By Stan Solomon
It was a most ‘dark-and-stormy-night,’ and there we were, headed up Columbus Avenue, running late for a dinner date. “We” means myself — attempting to hold an umbrella and steer my aging-but-trusty mobility scooter — and my wife, keeping pace beside me. Ahead was yet another curb cut, but one filled with water.
WHAM! The jolt of my front wheels dropping into what felt like The Marianas Trench almost threw me off the scooter. And now I was immobilized; front wheels in some sort of water-filled canyon, with no way to move forward…or back. The rain grew worse. We were getting wetter. And hungrier. And frantic.
For maybe five seconds. But, this being the UWS, several passers-by were on the scene, literally lifting my stuck wheels out of the canyon and sending us off. But the incident lingered.
As I drowsed off to sleep, I kept thinking about that deadly ditch – really a hole in the asphalt roadway – and about all the other Bad Curb Cuts I had encountered. “That can’t be right,” I thought.
And it isn’t. An entire page of the Federal Highway Administration’s website devotes itself to the requirements for ADA-required curb cuts (“Curb Ramps” in Washington-speak), spelling out the “Best Practices for Curb Ramp Design” among other mandates. Nowhere do Best Practices allow for: gaping holes in the roadbed, cracks in the concrete, too-high curbs, etc. Yet, as any disabled New Yorker knows all-too-well, they exist – in greater numbers than anyone could imagine. And not just on the UWS.
But the UWS is home, and home to many disabled and/or elderly. So I decided to become the Bad Curb Cut Maven. With the approval of the good folks at Community Board Seven, especially Mel Wymore, Andrew Albert, Dan Zweig, and Penny Ryan, I set off on my self-appointed rounds – to photograph every problematic curb cut between West 60th and West 110th.
Why? Officially, to document and then present the visual evidence for whatever authorities might, hopefully, authorize repairs. Which can be serendipitous, as when one of the city’s Mysterious Midnight Repaving Crews miraculously corrected that bone-jarring too-high southwest curb where W. 62nd meets Broadway. Perhaps they will do others. Perhaps you, reader, can help. Here are some of the Unkindest Cuts of All. (Below the pictures, check out a spreadsheet Stan made that details the condition of the worst curb cuts in the neighborhood. Click spreadsheet to enlarge)
To report a damaged curb cut, call 311 and email the local community board at office@cb7.com. And you can leave comments about your experiences below.
All photos by Stan Solomon.
Brilliant work Stan. May I post to our website?
Please email me larger image of your chart and pictures – and I will post them.
Thanks
Batya
This is a great article and one that points out just one of the many issues facing New Yorkers (and visitors) of all ages as they try to maneuver around the city.
Thanks for doing this and good luck with getting the powers-that-be to fix these.
Any city is only as good as your ability to navigate it and, as folks in their 20s and 30s who have accidents and are now temporarily on crutches, in chairs, using walkers are learning, this city can be very tough to get around in when you have limited mobility.
The problem is so great it would take pages to list all the very bad curbs. Among them is on 73rd and Broadway, NW corner, right across from Zabars. I, too, use a motorized chair and at times it’s near impossible to get around.
LAST TIME I HEARD ZABARS WAS ON 80TH ST
while I understand the logic of the different colors in the table, they are unreadable! I do like the fire hydrant in the pedestrian ramp. My favorite was on Madison Ave round about 58th St where there was a fire/police box in the middle of a ped ramp.
Many communities have lousy ped ramps. It is one of the reasons I joined my Community Board & elected to be on our Traffic & Transportation Committee. It is interesting that repairing a hole in the street is easier to get done than fixing a bad ped ramp.
I believe #3 was referring to the ped ramp by Fairway but the ped ramp by Zabar’s is bad as well.
I commend your efforts here. I am sure that anyone who uses a wheelchair has had many similar experiences. I have learned the hard way to always wear my seat belt whenever I go outside. I particularly remember one time when it was raining and there was a puddle at the corner. The front wheels of my wheelchair got stuck in a rather large hole on the northeast corner of 72nd St. and Broadway. The chair tipped forward and I literally fell out onto the pavement. Before I could even catch my breath, several swift and able bodied men swooped down, righted my wheelchair, picked me up off the ground and seated me back in the chair. They disappeared as quickly as they arrived. I was both stunned and very grateful.
Does anyone know how and when the curb cuts are maintained?
There is one corner that I have reported to 311 many times. The northwest corner of 57th St. and 7th Avenue– diagonally across from Carnegie Hall– does not have a curb cut of any kind.