Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

$1.9M Redesign of West 185th Street Pedestrian Plaza Approved by CB12

By Nigel Chiwaya | April 24, 2013 12:56pm

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A $1.9 million proposal for the redesign of a pedestrian plaza on West 185th Street between Amsterdam and Audubon avenues has been approved.

The project, a joint effort of Yeshiva University and the city's Departments of Transportation and Design and Construction, was given the green light Tuesday night by the Manhattan Community Board 12.

The plan calls for the plaza to have decorative concrete, stone and wood chairs, and single emergency fire lane. New planter beds and 10 trees would be added, too.

"We're adding a considerable amount of green space," said Michael Michalek of Mathews Nielsen Landscapes, one of the project's architects.

The street is already blocked off to non-emergency traffic and has been functioning as a pedestrian plaza for the public and Yeshiva students for several years.

The project would call for the reconfiguration of a parking lot on West 184th street, creating an exit for vehicles on Audubon Avenue and the loss of three parking spaces on the street.

Barring any setbacks, construction is scheduled to begin next summer.