St. Luke’s Construction Wall Endangers Pedestrian Safety
Pedestrians cannot walk safely along the north side of Barrow Street between Hudson and Greenwich Streets. In April, a construction wall erected on property owned by St. Luke’s Church enclosed about one-hundred feet of the sidewalk, but no pedestrian walkway has been provided along the Barrow Street side, as has been provided on the Greenwich Street side.
This is a busy pedestrian route because of the D’Agostino’s store on the adjacent corner. Consequently, people walk in the middle of the somewhat precarious cobblestone street night and day.
Lynn Brewster, Communication Manager for St. Luke’s, was called on April 20th. At her request, I e-mailed my concerns, which she said she would forward to the relevant authorities. She has not been responsive to my subsequent e-mails.
A few weeks later, a large sandwich board sign was placed on the sidewalk instructing pedestrians to walk on the south side of Barrow Street for the entire block of Barrow Street between Hudson and Greenwich, even though there is no construction along most of the north side of that block.
I called NYC’s 311 complaint line on May 5th and May 22nd and lodged complaints. In a follow up 311 call, I was told that inspectors responded to both complaints and the situation on Barrow street was legal—no explanation as to why was provided.
As of June 16th, there has been no change in the situation. NYC DOT permits dated May 19, 2015 and applying only to the Greenwich Street side of the construction site have been posted at 653 Greenwich Street; however, there is still nothing posted explaining the closure of the north side of Barrow Street without benefit of a pedestrian walkway. —Jules Kohn
