Christmas miracle on the Bowery

On Wednesday morning, an EVG reader shared these two photos... showing workers outlining lane lines, crosswalks and other traffic markings on the Bowery at Houston...



The reader [sarcastically] thought that the contractors were marking the location for more roadwork.

Checking back in on the intersection... can it be that the never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project has maybe actually ended???





As noted off and on through the years (starting with Mayor LaGuardia), completion of the $52.5 million East Houston Reconstruction project was overdue by five years. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) started this project in June 2010, reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive.

The work was initially scheduled to wrap up in 2013 (!!!), but was delayed again and again as the city reportedly ran into problems with existing underground wiring and pipes and unhinged bureaucracy.

The interactive map accessible via the DDC's website now shows a completion date of 12-25-2018!

Fables of the East Houston Reconstruction

A milestone of sorts to note in the never, ever, ever ending East Houston Reconstruction Project ... the work moved last week from the east side and the median of the Bowery at East Houston ... to the west side of the Bowery...





Anyway, as noted off and on through the years, completion of the $52.5 million East Houston Reconstruction project is now overdue by five years. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) started this project in June 2010, reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive.

The work was initially scheduled to wrap up in 2013 (heh), but has been delayed again and again as the city reportedly ran into problems with existing underground wiring and pipes.

At last look, the estimated completion was Jan. 15, 2018, per the DDC's weekly bulletin. There doesn't appear to be any published end date at this point. The last reconstruction newsletter is from the fourth quarter of 2017. (An email to the Community Construction Liaison wasn't returned.)

And in another milestone of sorts... workers yesterday removed one of the painted storage sheds on First Street between Avenue A and First Avenue that has been here dating to 2010.


[Photo by Stacie Joy]

A few items remain ... which will have to be moved as the unrelated water main replacement hits this side of First Street...

You will still have a few more seasons to enjoy the East Houston Reconstruction Project

Here's part of an EVG post from Jan. 15, 2016:

Anytime that you've tried to cross East Houston from Avenue A west to the Bowery these past, oh, six years, you've probably wondered, When, dear [____], will this construction ever end?

To answer that very broadly — sometime this year. Probably!

Anyway, one year later, word comes that the already-delayed project has a new completion date — summer instead of the spring.

Here's DNAinfo with more:

The Department of Design and Construction is now in the final stretch of the years-long overhaul of the thoroughfare as workers prepare for the installation of a new water main near the Bowery intersection and the construction of a pedestrian island at Second Avenue, according to a DDC spokeswoman.

Officials initially anticipated a spring completion date for the work, but the department ran into delays due to interference with existing underground wiring while preparing to install the 20-inch water main west of Chrystie Street.

The East Houston Street Reconstruction Project newsletter (PDF here) also notes something about the addition of a "safety island" (no word on rents here) for East Houston and Second Avenue.

The DDC started this project in June 2010, reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

Image via Google Street View

Crossing East Houston

[Click to go big]

Although the East Houston Reconstruction project, already three years behind schedule, has been delayed again, there are some spots where work has mostly wrapped up... like at the East Houston/First Avenue/Allen Street intersection.

The markings are on the roadway for the crosswalks and bike lanes, as the above photo by Vinny & O shows.

The Department of Design and Construction has been replacing sewers, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive. This work phase started in June 2010. Spring 2017 is the new completion date. Do I hear summer 2017?

A moment in the ongoing East Houston Reconstruction Project

As the East Houston Reconstruction project creeps along, already three years behind schedule, EVG reader EV Rob says that he was getting tired of seeing the new medians as well as the East First Street pedestrian plaza filled with weeds and trash.

"I check the weekly bulletin they issue just to see what's coming. They listed those weed-ridden plots as accomplishments," EV Rob wrote us in an email.

And he wondered why the center medians from the Bowery to Sixth Avenue are usually maintained and manicured ... yet those from FDR to First Avenue are overgrown with weeds as tall as 6 feet in a few spots...







So EV Rob sent an email last Thursday to the project's community rep... Not only did Rob receive a response that day, he also saw that on Friday a crew started cleaning up the Greenstreets pedestrian plaza outside Punjabi Deli ...



The rep offered an apology and said that the DDC would clean up the medians "then turn them over to the Parks Department for all future maintenance."

EV Rob said that was impressed that someone got back to him... and took action.

Meanwhile! There was talk that the whole project might be wrapping up this month. However, DNAinfo reports that there is now a further delay in the the already-prolonged project. Spring 2017 is the new completion date.

The DDC has been reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive. This work phase started in June 2010, when the Lakers beat the Celtics to win their 16th NBA Championship and "Jonah Hex" was playing in theaters.

Happy Labor Day.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Never-ending construction continues to hurt Punjabi Grocery & Deli

Taxi Relief Stand arrives on Avenue A; Punjabi Grocery & Deli relieved

Would you be surprised to learn that the East Houston Reconstruction Project is further delayed?

[What lies beneath East Houston]

Anytime that you've tried to cross East Houston from Avenue A west to the Bowery these past, oh, six years, you've probably wondered, When, dear [____], will this construction ever end?

To answer that very broadly — sometime this year. Probably!

Various reps for the never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project appeared before CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee on Tuesday night. BoweryBoogie was there and learned that — ding! ding! — there will likely be another delay in completing the project.

Per BoweryBoogie:

Not only is the project delayed three years, but the September 2016 completion date previously provided was stretched again by another month. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s easily the third revised end date in recent memory. Blame more of the “utility interference” that contractors encounter each time the roadway is torn asunder (i.e. encountering issues with different agency wiring that needs attention).

Oh, and here are some photos of the Greenstreets pedestrian plaza outside Punjabi Deli from the fall... the work was finished around that time, but the final planting inside of the planters and bench installation likely won't happen now until the fall...





As, as previously posted, here's how the new Greenstreets and street configurations at Avenue A and Houston will look ...



And here are some general highlights from the city's latest East Houston Street Reconstruction Project newsletter (PDF!):

Proposed Work Schedule Winter 2016
1.Continue excavating and install 36” trunk water main at the Bowery and East Houston Street
2.Continue excavating and install trunk water main on East Houston Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery
3.Continue installing new catch basin and chute connection at 2nd Avenue
4.Begin excavating and install new center median planters

The DDC is reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive. This work phase started in June 2010, when the Lakers beat the Celtics to win their 16th NBA Championship and "Jonah Hex" was playing in theaters.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Never-ending construction continues to hurt Punjabi Grocery & Deli

Taxi Relief Stand arrives on Avenue A; Punjabi Grocery & Deli relieved

A moment on East Houston

Via our friends at In Alphabet City...

Some day, the East Houston Reconstruction Project will end, but not anytime soon

The East Houston Reconstruction Project, which started in the heady early summer days of 2010, is now reportedly three years behind schedule.

On Tuesday night, reps from the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) provided CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee with an update. BoweryBoogie was there and filed a report.

An excerpt:

Blame the delays on unforeseen obstacles and the ensuing quibbling between city agencies and utility companies over responsibility. Apparently such “unforeseen utility interference” requires “specialty work” that can only be handled by one company over another. For instance, Con Edison or Verizon called down to relocate certain equipment or maintain abandoned gas mains before the water piping infrastructure goes in. But no one involved owns up to the responsibility when there are delays or issues encountered.

Per BB, the latest completion date is now September 2016, and with a price tag hitting $88 million. Head to BoweryBoogie here for the full story.

The DDC is reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive.


[Photo of Ed Strians by EVG]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

Avenue A and East Houston intersection shaping up, pretty much

[Photo of Houston and A from July by Maggie Wrigley]

After nearly four decades years of construction and confusion and chaos (and what not), you could actually say that there's progress to note at Avenue A with the East Houston Reconstruction Project.

See — less confusion and chaos. You can see the streets! And new curbs!





An aside, does anyone know how to get to the hospital… oh, forget it!



Anyway …





And via Twitter, EVG reader Mike Brown reminded us of the new Greenstreets and street configurations on these corners…




[Click on images to enlarge]

No sign of a cab stand in these designs.

The East Houston Reconstruction Project is now scheduled (PDF!) to be completed by mid-2016, according to the latest city estimates.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Jeremiah first reported on this campaign yesterday at Vanishing New York.

Given the never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project, the folks at Punjabi Grocery & Deli on East First Street near Avenue A/East Houston are struggling to stay in business. The storefront, which arguably serves the best inexpensive vegetarian food in the neighborhood, is losing a big chunk of its audience: cab drivers.

The construction site has taken up all the parking spaces for cab drivers, making it nearly impossible for them to stop in for a meal. (Those who do stop face a getting a ticket.)

So Punjabi is petitioning the city to bring a taxi relief stand to the front of the deli, "a place where taxis can park for an hour so drivers can get a meal, use the rest room, and relax before getting back behind the wheel."

Here's more from the petition:

Though the City and state government collect taxes for each trip from commuters in the form of surcharge through hard working of drivers, they do not create or give much facility and respect to taxi drivers. Since last many years this particular area is under major road and other repairs.

On the top of that construction companies using this area as their personal storage and stocking facility. Due to that in this all area you only see no parking signs. Parking to use the facility become more and more difficult and drivers get parking violation tickets. But the city government official do not think about creating facility but they are only interested in creating more hardship to their hardworking community.

[East First Street disaster construction zone]

You can find the petition here.

This is exactly the kind of business that we need around here. As it stands, the inexpensive, quick-serve restaurants are disappearing (Bereket ... Cafe Rakka on Avenue B ... First Avenue Pierogi and Deli ... and soon, Snack Dragon, to name a few).

As for the East Houston Reconstruction Project, it is now scheduled (PDF!) to be completed by mid-2016, according to the latest city estimates. It doesn't seem possible that Punjabi Grocery & Deli can last two more years at this rate.