Results tagged “eastdrive”

A no parking sign? A fire hydrant? Mere street dressing when it comes to drivers with a DOT-issued Department of City Planning placard. Streetsblog observes that a yellow Porsche convertible parked on Seventh Avenue belongs to City Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams. Hello, Dolly indeed.

The Department of Transportation announced that Central Park's West Drive will be car free until 8AM starting on Monday, August 6. Per the DOT's press release, via Streetsblog:

Beginning Monday, August 6th, the West Drive of Central Park between Lenox Avenue and the 7th Avenue Exit will be closed to motor vehicles for an additional hour (7-8am) during the morning peak period. Currently, the West Drive is open to motor vehicles between the hours of 7-10am and operates as an HOV 2+ only roadway. With this change, the West Drive will be open to motor vehicles between the hours of 8-10am only and will continue to operate as an HOV 2+ roadway. This additional hour of closure of the West Drive to motor vehicles provides an additional hour of conflict-free recreational use during the early morning hours.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan cites how Central Park is "busy in the mornings with walkers, joggers and cyclists," but there's no mention of the walkers, joggers and cyclists in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, as there were no improvements mentioned for it. Central Park's East Drive is open during the afternoons and early evenings (3-7PM) while East Drive from Sixth Avenue to 72nd and Fifth is open between 7AM and 7PM.

Yesterday, there were two mugging incidents in city parks. Last night, a man was beaten with a club near the Unisphere in Queens' Flushing Meadows Park. He had been walking through the park around 6:40PM when two men attacked him. Police believe they were trying to rob the man, who is now in critical condition at Elmhurst General.

This leaves us amazed: A woman jogging in Prospect Park with her baby was attacked by a gang of youths, who robbed her of her iPod. Luckily, that's all they took and the mother seems fine (she was hit from behind), but what makes the crime crazy is that the youths seem to be 12 years old. Twelve years old! The Post reports that Laurie Maher-Samra was jogging near Nellie's Lawn on the East Drive when the attack occured at 1PM. Maher-Samra said, "There were people around. It was weird. It was a bold move. As a mom of a 7-month old, I should be able to walk with him in the park." A few months ago, there were more stories about "wolf packs" of teens terrorizing people in Prospect Park, but the NYPD said they weren't really an issue. Still, we wonder if our readers have noticed a change in police presence at the park, because if mommies and their babies aren't safe, that pretty much accounts for 70% of Park Slope's population.

Yesterday was a beautiful, mild day, perfect for walking around Central Park. However, the weather - and nightfall - seemed to make crime more possible. There were two separate robberies in the park last night. The first occured around 6PM at East Drive near 102nd Street: A 63 year-old man was mugged by two robbers who got away with $250. Then, around 8:30PM, a 52 year old man was surrounded by five men near Bethesda Fountain. The Post reports he was punched and kicked, with robbers taking about $300.

Gothamist on how New Yorkers are unfazed by iPod thefts.

A West Side woman walking her dog in Central Park was assaulted by an attacker until her dog bit him. The attacker, who exposed himself then tried to grope the woman, encountered the woman at 102nd and East Drive, near the ravine where the Central Park jogger was attacked. The woman's 60 pound dog "took a gash" out of the attacker, leaving much blood on the path; the dog is being treated as evidence, since he has blood and skin fibers from the suspect.

Help me settle an argument. My friend claims there are no statues of women in Central Park. I swear I've seen a couple. Am I wrong? She could list a bunch of statues of men like Alexander Hamilton and Hans Christian Andersen, but I was having trouble coming up with even one female statue.

A 24 year-old woman going for an early evening run in Prospect Park was attacked. Someone sneaked behind her, grabbed her and groped her genitals last Friday evening. She was running on the East Drive at 7:30PM. That's not too late, but still, with the evening getting darker sooner, it's better not to run during dusk in less trafficked areas. This adds to continued concerns about the police cutting their patrols in the wake of an increased number of attacks lately.