As Village residents await Borough President Scott Stringer’s recommendation early next month regarding N.Y.U.’s expansion plans, The Local is taking a look at the impacts of the project. Today, we’re examining the concerns surrounding parking under the proposed development. Check back throughout the week for our coverage of concerns surrounding loss of light, the dog run, playgrounds, and the LaGuardia Community Garden. What other issues should we tackle? Let us know in the comments.
Q.
OK, so how is parking in Greenwich Village going to be affected by this plan?
A.
Currently, there are 670 spaces in a garage underneath Washington Square Village. Of these, 150 are public and the rest, a total of 520, are reserved for residents and their guests. As proposed, 281 parking spaces will be permanently eliminated. No spaces will be available to the general public.
Q.
So, 281 lost? That sounds like a lot.
A.
The new garage would have 389 total spaces, which is the minimum required by the city zoning code. The entirely private garage would be built starting in 2022 and would be accessible through only one entrance, whereas the existing one has two (on West Third and Bleecker Streets). The current garage operates at around 80-percent capacity, and has around 130 spaces available on a typical workday. N.Y.U. believes that the amount of traffic using the new garage will be significantly less than it is now, given that the lot will not be open to drivers regularly commuting into the area. Opponents like Terri Cude, co-chairwoman of the Community Action Alliance, argue that the single entrance and exit would create a choke point that would exacerbate traffic. Read more…
Today, we’re looking back on the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. Earlier it was beat-downs, brawls, and blades. Now: Burgled businesses and stolen rides.
Daniel Maurer A burglar struck Angels and Kings on
Jan. 16.- A burglar struck Angels and Kings on East 11th Street on Jan. 16. An employee told the police that as he left his apartment in the morning he noticed the gate of the bar near Avenue A was lifted up and the cash registers were empty.
- A burglar snatched a 46-inch television from the Haven Plaza community center on Jan. 22. An employee told police that she arrived for work at the center near Avenue C and East 12th Street and noticed the padlock to an entrance on the floor. Another door was locked from the inside, and the television was missing from its mount on a wall.
- Someone stole $300 from Baohaus on Jan. 23. An employee of the restaurant on East 14th Street between Second and Third Avenues told the police that the bandit must have entered through a rear bathroom window, which had a broken lock from apparently being forced open.
Read more…
Folks, we’ve added a half-dozen new photos to our gallery and the time has finally come to vote for the neighborhood’s sweetest ride.
Browse the slideshow above and then pick your favorite from among our hastily improvised monickers below (feel free to suggest better names!) Once we have a set of winning wheels — voting will close around this time next week — we’ll do our best to track down its owner. Then you’ll get the story behind that nutty paint job or that gleaming set of rims.
Read more…
Thanks to our AMC Eagle-eyed readers, we’ve added over a dozen new contenders to our gallery of the East Village’s sweetest rides, including a vintage fire truck, two green monsters (a Ford Fairlane 500 and a Dodge Dart Swinger) and not one but two lemon-yellow Minis (one of them old-school, the other new-school). Which of the cars in the newly expanded slideshow will replace the defunct Free Willie Nelson as the unofficial vehicle of the East Village? (The Free Willie, by the way, posted a rather hilarious letter to its fans soon after its unfortunate demise.) Voting starts Monday, which gives you one more weekend to nominate your own favorites by adding them to The Local’s Flickr pool.
