Tag Archives: Avenue C

Haven Plaza to become more disaster-resistant

The building to be located at 13th Street and Avenue C broke ground last month. (Rendering courtesy of CTA Architects)

By Sabina Mollot

When Superstorm Sandy struck nearly five years ago, the buildings at Haven Plaza, a low and middle-income apartment complex located a block south of Stuyvesant Town, incurred massive damage. Following an explosion at the nearby Con Ed generating plant, Haven Plaza’s electrical system shorted out. Along with everyone else living in the adjacent communities, residents of Haven Plaza’s 371 apartments were trapped without elevator service, electricity or heat. Men and women of the National Guard shared field rations with residents, many of them seniors, until the power returned.

Following the disaster, the property underwent a much-needed $50 million overhaul in repairs and renovations. This included work on roofs and elevators that had to be replaced.

Then last month, another major project with a price tag of nearly $10 million began aimed at preventing future disaster-related damage on the property.

That project is a new, two-story infrastructure building designed to be disaster-resistant as well as associated resiliency upgrades at the complex, which is located on Avenue C between 10th and 13th Streets.

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14th St. SBS route planned ahead of L shutdown

The MTA and the city are working on plans to enhance bus and ferry service, including Select Bus Service for 14th Street. Meanwhile, work will soon begin on the Avenue A entrance of the First Avenue subway station just west of Avenue A. (Corner pictured here opposite Stuyvesant Town) (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The MTA has announced that preliminary street work on the new entrance for the L train at Avenue A and East 14th Street will begin this month. The new entrance is planned for the north and south sides of East 14th Street, just west of Avenue A.

Additionally, the MTA recently discussed plans for a new Select Bus Service (SBS) route along 14th Street to help make the looming L train shutdown less of a nightmare.

The plans for mitigation were discussed at the last Community Board 6 Transportation Committee meeting.

The shutdown, which is expected to begin in April 2019, will affect about 225,000 riders and cuts off train service between Brooklyn and Manhattan so the MTA can make repairs to the Canarsie Tunnel, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The MTA is working on plans with the Department of Transportation for a series of buses, road improvements and ferries.

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Letters to the editor, May 19

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

More money than brains

Back in the time when human beings were bought and sold to provide free labor and other perks for their owners, I imagine that slaves wore clothes that were basically old, tattered jeans handed down to others. Nowadays, people of all races, ages, genders and nationalities are wearing “shabby chic” jeans that are ripped, torn and threadbare. These jeans are extremely tight on females or too loose on males as evidenced by some men’s exposed jockey/boxer shorts or plumber’s crack. In addition, these shabby jeans now have permanent fake mud stains. In fact, I believe Nordstrom’s is selling these “filthy jeans” for $425.

Who can afford these jeans? Probably those who will benefit from Trump’s tax “plan,” which redirects our investing in clean air/water/food, health care, education, scientific research and our citizens’ pursuit of happiness to investing our taxes in corporations and the ultra-wealthy One Percent who stand to pocket hundreds of thousands so a few bucks can “trickle down” (a Trump fave) to the rest of us. He revealed a tax plan so simple it fits on a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, unlike his own personal taxes, which, if he’d reveal them, would speak volumes.

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Stuy Town man robbed by guests

June23 sign

Stuyvesant Town (photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

A 24-year-old Stuyvesant Town resident was robbed in his building by a group of seven people he had invited back to his apartment last Saturday at 4:20 a.m.

Police said that the victim met the men in a bar where he had been drinking earlier that night and he invited them back to his apartment in Stuy Town at East 20th and Avenue C. He told police that when he got into the elevator, the men started pulling up their hoods and covering their faces. When they got out of the elevator, they reportedly attacked the victim, forcing him to the ground and removing his wallet before fleeing the building. The victim reported the incident at 4:55 a.m. and no arrests were made at the time of the crime. Deputy Inspector Brendan Timoney said at the 13th precinct community council’s meeting this past Tuesday that police were still looking for the suspects.

Police would not release the exact building where the robbery occurred to protect the victim.

Management did not return a request for comment on the incident by Town & Village’s press time.

Timoney said previously that locally thefts in homes were also up as a result of people inviting dates over, only to wake up and realize they’d been stolen from.

UPDATE: StuyTown Property Services responded to the incident on Thursday.

“StuyTown Property Services is aware of the incident and is assisting the NYPD with their investigation,” community affairs manager Marynia Kruk said.

 

Police Watch: Men arrested for Flatiron shooting, Man busted for ‘drugs’ in Stuy Town

THREE ARRESTED IN FLATIRON SHOOTING
Police arrested three men in connection with a shooting in Flatiron in front of 105 West 22nd Street on Sunday at 12:55 a.m. The New York Daily News reported that the incident occurred at a book signing in the Auxiliary Lounge for the self-published erotic novella, “She’s Dickmatized,” by Tania Marie.
Police said that multiple shots were fired into a crowd near the lounge and a man with a gun was seen running into a black Mercedes. Ramel Harkless, 38, allegedly got into the backseat of the vehicle, which police said left the location and ran multiple red lights before abruptly coming to a stop. Police followed the Mercedes and when they stopped the vehicle, the found that Harkless was the only person in the backseat, while 45-year-old Barry Wiles was driving and 43-year-old Joseph Saunders was in the passenger’s seat. Police said they found a gun on the floor of the back passenger’s seat where Harkless had been sitting.
The victim was shot in the abdomen, torso, groin and in the leg. The suspects were arrested in front of 41 East 19th Street. The Daily News identified the victim as Robert Lowman and reported that Harkless and Lowman are both affiliated with the street gang the Bloods.
Harkless, Wiles and Saunders were charged with weapons possession. Wiles was also charged with reckless endangerment and Harkless was additionally charged with assault.

MAN BUSTED FOR ‘DRUGS’ IN STUY TOWN
Police arrested 34-year-old Justin Stewart for possession of a controlled substance in front of 321 Avenue C last Thursday at 9:25 a.m. Police said that Stewart was seen holding an unknown controlled substance in plain view on the sidewalk.

MAN ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING CYCLIST
Police arrested 37-year-old Tashi Phuntsok for assault at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 27th Street last Tuesday at 7:26 p.m. The victim told police that he was riding his bike when Phuntsok allegedly cut him off at the intersection. He and the victim proceeded to get into an argument. Phuntsok allegedly threw the victim to the ground and started kicking and punching him, causing an injury to his head and right hand, although he refused medical assistance at the scene.

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Con Ed driver who fatally hit woman from Stuy Town found guilty of careless driving

Driver sues DMV over agency taking too long to restore license

Four days after Stella Huang was hit by a Con Ed truck in 2013, the area at 16th Street and Avenue C is coned off. At that time, a streetlight there was broken. (Photo by Lawrence Scheyer)

Four days after Stella Huang was hit by a Con Ed truck in 2013, the area at 16th Street and Avenue C was coned off. At that time, a streetlight there was broken. (Photo by Lawrence Scheyer)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The Con Edison employee who fatally struck an elderly Stuyvesant Town resident on Avenue C at East 16th Street in 2013 had his license revoked this past August as a result of the incident. He’s since filed a lawsuit because he felt that the Department of Motor Vehicles wasn’t processing his application to reinstate his license quickly enough.

Streetsblog NYC reported on Tuesday that the driver, Andrew Franco, was found guilty of careless driving, meaning that 88-year-old Stella Huang likely had the right of way when Franco hit and killed her around 5:15 p.m. on November 27, 2013. The Daily News reported that the decision was only handed down this past August, almost three years after the accident, following multiple hearings and an appeal, and that Franco filed the lawsuit against the DMV last Friday.

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Artist looking for ST residents to interview for art/history project

Walis Johnson, a filmmaker, artist and teacher at Parsons School of Design, is looking to interview residents of Stuyvesant Town who have lived in the neighborhood for 30 years or longer. The conversations will aid in her production of “The Red Line Archive,” a mobile art piece aimed at igniting public dialogue about the political, social and personal impacts of the 1938 Red Line Maps. The project will be part of the Art in Odd Places festival that takes place every October along the length of 14th Street.

Redlining refers to a federal map officially drawn in 1935 that selectively denied financing for housing mortgages, insurance and other services in neighborhoods demarcated by red shading on a map. Redlined neighborhoods became zones of disinvestment and urban neglect where services (both financial and human) were systematically denied to people of color and ethnic working class citizens.

For this years’ AiOP festival, themed “Race,” Johnson is working with photographer Murray Cox and NYU professor Aimee vonBokel to add information to the site specific exhibition about the area of 14th Street from First Avenue to Avenue C.

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Stuy Town gets city’s first solar-powered bus shelter

Mar24 Solar powered bus shelter

Solar-powered bus shelter at Avenue C and 16th Street (Photo courtesy of DOT)

By Sabina Mollot

The city has installed its first solar-powered bus shelter, with a location outside Stuyvesant Town picked as the place for a pilot program.

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, the project was being funded not by the city but a Paris-based company that runs outdoor advertising campaigns called JCDecaux. If the lighting works out well, the company will also pay for other transitions to solar panel-powered lighting at non-powered shelters throughout the city as part of a franchise agreement.

Currently, JCDecaux is responsible for 3,000 bus shelters throughout the five boroughs as well as 300 newsstands. The company is now in its 10th year of partnership with the city and handles installation and maintenance of street furniture.

Meanwhile, the new lighting outside Stuyvesant Town at the shelter on Avenue C and 16th Street comes two and a half years after an elderly woman was fatally struck nearby by a Con Ed truck. The woman, 88-year-old Stuyvesant Town resident Stella Huang, had attempted to cross the street in the dark.

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Two drivers arrested for accidents outside Stuy Town

Feb25 Car accident

The incidents, one in which a car was flipped over, follow another recent arrest for an accident outside of Stuyvesant Town (pictured). (Photo by Steve Kaufman)

 

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested two people this week outside Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village for car crashes caused by alleged drunk drivers, one of which resulted in a car getting flipped over.

Police were responding to the corner of First Avenue and East 20th Street because of a vehicle collision on Friday, February 26 at 4:14 a.m. and Linda Roth, 32, was allegedly behind the wheel of a car with the engine running. She allegedly had bloodshot, watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on her breath. Police said that she was unsteady on her feet and had slurred speech.

Upon further investigation, police found that Roth was driving on the First Avenue service road and allegedly jumped the sidewalk, driving into a traffic sign pole and crashing into a concrete flower box. Police said that she submitted to a Breathalyzer at the scene and blew .158. The legal limit for blood alcohol content is .08. Roth was removed to Bellevue Hospital for treatment and for a blood test to determine her blood alcohol level.

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A peek at ST’s newest studios

A studio facing First Avenue built out of a former trunk room (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

A studio facing First Avenue built out of a former trunk room (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

Since last summer, five new studio apartments have popped up in Stuyvesant Town. At this time, though they’re not yet on the market, they will be soon, having finally completed their transformation from former trunk rooms and other spaces once used for storage.

The rents for the studios, which are bigger than the five studios built last year on Avenue C, haven’t been officially determined yet. A Blackstone rep said that won’t be decided until a city inspection. However, they will be market rate.

CWCapital had declined to comment on the units as they were being built at 250, 270, 280 and 300 First Avenue and 435 East 14th Street. Permits for their being built were approved on June 30.

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2015: A look back

A coyote (not the one pictured) was spotted in Stuyvesant Town in January.

A coyote (not the one pictured) was spotted in Stuyvesant Town in January.

By Sabina Mollot

Capped with yet another sale of Stuyvesant Town — this time with the highest price tag ever at $5.45 billion — 2015 was certainly an eventful year for the community.

Town & Village has taken a look back to find the top ten local events of the year.

1. The highly anticipated sale of course was a big one, with the deal being cheered as part of Mayor de Blasio’s campaign platform promise to preserve or build 200,000 units of affordable housing. The sale to new owners The Blackstone Group came as welcome news to many tenants due to its representatives’ willingness to listen to tenant concerns as well as a commitment to preserve 5,000 units of affordable housing. While for others — specifically, tenants in the other 6,200-plus units, the deal simply maintains the status quo of stabilized status with market rate tents. Blackstone has promised additional announcements early in the New Year, which hopefully will include a decision, made in cooperation with the city, of how people can get a lease to the affordable units as they become available.

2. Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, while always known as a bird sanctuary and a habitat for the world’s most well-fed squirrels, also managed to attract the attention of a coyote. The young female coyote, named Stella by Parks reps who rescued her, had been found wandering around the Avenue C side of the property near the Con Ed plant. She was captured by police officers, and then later released by the Parks department into a wooded area in the Bronx.

A Parks official T&V interviewed about the incident said that coyote sightings in the city are becoming more common, and she expected that this trend would only continue. Just a couple of weeks prior to the Stuy Town sighting, another coyote was found in Riverside Park, and in 2011, another coyote had wandered into Tribeca.

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Police Watch: Body found near NYU Langone, ‘Mugger’ arrested on East 23rd

BODY FOUND IN STORM DRAIN NEAR NYU LANGONE
This Tuesday around 11:39 a.m., police found an unconscious man inside a storm drain near East 33rd Street and First Avenue. The man was unconscious and unresponsive, police said. EMS soon arrived and pronounced the man deceased at the scene. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing. Police are withholding the man’s name pending proper family notification.

‘MUGGER’ ARRESTED ON EAST 23RD
Police arrested 33-year-old Bryan Fuge for robbery in front of 23 East 23rd Street last Saturday at 9:16 p.m. Police said that Fuge followed a woman along the sidewalk and when she entered a dimly lit area he allegedly charged at her and forcibly snatched her pocketbook, causing the strap to break. Police said that Fuge fled east, which wound up being towards four plainclothes officers.
An officer then identified himself by stating, “Police, don’t move,” and Fuge yelled and allegedly lowered his shoulder, ramming into the officers. Police said that he resisted arrest by shoving, striking and writhing around while maintaining possession of the bag. Police said that Fuge is a suspect in two other robberies in the 13th and 17th precincts and was currently on parole. He was charged with robbery, criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ‘SWIPING’ PURSE AT PARK AVE. SOUTH AND EAST 22ND
Police arrested 31-year-old Jenea Osborne at the corner of Park Avenue South and East 22nd Street last Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for grand larceny and possession of stolen property. The victim told police that she was eating a salad with her friend when someone came up to her and told her that he saw her bag get taken. She said that she had an iPad inside her bag. A witness told police that he saw Osborne walk into the store with a man who was behaving in a disorderly manner and he saw Osborne take the victim’s bag. The witness said that the man who was with Osborne left the store and came back briefly to make sure that no one was following her.
Officers later searched the area and put a description on the radio. Two officers were canvassing the uptown 6 train station and stopped Osborne since she fit the description. Police said that prior to the stop, they witnessed Osborne throw the black handbag into the train tracks. The witness made a positive ID of Osborne when she was arrested. The victim told police that she didn’t see her bag get taken but when the bag was recovered she said that it was hers.

MAN ARRESTED FOR ‘GROPING’ WOMAN ON 4 TRAIN
Police arrested 41-year-old Francisco Garcia at the Union Square subway station for sexual abuse last Friday at 12:18 p.m. Police said that Garcia was on a downtown 4 train, allegedly rubbing and pressing his groin area against the victim’s buttocks and hip multiple times.

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Letters to the Editor, Oct. 22

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Sick of Ave. C looking like Swiss cheese

A reader sent this letter to Town & Village last Tuesday about traffic problems during ongoing work along Avenue C. A response from the DOT and Con Ed follows.

Avenue C has been torn up for over three weeks, between at least 20th Street and 14th Street. I assume this is done by the DOT but I’m not certain of it.

In any case how can any responsible agency be permitted to tear up a major access road (this stretch serves as both means of entry and exit for the East River Drive) and leave it in the condition of a veritable mine field? It’s beyond reason. Traffic is slowed to a crawl and vehicles are swerving left and right to avoid major pot holes, exposed sewer covers and gas vents. (On what had been a level street to begin with, I traverse the area daily and there were no issues with this street.) Vehicle and pedestrian safety are severely compromised.

One evening last week, Con Edison employed the use of traffic cones and security guards on both 16th and 14th Streets to secure parking for their employees on the Stuyvesant Town perimeter. I believe this was done due to the congestion caused by no parking on Avenue C. Is this legal? And to top it off, that same night DOT (?) was tearing up the intersection at 14th Street and First Avenue.

What’s going on here? Why is our neighborhood being taxed so severely by poorly coordinated city services and an out of control power company? If street work is necessary, fine. Tear it up as needed but don’t leave it in this condition for weeks (months?) at a time.

Demolition/tear-up should not be permitted unless the repairs are to be made immediately. Is this so contractors can start as many jobs as possible and then get back to them when they see fit? Who is responsible for this? The public is not being well served.

Name withheld, ST

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Fire in PCV injures 5

A firefighter gets ready to enter a fourth floor apartment at 601 East 20th Street. Photo via FDNY)

A firefighter gets ready to enter a fourth floor apartment at 601 East 20th Street. (Photo via FDNY)

By Sabina Mollot

An older resident was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a Peter Cooper Village apartment on Friday. The blaze, which the Fire Department got the call about at 5:13 p.m. took 29 minutes to get under control, with 20 units and 78 firefighters at the scene.

The resident, James Masterson, has been treated and released and is now fine, according to a woman who works for the couple as a caretaker. She wasn’t working at the apartment that day but said Masterson and his wife Bernadette were both home at the time the fire broke out.

“He inhaled smoke, but he’s fine now; they’re both fine,” she said.

The address where the fire broke out was on the fourth floor at 601 East 20th Street, which is on Avenue C.

The FDNY said that after the fire, four firefighters were taken to different local hospitals with minor injuries and one civilian was also taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition. The FDNY said it couldn’t confirm that it was Masterson or even the age of the patient.

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Fireworks viewing spots, street closures on July 4th

(Photo by Sabina Mollot)

(Photo by Sabina Mollot)

With the July 4th Macy’s fireworks show on the East Side this year, it may be viewed in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn from any area with an unobstructed view of the sky above the East River.

The public viewing sections for Manhattan will be the elevated portions of FDR Drive with the following entry points:

From Houston Street to midtown: Houston Street, 23rd Street, 34th Street and 42nd Street.

From Lower Manhattan: Broad Street ground level, Old Slip upper level, Pearl and Frankfort.

ADA /Special Needs Viewing Area:

FDR Drive southbound lane at 16th Street and Avenue C or 34th Street (top of ramp) and Vietnam Memorial Park

Stuy Town and Waterside alerts:

Waterside Plaza will be holding a party that’s closed to anyone who isn’t a resident or a guest with a wristband. Wristband access only times are 12 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Deadline to register for wristbands is 2 p.m. on July 2.

Additionally, the NYPD will be closing streets to traffic around Stuyvesant Town. CompassRock issued a notice to tenants saying 14th, 20th and 23rd Streets from First Avenue to Avenue C will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 p.m. to midnight. Peter Cooper Road and Stuy Town’s Loop Roads will also be closed from 6 p.m. to midnight. Avenue C and the FDR Drive will also be closed from 5 p.m. to midnight. During this time, entrances to Stuy Town will be staffed by Public Safety officers so residents will need to have their ID ready. Gates to Peter Cooper entrances will also be closed from 6 p.m. to midnight but Public Safety officers will be on hand to allow residents access. Guests of residents will be asked which residents and apartments they are visiting. Garages will be inaccessible from 5 p.m. to midnight and playgrounds will be closed at 6 p.m.

UPDATE: We didn’t hear from anyone in time to include this in this week’s issue of Town & Village, but Stuyvesant Cove Park will also be closed during the fireworks, according to a Solar 1 staffer, except for a ticketed event held by Zum Schneider at the north end of the park.