UPPER WEST SIDE — A torn-up stretch of sidewalk along Riverside Park is getting a makeover, including new paving, repaired tree pits and benches with chess tables, the Parks Department said.
The paving on the western sidewalk along Riverside Drive between West 91st and 95th streets is in "poor condition" and needs an update, said Parks Department landscape architect Margaret Bracken at a Community Board 7 meeting Monday.
Unlike the sidewalk along the southern part of the park, which has been repaved in recent years, this section is made of asphalt that's ripped up and difficult to maintain, she said.
The uneven four-block stretch, which is filled with holes and broken asphalt, will get repaved with hexagonal blocks to make it smooth and ADA-accessible, Bracken said.
Trees pits will be cleaned up and fixed, and new benches will be installed all along the 23-foot wide sidewalk, which is technically part of Riverside Park, she explained. Some of the benches will also include chess tables.
A $700,000 grant from City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal will fund the sidewalk project, as well as an expansion of the sidewalk at the southwest corner of West 95th Street and Riverside Drive to shorten the crossing distance at the crosswalk, Bracken said.
The enlarged sidewalk should make it safer, as pedestrians and cyclists contend with traffic exiting from the Henry Hudson Parkway, she noted.
It was not clear exactly how much square footage would be added to the corner. The Parks Department did not respond to follow-up questions about the sidewalk increase.
The torn-up stretch of sidewalk was in such a deplorable state that it seemed like a "safety hazard," said Marisa Maack, Rosenthal's chief of staff.
The section, between West 91st and 95th streets, is on a downward slope, making it even more dangerous, she said.
"It’s a hill, and the concrete is completely buckled up. There’s huge pot holes. The tree roots are sticking out," Maack noted.
The work will likely begin in the summer of 2016, Bracken said.
