NYPD Is Making Midtown Sidewalks an Obstacle Course — Where’s de Blasio?
The mayor controls the streets but is nowhere in sight as NYPD security theater puts the squeeze on Midtown foot traffic.
Nicole Gelinas has filed more Twitter dispatches from Midtown, where NYPD continues to clutter streets and sidewalks with a tangle of barricades.
On 49th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, NYPD blocked the roadway to limit motor vehicle access. But the police barriers are also narrowing sidewalks and crosswalks, hampering pedestrian movement in areas that see some of the city’s heaviest foot traffic, particularly during the holiday season.
Meanwhile, @NYCMayor has closed 49th while bizarrely not letting people walk on it, confining walkers to barriered third-of-a-crosswalk pinch points. @StreetsblogNYC pic.twitter.com/9pq8UtuRAq
— Nicole Gelinas ????????? (@nicolegelinas) December 5, 2017
Midblock Midtown crossing, now off-limits to crossers. @StreetsblogNYC pic.twitter.com/DGZvQGMHCn
— Nicole Gelinas ????????? (@nicolegelinas) December 5, 2017
NYPD has not responded to multiple Streetsblog queries about the justification for the barriers. But this is presumably the department’s attempt to show that it’s trying to prevent motor vehicle operators from intentionally striking people.
Whatever the intent, by dropping concrete barriers and cattle fences onto sidewalks and crosswalks, the effect has been to make walking in Midtown more aggravating — even dangerous in some locations:
These pedestrian pinch points keep walkers outside of the (fake) “safe zone” and vulnerable to cars/trucks on street for longer. pic.twitter.com/jPVWibTP4d
— Nicole Gelinas ????????? (@nicolegelinas) December 5, 2017
One side of this midblock crossing is barriered and the other is not, imprisoning people who don’t realize that before they cross with the moving-traffic side. pic.twitter.com/VE0MuHSoNg
— Nicole Gelinas ????????? (@nicolegelinas) December 5, 2017
As Gelinas has pointed out, the mayor is responsible for managing the streets, and Police Commissioner James O’Neill reports to him. City Hall hasn’t made any announcements about what NYPD is doing. If there’s a plan behind it, the public should be informed.
We’ve asked the mayor’s office if the Midtown barricades are NYPD’s response to the October greenway truck attack, and if less intrusive long-term measures — like steel bollards — will replace them. We’ll report if we hear back.
