Photo by Meredith Chesney
For anyone who has walked along Roebling St, you’ve likely noticed the blocked-off sidewalk on the south side of the street between North 9th and North 10th streets. For about two years now, a construction fence has enclosed the sidewalk there. It creates unsafe conditions, especially when trucks are loading and blocking the sidewalk at the feather warehouse across the street. Pedestrians are forced to walk into the street. No plans to develop the lot in question, appear to be in the works, so we have no idea how long this situation will exist, or why it was created in the first place. I inquired about this at Council Member Steven Levin’s office, and was informed by his community liaison that I (and many others) should file complaints to 311.* That’s where you, dear resident, come into play.
Filing a complaint to 311 takes about three minutes and can be achieved online (simpler than calling, in my opinion). Here are the steps: Go to 311 online: http://nyc.gov/apps/311/homepage.htm. Once there, select “Browse All Services,” then “Transportation, Street & Sidewalks,” then “Sidewalks & Driveways,” then “Blocked Sidewalks” and insert (or modify) the following description: “A construction fence has enclosed more than half the sidewalk on Roebling. It is impossible to walk on this side of the street without walking in the street. There is a warehouse and loading dock opposite the site on Roebling, and large trucks often block the sidewalk. It is impossible to walk on this section of Roebling without entering the busy street. It’s very unsafe.”
The site address is 236 North 10th St. From there you record your name (which is not required) and your email address. The most important detail is to keep track of your service request number. The more complaints they receive, the more likely they are to address the unsafe condition.
If possible, please do this in the next few days, because I plan to follow up with Levin next week.
Thanks, Hunter
Emily Mijatovic
June 22, 2010
Assemblyman Joe Lentol saw this article linked on his Facebook and has taken action to have this issue cured. He has received a response from the Department of Transportation which stated that a deadline has been set for the construction company to comply with all regulation and permit requirements. Furthermore, the Department of Transportation will be monitoring the site carefully to ensure future compliance with all appropriate regulations.