Pier One Imports to Close

From Metro:

The L train “slowdown” will come with bus priority on 14th Street after all.

The de Blasio administration will ban private through-traffic on 14th Street between Third and Ninth avenues as part of a new pilot street design to help speed up buses during the L train’s Canarsie tunnel reconstruction, according to a draft release of the plans obtained by amNewYork.

But the changes won’t come until June, more than a month after the subway rehabilitation work begins.

Under the city’s plans, the new stretch of 14th Street will consist of four lanes, two in each direction: the center lanes will be dedicated to bus and truck traffic, while the outer curbside lanes will be reserved for truck loading and local traffic looking to make pickups, drop-offs or to access garages along the block.

Private vehicles in these lanes will be required to turn right, off the street, at the next possible opportunity and left turns will be barred. The city, in the draft release, said it drew inspiration from the King Street project in Toronto, where similar vehicular restrictions were put in place to improve cripplingly slow streetcar service on the major city artery.

A City Hall spokesman did not immediately respond to questions on the draft plan and declined to confirm its details.

New M14 Select Bus Service will roll out with the street changes in June, along with additional painted pedestrian space at intersections. The city plans to use automated cameras to enforce the rules of the road.

The city Department of Transportation will conduct “significant outreach,” including to the five different community boards overlapping 14th Street, and will promote education campaigns for people who commute on the block, the draft release states. There doesn’t appear to be any space dedicated for parking in the plan.

The city also plans to announce that bike infrastructure projects on Manhattan’s 12th and 13th streets, as well as Grand Street in Brooklyn, will be made permanent. Grand Street’s protected bike lanes will be adjusted to add more loading zones and metered parking, and to “help accommodate the needs of industrial businesses along this section of the corridor,” according to the draft release.

Under the original plan, the city had pitched a bus-only corridor along 14th Street for 17 hours of the day, but from the outset, the DOT had assured that local pickups and drop-offs would be accommodated.

The city has been criticized for dragging its feet on the fate of 14th Street. The new design comes just days before L train tunnel reconstruction begins Friday evening. Advocates have long called for a dedicated busway on 14th Street to help alleviate potentially dangerous overcrowding at stations during the work, which will take place during nights and weekends for 15 to 18 months.

During the night-and-weekend work, the MTA will run three trains per hour, at 20-minute intervals, between the Bedford Avenue station and through Manhattan. That service schedule translates to an 80% reduction in trains at certain hours. The authority advised riders this week that they may not be able to even fit on the first trains rolling into their stations.

Next week (July 22 to July 26), material and equipment deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors inside the building. Asphalt work on 14th st will begin this week to tie in the finished sidewalk. We will be opening the new sidewalk on 13th st. Additionally we will be working on the roofs of the building. Furniture deliveries will take place in the afternoon along 5th ave.

The following week (July 29 to August 2), material, equipment and furniture deliveries and installation work will continue on all floors as well as sidewalk work.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, July 20th for interior, roof, and sidewalk activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City.

There will be another messy and smelly street fair on University Place on August 8.

The NYPD 6^th Precinct Community Council Meeting

 will take place in-person

Wednesday, November 20 at 7:00 PM

Our Lady of Pompeii’s Fr. Demo Hall – Lower Level

at the corner of Bleecker and Carmine Streets

Guest Speaker: Jessica Mates, Deputy Director

 NYS Attorney General Leticia James’ Office 

Join the leadership of the 6th Precinct, your neighbors and local businesses for an update on community affairs. This is also your opportunity to advise Precinct Leadership of chronic or specific crime/safety/quality of life problems you see in our community so their actions are directed with your unique insights. Take this opportunity to listen or to voice your thoughts in an open and informative session.  We encourage you to tell/bring a neighbor and be a part of your Community’s voice.

All meetings starts promptly at 7:00 PM

Please arrive early to sign in and register as a speaker.

Some folks requested to submit questions before the meeting. Please feel free to send them to 6thpctcommunitycouncil@gmail.com they will be addressed in the meeting. 

What the heck happened to University Place between 13th and 14th? As part of the reimagining of 14th St., it appears that this block is now all but impassable to cars, and we have doubled down on Citibikes. Wow.

Reminder: the co-op’s annual meeting takes place on Monday, January 30, at 7PM at the International Seafarer’s House, 123 East 15th St. second floor (take the stairs to the right of the entrance for easiest access).