- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 17,843
http://www.observer.com/2012/03/meet-me-.... towers/#slide2 ...........Basically the inside bldg space is privately owned & is in place (as long as the bldg is open)....people who regularly frequent the area walk through this area which is fine & no cost to NYC.....HOWEVER ....along comes b'bag & his bicycle riding dooshy DOT Commissioner who now want to add signs ...curb cuts...speed bumps ...crosswalk painting....stop signs & or lights mid block on this strip between 51 St & 57 St. which will cost the city $$$$$ to install & maintain ....all this while the City does not have $ for the 5th FF etc ......also the mid block stop signs & or lights will further stifle cross town Emergency response.......do we need this waste of $$$$$$$ ....i dont....i can walk outside & cross at the corner..............THE STORY....An Old Secret May Soon Be A New Manhattan "Half Avenue"
201203_hollywhytewaybit.jpg
A section of what could be "6 1/2 Avenue." It isn't exactly pretty to look at, but there are worse places to nap (Observer).
Thanks to the Department of Transportation, Midtown Manhattan is about to get a new pedestrian thoroughfare. Well, an old one rebranded. So, before you get out your pitchforks and start burning effigies of Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, take a deep breath. The path, which the Observer dubs "6 1/2 Avenue", has long been known to the district's denizens. All the DOT wants to do is make it easier to find and walk.
201203_hollywhyteway.jpg
An early mock-up of the strip. What the DOT wants to work with is just the line running north to south, like this.
If all goes according to plan, soon enough the already existing mid-block paths between 51st and 57th Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues will be connected and emphasized via better signage, curb cuts and possibly some stop signs or lights. The Friends of Privately Owned Public Space, which has been instrumental in getting the DOT's attention, has already dubbed the strip Holly Whyte Way, after the urban planner.
Of course, many Midtown workers are already well aware of the walkways (they really do make getting around easier) and probably aren't going to love them getting more attention, but what can you do? The New Yorker has been blowing up "secret" pathways like this for years.
Interestingly, the alley-like pathway actually connects to the issues facing the Occupy protestors at Zuccotti Park. The strips of land being discussed here are all Privately-Owned Public Spaces (POPS), just like Zuccotti, that were created as part of deals that allowed developers to build extra-tall in dense areas. What this plan tries to do is just bring them all together in a coherent manner (clever planners way back when already assured that most of them line up nicely). And it looks like it could happen! According to Commissioner Sadik-Khan, the city had conferred with every building owner and, she said, "the response has been good to neutral."
The only concern we have with the plan? Making sure that all of the buildings involved in the 6 1/2 Avenue strip start keeping the same hours. Getting cockblocked by a closed gate on 54th Street would be very frustrating.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
201203_hollywhytewaybit.jpg
A section of what could be "6 1/2 Avenue." It isn't exactly pretty to look at, but there are worse places to nap (Observer).
Thanks to the Department of Transportation, Midtown Manhattan is about to get a new pedestrian thoroughfare. Well, an old one rebranded. So, before you get out your pitchforks and start burning effigies of Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, take a deep breath. The path, which the Observer dubs "6 1/2 Avenue", has long been known to the district's denizens. All the DOT wants to do is make it easier to find and walk.
201203_hollywhyteway.jpg
An early mock-up of the strip. What the DOT wants to work with is just the line running north to south, like this.
If all goes according to plan, soon enough the already existing mid-block paths between 51st and 57th Streets between Sixth and Seventh Avenues will be connected and emphasized via better signage, curb cuts and possibly some stop signs or lights. The Friends of Privately Owned Public Space, which has been instrumental in getting the DOT's attention, has already dubbed the strip Holly Whyte Way, after the urban planner.
Of course, many Midtown workers are already well aware of the walkways (they really do make getting around easier) and probably aren't going to love them getting more attention, but what can you do? The New Yorker has been blowing up "secret" pathways like this for years.
Interestingly, the alley-like pathway actually connects to the issues facing the Occupy protestors at Zuccotti Park. The strips of land being discussed here are all Privately-Owned Public Spaces (POPS), just like Zuccotti, that were created as part of deals that allowed developers to build extra-tall in dense areas. What this plan tries to do is just bring them all together in a coherent manner (clever planners way back when already assured that most of them line up nicely). And it looks like it could happen! According to Commissioner Sadik-Khan, the city had conferred with every building owner and, she said, "the response has been good to neutral."
The only concern we have with the plan? Making sure that all of the buildings involved in the 6 1/2 Avenue strip start keeping the same hours. Getting cockblocked by a closed gate on 54th Street would be very frustrating.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.