You Told Us is a regular feature highlighting comments from users in the communities DNAinfo covers.
UPPER EAST SIDE — Local leaders criticized a developer for planning to move a staircase at the 86th Street subway station without providing any details to the community.
After a representative for Ceruzzi Properties canceled on meeting with a Community Board 8 on March 21 to shed light on the plan, the public is left with very little information about what's in store for the busy station.
What we do know is that Ceruzzi wants to build an 18-story luxury tower at the northeast corner of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, at 147 E. 86th St., which could reach as tall as 210 feet, and close up an existing subway staircase in the base of the existing building on that corner.
The developer would pay the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build a new staircase in front of it on the sidewalk, and to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it will have to build an elevator there as well.
While the developer is required to build affordable housing units, it has said that it will build them off-site.
Some readers commented on Neighborhood Square that the changes won't benefit the public and will instead make things more difficult for the neighborhood.
► "The elevator is ridiculous! It only services uptown riders. Our residents go downtown to work in the morning and come home at night uptown. So how does our handicap residents go downtown in the morning? Very simple. They ride uptown to an elevator station cross over then ride downtown. Clearly, the elevator is to purely benefit the developer, so he can build the high rise. It is a waste of money and causes an imposition on the residents of our neighborhood," one commenter said.
► "Developers don't care about being good neighbors. They have to be forced into it," another wrote.
► "I am so outraged that once again a developer and a public agency (who works for us!) has flipped the bird at the local residents!!! (1) Why is any space being taken from the already tiny sidewalks in that busy intersection. Put the stairs under the building -- period! (2) And why do they suggest enlarging the sidewalk by taking a lane out of 2-way 86th St. or thin Lexington Avenue (which already has restricted traffic!)? (3) And most of all, why is the public not involved in these decisions? (4) And why is the affordable housing not onsite or adjacent? We know "off-site" affordable housing means creating another ghetto and/or gentrifying and causing displacement in someone else's neighborhood!!!! Why? Just for some subway stairs on Manhattan???? SHAME ON THE CITY OF NEW YORK, my home sweet home!!!" one reader said.
► "The elevator is a needed addition, but should definitely be within the footprint of the new building - not in the middle of the sidewalk, disturbing the flow of pedestrians. Widening the sidewalk is not the answer since it will only make traffic worse. Definitely need the uptown/downtown connection, especially helpful when local trains are only making express stops. This is the stop for many tourists visiting the neighborhood museums so street signage pointing to Fifth would be VERY helpful."
One reader said he saw perks in the proposal.
► "A wider stairway, plus an elevator (much needed), will be an asset to the area, as will an underground connection between the up & downtown bound stations (should such be included) Many unnecessary crossings of Lexington Avenue by pedestrians will be avoided. It's hard enough to get anything done in NYC, without local egos getting in the way of an improvement."
