Thursday's parting sidewalk bridge shot

Workers were erecting a sidewalk bridge late this afternoon at 101 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue... home to Cafe Mogador, whose sidewalk cafe now gets some extra, and maybe unwanted shade.

Permits for the sidewalk bridge don't appear to be on file with the city just yet.

Sidewalk bridge finally hauled away from the Verizon building on 2nd Avenue

Late last week, workers began removing the sidewalk bridge around the Verizon building on Second Avenue at 13th Street...


[Top 2 photos from Sunday]

And it was all gone by the end of the day Monday...



As we reported on Nov. 28, several residents pointed out that a growing number of travelers/crusties had been living under the sidewalk bridge for the past few months. A small fire on Nov. 26 temporarily brought an end to the encampment, as city workers tossed the mattresses and other found items.

One reader said of the pre-fire conditions:

They live and sleep there. They openly shoot up, get drunk, fight, party all night and block the sidewalk with mattresses, chairs — even tables.

The situation has become a total nightmare now.

According to nearby residents, it didn't appear that any construction work was even taking place in the building, that the sidewalk bridge was seemingly forgotten. (Verizon blamed the Department of Buildings for delayed inspections, per PIX 11.)

In any event, now that the sidewalk bridge is gone, will we see a return to the brown paint wars?



Previously on EV Grieve:
Fire under sidewalk bridge on 13th Street temporarily brings an end to homeless encampment

[Updated] A look at the collapsed sidewalk bridge on Broadway and Prince

Stepping away from the usual coverage zone for this post... EVG regular Lola Sāenz shared these photos this afternoon... showing the aftermath of the scaffolding collapse on Broadway and Prince...



According to reports, five people received minor injuries after the sidewalk bridge on this corner collapsed this morning around 11:30 a.m. The FDNY blamed today's high winds for the damage.

Twitter is full of clips of passersby digging through the planks to help those injured...

NEW: Video shows moments after scaffold collapsed on Broadway and Prince Street in SoHo. pic.twitter.com/OoWelg0PFz

— Myles N. Miller (@MylesMill) November 19, 2017

Updated:

There were also reports of a collapsed sidewalk bridge at 753 E. Sixth St. at Avenue D. Per CBS 2, there weren't any reports of injuries.

Bobby Williams shared these photos from Avenue D...



A bystander said that a piece of the scaffolding came down at 79-89 Avenue D between Seventh Street and Sixth Street ... where a 12-story retail-residential building is under construction.



According to the DOB website: "FDNY REQUESTS A STRUCTURAL STABILITY INSPECTION DUE TO SCAFFOLDING IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE."

A short-lived sidewalk-bridge-free section of Avenue C

[Photo from Oct. 6]

In a links roundup on Oct. 7, I posted the above photo noting that workers removed the remaining sidewalk bridge and scaffolding on the west side of Avenue C between Seventh Street and Sixth Street ... in front of the NYCHA-owned buildings.

Per an EVG reader: "I've been living on C for 6 years now and can't remember a day when it wasn't a fixture of the buildings along that stretch of sidewalk."

Anyway, the sidewalk freedom was short-lived... another sidewalk bridge returned this past week...





The DOB webiste doesn't offer much about what's exactly happening with the address (99-103 Avenue C), other than "INSTALLATION OF TEMPORARY SIDEWALK SHED AS PER PLANS."

On the Sixth Street side, the temporary boilers that arrived after Sandy will be celebrating their 5-year anniversary on Oct. 29.

Here's the sidewalk bridge-free corner of 9th Street and 1st Avenue — and the 122 Community Center

[Photos by Steven]

The northeast corner of First Avenue and Ninth Street is finally free of the sidewalk bridge. Workers finished removing it yesterday.







The gut renovation — including the addition of an elevator, new stairwells and full ADA compliance — started in February 2013 at the 122 Community Center.

The Department of Cultural Affairs owns the building, and Deborah Berke Partners designed the overhaul of the former public school to better house four arts groups and one community-service organization.

I'm not sure now when everyone, such as PS122, are expected to return to the building. PS122 has been presenting performances from other venues the past four years; its temporary offices are in Greenpoint. (PS122 opened in the space in 1980.)

Eventually, this is what the final product will look like...


[Deborah Berke Partners]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Come along on a tour of the under-renovation 122 Community Center on 1st Avenue

A map to track the city's 280 miles of sidewalk bridges

[A fine sidewalk bridge on St. Mark's Place]

The New York Times takes a look at the 280 (!) miles of sidewalk bridges or sidewalk sheds that line the five boroughs.

Though intended to protect passers-by from falling debris, these eyesores known as sidewalk sheds have often become a blight, drawing a barrage of complaints from residents and businesses that they block light and views, attract crime and litter and impede foot traffic along congested sidewalks.

On the positive side, sidewalk bridges make for handy places to drape paintings of naked women with 100 Avenue A written on their bodies to help sell condos...



Anyway, while City Council is considering some legislation targeting scaffolding that stays too long, the DOB has unveiled an online tool to track the city's sidewalk bridges/sheds...

It has taken stock of scaffolding and created an online system to better track the structures at a time when there are more of them than ever as older buildings need work and a construction boom produces more towers. In a sweep last year, building inspectors checked every piece of scaffolding and while most needed to remain for safety, about 150 were ordered dismantled because work had been finished.

The new map marks every building with scaffolding with a color-coded dot showing why the structures went up: red for buildings deemed unsafe, light blue for repairs, dark blue for new construction and green for maintenance work. Clicking on a dot reveals more details, including the date a permit was first approved. The older the scaffolding, the larger the dot.

You can play with the map here.

This is just a screengrab...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Now, for real, final pieces of 6-year-old sidewalk bridge come down on St. Mark's Place

Sidewalk bridge arrives just in time for East 3rd Street shop's busiest time of the year

A sidewalk bridge bridge arrived yesterday outside a row of buildings on East Third Street — much to the dismay of Dina Leor.

Leor is the owner of La Sirena, the small Mexican folk-art store at 27 E. Third St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Business is challenging enough without a sidewalk bridge obscuring part of the block — especially two days before what is traditionally her busiest shopping weekend of the year.

"Yesterday, on the coldest day of the season — I really felt for the workers — building management had a sidewalk scaffolding put up out front with no notice to the commercial tenants," she said.

Leor called the management (the property is owned by the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association) to find out what was happening. The response she received: "a few repairs and upkeep." She wondered why this couldn't wait until January.

And why wasn't there any notice?

"I would have been able to make a banner so people could know we are here and open on the busiest week of the year ... the week that gives us the financial boost to hopefully continue on with our evolving assemblage," said Leon, who has run La Sirena for 18 years. "I count on foot traffic. This is like the Grinch who stole La Sirena's Christmas."



Previously on EV Grieve:
With the help of Rosie Mendez, La Sirena gets a new lease on East 3rd Street

Out and About in the East Village with Dina Leor

Veselka is free from its sidewalk bridge

After nearly four and a half months, workers have removed the sidewalk bridge from the building that houses Veselka on Second Avenue and East Ninth Street...





Back in late April, Veselka owner Tom Birchard told us that several small pieces of masonry fell off the building… and the building's landlord quickly had a crew erect a sidewalk bridge ahead of the repair work… unfortunately, the work wasn't completed quite as quickly, and the restaurant's sidewalk cafe was under cover for the late spring and the entire summer.

Photos via EVG correspondent Steven

A sidewalk bridge now wraps around Veselka

On Saturday morning, we noticed that workers were erecting a sidewalk bridge around the building that houses Veselka on Second Avenue and East Ninth Street.

We asked Veselka owner Tom Birchard what happened. He tells us that several small pieces of masonry fell off the building on Thursday. They quickly notified the landlord, whose contractor started putting the sidewalk bridge into place on Friday.

"The landlord assures us that repairs will take place as quickly as possible but it may take a month just to get the necessary permits to start work," Birchard says. "Worst possible time of year for this to happen."

The sidewalk seating was able to return after workers finished the bridge.

Sidewalk bridge arrives on Houston and Avenue B

Last Tuesday evening, debris from atop the corner building on Avenue B at East Houston fell, reportedly breaking the foot of a 57-year-old man passing by on the sidewalk.

On Friday, workers arrived to erect a protective sidewalk bridge.



The FDNY promptly ordered a structural stability inspection and logged a complaint with the Department of Buildings. There aren't any work permits on file yet on this long-vacant building.

Given that mostly nothing has happened here the past few years, we imagine that the sidewalk bridge will be up for some time… perhaps even breaking an EV record in the process.

H/T EVG reader Magic Brian

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cleaning out the long-closed liquor store on Avenue B and East Houston

Is something finally happening to the long-vacant, mysterious 6 Avenue B?

Should you be worried about sidewalk sheds?

[Photo Sunday by Pinhead]

On Sunday, the just-installed sidewalk shed collapsed outside the Salvation Army's former East Village Residence on the Bowery at East Third Street. No one was injured.

The incident prompted a discussion about the safety of sidewalk bridges among a few EVG friends and readers. One EVG reader pointed us to a article from Friday in The New York World, which the Columbia Journalism School publishes, titled "Shoddy sidewalk sheds pose risk amid faltering city enforcement efforts."

According to the paper's investigation:

● A special Scaffold Safety Team, created in late 2007 by the Bloomberg administration to monitor construction scaffolds and sidewalks sheds, has seen its staff reduced from 14 field inspectors in 2008 to 9 in 2013.
● The number of violations issued for faulty sheds has plummeted, from 855 in 2009 to 337 in 2013.
● At least 39 pedestrians and construction workers have been injured since January 2011 in accidents involving sidewalk sheds

You can find stats and the city's response in the article here.

Meanwhile, here's Richard Miller, a structural engineer and owner of MRES Engineering PC, a private consulting firm: "I always cross the street to avoid walking under sheds. And I recommend others do the same."

Now, for real, final pieces of 6-year-old sidewalk bridge come down on St. Mark's Place

[April 23]

Oh boy were we faked out back on April 23 … when, after six-plus years, workers began taking down the sidewalk bridge outside 32 and 34 St. Mark's Place.

But! A chunk of the bridge/scaffolding remained up outside No. 34.

Until Wednesday night, when crews returned …



And it was a job that stretched into yesterday morning…



And by late afternoon! Sidewalk! Oh sidewalk!



And Khyber Pass!



Oh sidewalk!



According to the DOB, the city issued the permit for the sidewalk bridge in February 2008. As far as anyone can recall, no work had ever been done on the buildings at 32 or 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue during this time.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's sidewalk shed celebrates fourth anniversary

Happy 5th Birthday to the sidewalk shed of St. Mark's Place!

Miracle on St. Mark's! Sidewalk bridge comes down 6-plus years later!

Miracle on St. Mark's! Sidewalk bridge comes down 6-plus years later!

What a scene late yesterday afternoon on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue … where workers quickly removed the 6-plus-year-old sidewalk bridge from the south side of the street.

According to the DOB, the city issued the permit for the sidewalk bridge in February 2008. As far as anyone can recall, no work had ever been done on the buildings at 32 or 34 St. Mark's Place.



Among other things, the removal of the sidewalk bridge gives "The Doorshitter" of St. Mark's Place less cover … if he ever decided to return…

Oh, and THAT'S what the front of 2 Bros. looks like…

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's sidewalk shed celebrates fourth anniversary

Happy 5th Birthday to the sidewalk shed of St. Mark's Place!