Mayor Adams unveils the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition for long-problematic East Village corridor

Photo from last week on 14th Street looking west from Avenue A 

Mayor Adams yesterday unveiled the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition, a multi-city-agency approach to address the quality-of-life issues along the problematic corridor between Avenue A and First Avenue and surrounding streets. 

A centerpiece of the plan includes the previously announced $1 million investment in a new Mobile Command Center, which will soon arrive on 14th Street. (The mayor said the command center will not be permanent.) 

Adams made the announcement while flanked by a host of city administrators representing the NYPD, the FDNY, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), and the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene (DOHMH), and local elected officials. (You can watch the entire press conference below.)

"When we came into office, we had a clear mission: protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make our city more affordable and livable, and the '14th Street Community Improvement Coalition' precisely addresses these concerns — enhancing quality of life and making the East Village safer," Adams said at a press conference inside the 14th Street Y. "Our administration does not and will not tolerate an atmosphere where anything goes." 

"Anything goes" has been the order of the day (and night) on 14th Street in recent years, an issue that gained widespread attention following the Sunday afternoon triple stabbing that left one man dead on June 23. 

Since the stabbings, the NYPD has been a regular presence on the block, both on foot patrols and in patrol cars. The NYPD also installed three light towers south of 14th Street between A and First. Residents have said they've seen improvements along the block.

Per Adams, the city formed the multi-agency coalition to tackle the complicated convergence of public safety issues, including illegal vending, retail theft, substance use and sales, the mental health crisis, and unlicensed cannabis shops.

In recent weeks, teams from various city agencies have conducted walkthroughs to observe these issues firsthand and engage with local community members and businesses. They have also identified individuals needing services, such as housing or medical care, and referred them to the appropriate city agencies. 

To further enhance communication, the 9th and 13th Precincts have launched a WhatsApp chat with business owners along the East 14th Street corridor. The chat allows for real-time identification and resolution of concerns.

Adams outlined the following actions: 

• Conducting weekly NYPD operations to address homeless encampments, vendors, and persons needing assistance. 
• Assigning a dedicated NYPD foot post to address quality-of-life issues and maintain a visible presence along the commercial corridor of 14th 
• Affixing mobile light fixtures to sustain visibility.
• Servicing litter baskets daily on all three DSNY shifts and addressing homeless encampments.
• Deploying DSNY graffiti clean-up crews to remove graffiti on private property. 
• Ensuring availability of mental health units and homeless services outreach teams to support people in need of mental health support through DOHMH and DHS. 

"This is not a problem that's going to come back to this area," Adams said emphatically. "What we saw here is not acceptable. This is not the city that we deserve. We deserve better, we're going to get better, but we're clear on the complexities of the problems that we're facing." 

During the Q&A period with reporters, District 2 City Councilmember Carlina Rivera fielded a question about the weekend flea market at Immaculate Conception on 14th Street at First Avenue, which some residents said contributes to the quality-of-life issues. 

The flea market moved to 14th Street in the fall of 2012 when the Mary Help of Christians property on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street turned into luxury housing courtesy of Douglas Steiner. 

As Rivera explained, the market wasn't a good fit for the space that Immaculate Conception had available.

"It was already too large for this space, so that market spilled onto the street, and people started attaching themselves to [it], saying they were affiliated with it when they were not. So it quickly did get out of control," she said. 

Rivera said officials have talked with church leaders and the Archdiocese of New York, though no action has been taken on their behalf. 

"They are relying on the revenue from that market to help sustain them," Rivera said. "So while the flea market continues, we are looking toward maybe suspending it, finding a different location, or using other means for the church to [generate] revenue. Because it's not working. 

"We brought in the Street Vendor Project to try to organize the vendors. That has not worked. We've brought in faith-based institutions and clergy to speak to people," she continued. "So we've tried so many different approaches and perspectives, but really ... the corridor is just way too busy and there are too many things happening on it for us to have that market continue in the capacity that it is." 

The press portion of yesterday's presentation begins at the 37-minute mark...

   

H/T Edmund John Dunn!

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A look at 14th Street this morning after the triple stabbing and homicide (June 24)

• NYPD light tower arrives on a cleaned-up SE corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (June 27) 

• A look at 14th Street and 1st Avenue — 'a New York Block No One Can Fix' (July 10) 

• From the archives: A documentary short about the intersection of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (July 11)