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'Dangerous' East 168th Street Stairs to be Repaired by City

By Patrick Wall | October 7, 2013 10:31am
 The steep public stairway, or step street, at East 168th Street, that connects Clay and Teller avenues, will be repaired in 2014.
The steep public stairway, or step street, at East 168th Street, that connects Clay and Teller avenues, will be repaired in 2014.
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Google Maps — June 2011

MORRISANIA — The city plans to repair the steep public stairway that connects Teller and Clay avenues at East 168th Street. The stairway's cracked steps and loose stones are in a “dangerous condition”, according to the city's Department of Design and Construction.

The $2.2 million restoration will bring new lights, benches, retaining walls, handrails, granite steps and landings, as well as a Willow Oak-filled tree pit to the stairs, known as a “step street.”

“I think it’s going to be an extreme enhancement,” said Jose Rodriguez, district manager of Community Board 4, which unanimously endorsed the city’s repair plans. “The residents will finally be able to take some pride in their area.”

 The Teller Avenue entrance to the East 168th step street, which leads down to Clay Avenue.
The Teller Avenue entrance to the East 168th step street, which leads down to Clay Avenue.
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Google Maps - June 2011

The 184-foot stairway, which scales the hill between the two avenues in place of a street, is in bad shape.

It suffers from missing and loose stones in the stairway walls, uneven steps and landings, broken drains that cause ponding, bent handrails, decaying stone columns and more, according to a presentation by the city’s Department of Design and Construction.

“It’s a dangerous condition,” Bharat Parekh, director of the DDC’s bridge and retaining wall division, told the community board.

Construction is set to begin next summer and finish in the fall of 2015. During that time, the step street will be closed to the public.