Dear Mr. Capsis:
Firstly, many, many thanks for WestView News. It is a lifeline for West Villagers. I have lived in the townhouse my father bought, since 1946. He was a doctor, who needed to be near St. Vincent’s.
Currently, West 12th Street is being victimized by the City’s construction to replace water pipes. The pipes have to be repaired/replaced. We all understand that. However, two lines of tall (six-foot-high) metal fences have been installed, creating a corridor from the middle of the road to the south side of the sidewalk—the entire length of the street. At that location on West 12th Street, the fire hydrant access is totally blocked from both sides of the street, and there is no access for emergency vehicles.
The south side of West 12th Street will have no curbside garbage pick-up for two to three months. It’s already piling up. There is no excuse for the metal fencing. I haven’t seen it on any of the other myriad construction sites, which have created havoc in the West Village.
Questions:
1. Do West 12th Street residents have the right to fast/safe fire hydrant access?
2. Do West 12th Street residents have the right to the three garbage pick-ups per week that their taxes pay for?
3. Do West 12th Street residents have the right to reasonable access to their street and the ability to load/unload deliveries/food? All of this has been denied for the foreseeable future—for two to three months.
Thank you for your service to this community.
–Alice Peterson
Dear Ms. Peterson:
Thank you so much for reaching out to us about this important issue concerning West 12th Street.
We have been working closely with the NYC Department of Design and Construction, the NYC Department of Transportation, Con Edison, and Community Board 2 over the past several months as these projects have multiplied. While repair work to our aging infrastructure is necessary, the City must make every effort to mitigate adverse impacts on our communities. We facilitated a public meeting of stakeholders about this issue in early June.
We will contact the relevant agencies now about the conditions on West 12th Street. I will call you right after I speak with them.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention and thank you for your advocacy on behalf of your block and your neighbors!
–Erik Bottcher, Chief of Staff, Office of NYC Council Member Corey Johnson
