Private Café, Public Space

On the corner of West 81st Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the restaurant Monsoon has stood empty since 2005—and so has its enclosed sidewalk café. While passersby didn’t particularly notice the large structure jutting out into the sidewalk—it runs parallel to other outdoor cafés, though it remains the only permanent one—many residents have complained that the large, red painted construct, with its papered up windows and Department of Buildings stickers all over the door, is an eyesore. Read more

BLASTING A LOT OF COLD AIR

In the hot, humid August weather, several businesses kept their doors open and sidewalks cool, flouting a law passed last summer.

Walking throughout Manhattan’s busy shopping strips, Eric Goldstein, director of Natural Resources Defense Council’s New York Urban program, found that 25 percent of the 400 stores he personally surveyed in Manhattan left doors open with the air conditioning running.

Last year, the Council passed a law authored by Gale Brewer to target stores larger than 4,000 square feet that were wasting energy by cooling the sidewalk.

(Goldstein’s survey included stores that were less than 4,000 square feet.)

In the unscientific survey, the Broadway between West 86th and 96th streets had some of the borough’s most energy-conscious businesses. Only 16 stores out of 99 had doors open with the air conditioning operating.

CURBING TRAFFIC

The West 75th Street Block Association is hoping to work with the Department of Transportation to launch a curb extension prototype program. The association announced at the May 5 Community Board 7 meeting that it is developing a study to investigate potentially dangerous intersections along West 75th Street. After the study, two to three intersections will be chosen as test sites for temporary curb extensions.

“We took the lead because we are a very organized block association,” said DeAnna Rieber, the group’s president.

Curb extensions are temporary and permanent structures placed between the sidewalk and the street that help slow traffic and protect pedestrians. The association is considering the use of paint lines, planters and bollards, though a formal proposal has yet to be submitted to the department.

A larger scale program covering all of Board 7 may also be in store if the 75th Street extensions prove to be a success. Permanent curb extensions remain the long-term goal of a Board 7 subcommittee that is studying the issue, although the department has called such a project too expensive.