Eyesore of the Week

A prostitute and her john arguing at the corner of 181st Street and Riverside Drive at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 13, 2012.

If you're asking why I didn't get a better picture, it's because I really didn't want to get to close.   That man in the white shirt far in the distance is the john.  The prostitute was standing behind the tree, barely clothed.

Baghdad Bazaar Again

It is illegal to block sidewalks in New York City unless you're engaging in a protest or other First-Amendment protected activity.  I don't think "Bagdad Bazaar" qualifies.  These folks have been setting up informal junk sales on West 187th Street for the past few months.  If you want to respond to this mess, call 311 and insist on filing a report of a blocked sidewalk.

Eyesore/Photo of the Week

A few years ago, Cemusa Inc. won the City's contract to build and maintain bus shelters and other "street furniture" in exchange for collecting advertising revenues.  I continue to be impressed with their maintenance of the furniture throughout the City.  Here at 190th Street and Fort Washington Avenue, vandals smashed the glass on the bus shelter early Monday morning.  By Tuesday morning (after a few 311 calls for residents), Cemusa had already repaired the glass.  And by Tuesday afternoon, new advertising was on display....

Eyesore of the Week: Junk Sale on 187th

Gideon's (aka Gruenbaum's) Bakery and Pleasant Cleaners, which were closed today for the Memorial Day Weekend holiday, found a new streetside tenant:

This woman (seen hanging items on the storefronts) had a virtual yard sale set up, selling everything from books to shoes to records and more on the sidewalk.

What do you think about this pop-up Bazaar?

Eyesore of the Week: George Washington Bridge at Riverside Drive

At the police council meeting on April 25, a resident all but begged the police to patrol Riverside Drive under the George Washington Bridge more vigorously.   After a quick visit this afternoon, I can see why. The problem is not just the remote location.  It appears that at least three government agencies share jurisdiction over the area and none are doing their jobs.  Graffiti and refuse are everywhere.  And there is plenty of broken car window glass.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has jurisdiction over the bridge and on-ramps.  The N.Y.S. Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over the Henry Hudson Parkway.  And the N.Y.C. Department of Parks and Recreation has jurisdiction over the park areas.  As these photos depict, all three segments of this intersection are a complete mess.  We will send each agency a copy of this eyesore of the week.

Eyesore of the Week (1/30/12)

These snowdrops are out in mid-January, about six weeks too early.  According to www.weather.com, The average temperature in New York City this month is about three degrees above normal.  December was even warmer.

Eyesore of the Week: Trees on Pinehurst

The folks on Pinehurst, just south of 184th couldn't carry their trees one more block north to the tree recycling event in Bennett Park?

Too bad that these trees will be taken to a landfill instead of re-purposed as mulch.

Face Off: Eyesore and Photo of the Week

Broadway is slowly improving with the addition of upscale new restaurants and bars.  Here is one under construction at 190th Street; it looks great.  (I believe this is the new "beer hall" sponsored by the owners of  181 Cabrini.)

Unfortunately, immediately across the street, the old world hangs on.  Here is Chan's Chinese Kitchen with a duct-taped facade.  Are they kidding me?

Eyesore of the Week (11/8/11)

The average U.S. family spends over $600 per year on bottled water.  Here is a pile of discarded water bottles in the neglected wooded area across from 100 Overlook Terrace.  Is it really so tough to put these out for recycling day?

Eyesore of the Week, Car Break-Ins on Cabrini

Eyesore of the Week, Fort Washington Park on a Typical Monday Morning

Eyesore of the Week, Chittenden Avenue

Eyesore of the Week (4/27/11)

181st and Haven 

Eyesore of the Week (4/12/11)

(Photo:  P. Smith)

Eyesore and Photo of the Week (4/5/11)

Volunteers meet on Sunday mornings to clean up the street stairs at 181st Street and Pinehurst.  Last Sunday, the volunteers were struggling to remove plastic shopping bags from the trees.  Cities like San Francisco have banned or severely restricted use of these common supermarket bags.  (But I have a hard time imagining New Yorkers, who rarely drive to the supermarket, using paper bags to cart their groceries home.)

Life on the DL/Eyesore of the Week

Warm weather brings foliage.  And, in Fort Tryon Park, foliage brings gay men on the "down low" who are looking to score on the secluded trails flanking the Henry Hudson Parkway.  They appear in the park around dusk.  Middle-aged men, alone, sometimes with backpacks, lurk around as the last few park-goers and tourists head home.  There's no sign of them yet.  But the mess they left behind from the past few years is evident on the trails.

April 11 update:  Today was the first warm day of Spring, almost 80 degrees.  Sure enough, the trails were hopping with single men trolling about for no apparent reason.  

Eyesore of the Week (3/8/11)

 There are now two escalators out of service in the 181st station of the A Train.   I'm not sure I remember a time when all three escalators worked.  Maybe its time for new ones, like the ones that you might find in EVERY SHOPPING MALL IN THE WORLD.   (Look at our 11/1/10 post under "Transportation" for tips on making your voice heard about subway concerns.)

Eyesore of the Week (3/1/11); Cars Broken Into on Cabrini

Two broken car windows on the northern end of Cabrini Boulevard this weekend.

Eyesore of the Week (2/15/11)

This dentist at Fort Washington Avenue, just north of 181st Street, really needs a new entrance.  These cracked concrete planters outside her office are eerily reminiscent of cracked teeth, which is not what I want to see when I go to the dentist's office.

Eyesore of the Week No. 2 (2/8/11)-"One Bennett Park"

There are so many things wrong in this photograph that its hard to begin.  First, Thompson Development Group's proposed 22-story luxury condominium building remains stalled.  Second, the Hebrew Center (precariously balanced on iron stilts) remains closed awaiting Mr. Thompson's overdue renovation.  Third, the entrance to the A train on Overlook Terrace is a complete and utter mess.  

The moral of this story is that developers should post construction bonds that the City (or MTA) could seize to restore a site when a development project goes so terribly wrong.  While Hudson Heights Gazette strongly hopes that Mr. Thompson can secure the financing to complete this project, there has to be a point in time where the hole in the ground can be filled in and the neighborhood character restored.  (By the way, we think there would be a strong market for condominiums in this location if they were extremely well designed on both the Fort Washington Avenue and Overlook Terrace sides.)