Center, 5030 Broadway, between West 213th  Street and West 214th  Street, 6th Floor Common Room.