By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
FINANCIAL DISTRICT — The unsightly security barriers on lower Broadway just got a facelift.
For years, the NYPD vehicle checkpoint in front of 120 Broadway has been surrounded by temporary steel barricades, the same ones the NYPD uses along parade routes or at large protests.
While the utilitarian barriers did their job — keeping pedestrians from jaywalking across the checkpoint — they detracted from the grandeur of 120 Broadway, which is landmarked and was once the largest office building in the world, said Jeremy Moss, a senior vice president at Silverstein Properties, which owns the building.
Last Friday, Silverstein replaced the barricades with a new iron fence. Designed in conjunction with the Downtown Alliance, the fence features a cross motif that is similar to a design on 120 Broadway's facade.
"We really wanted it to look like it belonged, like it wasn't an afterthought," Moss said. "It's great — it meets everyone's needs and it's a significant improvement."
The NYPD did not immediately comment on the checkpoint and the barriers. The NYPD uses the block-long checkpoint, between Pine and Cedar streets, to screen vehicles as they enter the Wall Street area, a source said.
"This fencing makes the security checkpoint as attractive as possible while keeping it fully functional for the NYPD’s needs," a Downtown Alliance spokesman said in an email.
The fence got mixed reviews from the office workers who were hurrying past it on a recent afternoon. Many shrugged and said they hadn't noticed the difference.
But Johanna Phelps, 37, said the new fence had caught her attention when she arrived at work Monday morning.
"It looks a bit more expensive," she said, "although I still don't think it's very attractive."
