Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer called on Police Commissioner Dermot Shea to take down the barricades surrounding the blocks near Manhattan police precincts.
The police precincts are saying that when the barricades were erected the city faced an emergency and civil unrest but that such conditions were behind us and the city has returned to a semblance of normalcy.
Brewer also issued findings of an inspection her office conducted of all the precincts in Manhattan at the beginning of August which found that 19 out of 22 precincts in the borough had barricades that impeded pedestrian and/or vehicular access to the blocks on which they were located.
Brewer also issued findings of an inspection her office conducted of all the precincts in Manhattan at the beginning of August which found that 19 out of 22 precincts in the borough had barricades that impeded pedestrian and/or vehicular access to the blocks on which they were located.
The inspection found barricades, which cause road obstructions, forced pedestrians, including those who are disabled, to use the narrowed street. In some cases, cars were forced into the bike lane using and therefore blocking the lanes, creating a dangerous situation.
The impact of the barricades on vehicles, access to homes, businesses, public transit, paratransit, and school bus services raises additional concerns.
In the letter, Brewer emphasizes that the NYC Charter establishes the concept of streets as a public space that belongs to the people and that the charter sets forth a structure of joint responsibility for clear and timely communication between the police department and the Borough Presidents for the management of streets in matters of public safety.
“I believe strongly that we can strike a more reasonable balance between the safety of officers and precincts […] and also help reduce the lingering traces of the ‘siege mentality’ that afflicted the city several months ago,”
“I believe strongly that we can strike a more reasonable balance between the safety of officers and precincts […] and also help reduce the lingering traces of the ‘siege mentality’ that afflicted the city several months ago,” Brewer wrote.
Issues report on inspections conducted by her office outside of Manhattan precincts in August.
She called on Commissioner Shea to “work closely with my office, the relevant community boards, and local elected officials to ease the constraints imposed on residents, and the dangers to pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and others, affected by the Department’s current security-related street closure practices.”
Office of the Manhattan Borough President, 1 Centre Street, 19th Floor South, New York, NY 10007, USA.
Photo credit: Manhattan Borough President.
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