The city serves notice to more abandoned East Village curbside dining structures

On Friday, the Department of Transportation placed an ABANDONED outdoor seating notice on the gate at the now-closed Compilation Coffee on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue...

The coffee shop, which is now empty, has 14 days to "correct the deficiencies" of its outdoor seating... which was constructed the same week that Compilation suddenly closed without any notice...

The pour-over coffee shop shuttered at the start of November after less than two months in business. Google lists Compilation Coffee as "permanently closed." The shop's website notes that Compilation Coffee Roasters 2.0 is coming soon, though perhaps not at this location as the inside is bare. The CC Instagram account is now MIA as well. 

In other abandoned curbside dining news, the DOT also served notice (on Nov. 27) to the currently closed Cloister Cafe on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... (thanks to EVG reader Craig Sloane for these photos...)

That abandoned space (seen below last week) has been removed...

The city started issuing warnings about abandoned (or deficient) curbside dining spaces back in August. 

As for the future of outdoor dining, Curbed noted earlier this fall: 

The improvisational process that birthed streeteries is over, and the government is approaching a consensus on how to make them permanent. While those rules are still being written, a few outcomes seem likely. Rickety plywood sheds will come down — eventually; it could take a while — and be replaced in many cases by more up-to-code structures. And New York will continue to allow restaurants to commandeer an astounding amount of public pavement.

Local elected officials urging the MTA/DOT to keep local service in M14 SBS plan

[EVG file photo]

Last month, the MTA presented a preliminary proposal for permanent M14 Select Bus Service (SBS) on 14th Street.

The Villager recently had a recap of that meeting, gleaned from attendees:

Currently, the new planned SBS route calls for fewer stops by the M14, particularly in the East Village and Lower East Side, as well as off-board ticketing. The MTA has not decided yet whether it will eliminate current M14A and M14D service following SBS implementation. But, officials at the meeting said the authority was “open” to that idea.

The elimination of service/stops along the M14A and M14D routes isn't sitting well with local elected officials.

This afternoon at 1, several of them — including City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, State Sen. Brian Kavanagh and State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein — along with other community leaders are gathering on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Fourth Street to call for "a new M14 Select Bus Service (SBS) plan that retains local bus service while creating a new, faster SBS alternative with fewer stops."

The rally comes on the heels of a letter urging the MTA and DOT (see below) for a "real M14 SBS."

Here's some background via the EVG inbox...

Community District 3, which encompasses most of the future M14 SBS route, is one of the most underserved transit areas of Manhattan, with 15 percent of our residents living more than half a mile from the nearest subway stop.

At the same time, this area is home to one of the 10 largest senior populations in New York City. These seniors rely on the current M14A/D to get to medical appointments, supermarkets, and social activities. If these individuals lose their local stops, many will also lose a critical connection to their community.

The current proposal also ignores the challenges that stop removal will pose for our neighbors living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments and the 28 percent of residents of the Lower East Side and Chinatown who live below the Federal Poverty Level.

A real M14 SBS with supplemental, local service, would service these populations while improving on the proposed SBS plan, which is currently a clear compromise between a local route and a typical SBS route – meaning that the proposed M14 SBS will not have the “express” travel times that other routes have.

Pre Citi-Bike launch, DOT introduces 'Street Safety Managers' to the streets

Early yesterday morning, we noticed a group of DOT employees congregating outside the Bean on First Avenue and East Ninth Street...

A DOT news release offers up an explanation:

Managers complement commercial cycling education and enforcement efforts, come in advance of May Citi Bike launch
New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan today announced that DOT Street Safety Managers (SSM) are assigned to key bike and pedestrian corridors and bridge paths in Manhattan to help enhance safety among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, further enhancing street safety as bike ridership grows, as DOT starts enforcement of commercial cycling laws and in advance of the 6,000-bike launch of the Citi Bike system. The SSMs will monitor locations with dense pedestrian and cyclist activity to reinforce existing traffic rules, advising bike riders to ride in the direction of traffic, yield to pedestrians and stop at traffic signals; instructing pedestrians to await traffic signals on the curb and not stand in bike paths; and discouraging cars from parking illegally in bike lanes. Shifts of four SSMs will be assigned to different locations in Manhattan weekdays during the morning and afternoon rush hours from April through October.

“Our streets have never been safer and we’re educating everyone on how to use them safely, and enforcing against those who don’t,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “With more people out in the warm weather we’re committed to doing even more to get out the message that safety is the rule of the road.”

EVG reader @malusbrutus passed along this photo from yesterday at Second Avenue and East Ninth Street ...



He notes that the DOT personnel are not issuing citations, rather just offering warnings.

Also!

"In related news, police officers regularly stand on the north side of 14th street and 1st avenue to ticket cyclists who break traffic laws on their morning commute."

Updated:

The bike haters at the Post has a piece on this today.

Taxpayers are forking over cash so a small army of city DOT employees can baby-sit rogue cyclists, reminding them of the basic rules of the road so they don’t pedal into pedestrians.

Read more, including some local reaction, here.