New York Daily News picks up the Eastern Parkway story:
“For years, a patch of ragged blocks along Eastern Parkway’s walkway has been crumbling so badly that Prospect Heights residents routinely trip into sinkholes. . . . Now a $4.7 million plan is being promised for repairs to those four blocks of the once-elegant walkway, with the hope that work will begin by the end of the year.”
The reporter neglects to mention who promised exactly what, and also where and when they promised it. What are they teaching kids in journalism school these days? However, they certainly did a good job of covering why.
The article closes on a trenchant quote from Daily Heights regular Robert Witherwax: “There is supposed to be a bike path . . . But no bikers dare ride on it because they’d break their neck.”
Anyone know the facts behind this story? Send in your leads:
[email protected]
LINK: A Stumbling Block [New York Daily News]
BACKSTORY: Will it Ever Get Fixed? [Daily Heights]
The most amazing part of this story is that “they” (they?) have spent $55 million to renovate a huge swath of Eastern Parkway, but somehow managed to miss the 4-block stretch in front of the museum, garden and library.
To play the devil’s advocate (Sorry, Robert), isn’t this “horror of Eastern Parkway” story just a bit overblown? I mean, you see a pothole, you veer your stroller around it. Right?
Incidentally, the reporter saw the post on Daily Heights from April, and that’s where she got the idea for the article: Thanks, Daily Heights!
The article shows clear evidence of having been whittled down by a sharp editorial pen: we gave the reporter much more info about the problems, the history, and the design than she ultimately included. But hey – publicity is publicity!
As for overblown – I will admit I tend toward the dramatic (see the photo you have now posted twice!) but ask anyone with wheels (stroller, bike, cart, chair): there are points where the median is impassable…One of those points is the so-called pedestrian crosswalk by the stop light at 135 EP. But the potholes and general dilapidation are merely photogenic symptoms of the larger problems of safety – pedestrian, cyclist, driver…there will be deaths, sooner or later, if the Washington Ave intersection is not reworked, if the subway exit is not reworked, if the Underhill intersection is not reworked, if the Plaza Street turn is not reworked. The fact that this death-trap, decrepit excuse for a sidewalk is a pedestrian artery to tourist magnets only adds a layer of irony.
The Mayor’s office has promised the entirety of the funding for the project. Provided that the project does not get negotiated out before the budget passes (and Tish James will stand up for it in the City Council!) the money will be included in the FY 06 Capital Budget, and project will continue to be administered by the Parks Department, specifically the Prospect Park Alliance. So keep your fingers crossed, and work will begin within a year!
Robert Witherwax
Wow, the Mayor’s office. That sounds very promising indeed. I’m sorry I got frustrated with the amount of information the editors let this reporter include; if she reads DH, she is fine by me.