Washington Heights, New York, NY, New York - Report potholes, graffiti, street light out, and other community issues.

4 Votes

suffocating noise from gypsy cab and motorist honking Open

643 W. 172nd St. New York, NY - City Council District 10

New York is drenched in unnecessary honking, but in Washington Heights the problem is simply unbearable. Since the neighborhood is served by very few yellow cabs, hundreds of gypsy cabs ply the streets and honk whenever they see someone standing on the sidewalk to get their attention. This is a poor business practice and a non-stop, round-the-clock source of noise that seems to penetrate into every apartment in the neighborhood.

Aside from gypsy cabs, many motorists in the neighborhood are in the habit of pulling up outside someone's apartment and using their car horn as a doorbell. This is gratuitous and very unfair. There is no need to announce your arrival to every single person on the street and bludgeon their ears with your car horn. Traffic citations should be issued for this practice.

The third vector of the honking plague is simply motorist anger, aggression, and impatience. Hesitating for more than a nanosecond at a green light, attempting to change lanes, double parking for 2 seconds to drop someone off, etc., etc., are all occasion for you, and everyone within earshot, to endure a vicious aural assault. This of course happens throughout the city, but in a honking hotspot like Washington Heights, it really adds insult to injury.

Excessive noise is more than a nuisance, particularly when it drifts in through windows and walls into your home. It has been associated with increased blood pressure, difficulty focusing on and completing tasks, and a sense of hopelessness. To say nothing of its effect on sleep. According to the NY Times, the city has anti honking ordinance, but it is not enforced:

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/06/science/research-on-noise-disappears-in-the-din.html?pagewanted=1

In tonier neighborhoods, there are signs warning of fines for unlawful honking. I'm not implying that these signs are actually observed, but at least they have some sort of calming effect in nice neighborhoods. But in poor areas like Washington Heights, already under stress from a host of other social problems, unmitigated honking has reached an absolutely intolerable level.

Cynics will scoff at any serious effort to curb honking in NY City. Others will even embrace honking as an indelible part of NY's distinctive urban fabric. I disagree. I think honking can and should be muzzled. I consider it a public health issue, not merely a quality of life issue. If you agree that a campaign should be waged against honking, vote for this issue on SCF.

Speaking more generally, if NY City wants to take itself seriously as a pedestrian and transit-oriented town, instead of continuing to kowtow to the automobile, then motorists need to know that if they're driving through the city they need to treat it with respect (this also applies to the reckless speeding and maneuvering that is pandemic in NYC).

2010-12-16 · Reported by Anonymous · · Flag Flagged

Leslie E. Espaillat (Guest)

I agree! This morning I woke up and said enough is enough. This noise is affecting my well-being. I have been in this neighborhood WH for 20 years.. Most of these drivers are clueless, honking their cars. Please, I know. I have been to Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and I suppose other countries have this honking practice as a norm, but there should be warning honking signs. Warning notices should be sent out to all Livery car dispatching sites that this will not be tolerated and they will pay a hefty fine.

Hello, the elderly, the babies and children, the retirees, the work-at-home, and the rest of us who go to work at different hours of the day are subjected to this non-stop noise. They stand by the fire hydrants on !81st Cabrini and wait until the night crowd leaves the bar and restaurants, and like lunatics start honking at @2:30 AM, and at 5:30 AM it is non-stop throughout day. PLEASE STOP IT!

Excuse my ignorance, please explain SCF to me. We truly must stop this. We are in the 21st century and you are telling me that the Livery car service can't t find a quiet solution to attract fares without the honking. Well, I have a few ideas. Get a Green neon flag to place on your car that you are available, and do a marketing blitz that this is the new way to get a livery car or simply call one.

I am tired, and it is definitely time to take action that will correct this unbearable problem. I will do my part and go out and take pictures of car licenses who are honking.

Leslie Esperanza Espaillat

2013-01-11 · Flag Flagged
Mike (Guest)

I agree! The gypsy cabs are obnoxious with the non stop honking for different reasons.. They honk at anybody the see standing alone to see if that person needs a ride. I guess they don't know how to use their mouth to ask!! Heaven forbid they get held up by a school bus, garbage truck or even somebody trying to park on a narrow street; it seems their tolerance level is that of a 2 year old and off goes the horn blaring. That is especially irritating at six in the morning.

It's also lots of fun to watch them as they make illegal u turns on 181 street in the middle of traffic because they don't want to go around the block.. Or double park right near a corner so that traffic gets held up as the chew the fat with their fellow drivers who is parked at the curb.

It seems to me that the NYPD is not paying enough attention to these guys and could actually use this as a revenue source by issuing tickets for these crimes against the public.

2013-03-20 · Flag Flagged

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3 Votes

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Abandoned construction site Open

201 Cabrini Boulevard New York, NY - Washington Heights

Small construction site, abandoned in 2005, has protruding construction fence--blocking 2/3 of passage on the sidewalk--as well as treacherous broken concrete walkway and curb (from dragging broken schist across it). Department of Transportation will not act on this, although it issues citations for far lesser violations.

2013-03-16 · Reported by Paul Glassman (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

Michael Varone (Guest)

I have also reported this empty lot on two other occasions. To date there has been no visible action and the condition of the sidewalk continues to be blocked and deteriorate. At this point the sidewalk is a public hazard and the fence is infringing on the publics right of way.

2013-03-16 · Flag Flagged
Paul Glassman

Thanks, Michael. Coincidentally, minutes late I received a rather overdue e-mail reply from DOT to my December 19, 2012 letter. The reply is disappointingly noncommittal and unhelpful:

March 15, 2013

Dear Mr. Glassman:

I am responding to your letter regarding curb conditions in front of 201 Cabrini Boulevard. I apologize for the delayed response.

Our Sidewalk Management Unit inspected the above location. The property owner has been notified of the sidewalk conditions that exist on their property.

Under Section 19-152 of the New York City Administrative Code, property owners are responsible for maintaining, repairing and installing sidewalks adjoining their properties.

The Department of Transportation allocates $20 million annually to make repairs to sidewalks and curbs. While requests to address curb conditions exceed available resources, our contractor works to make curb repairs as efficiently as it can by rotating through community boards citywide.

We will add this property to our curb database. At the time, we are currently focusing on repairing curbs at 1-3 family properties.

I hope that this information is helpful to you. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Sincerely,

Margaret Forgione

Borough Commissioner
MF:wt
CCU-13-706
Man Log # 16052
c: A/C Howard, File

2013-03-18 · Flag Flagged
Michael Varone (Guest)

Any delay in repairing the sidewalk is a hazard to the public safety. There are many elderly residents and young children who could be injured as a result of this condition. This is a liability to the city and dangerous to the residents. In addition to the fact that the fence is blocking public property.

2013-03-18 · Flag Flagged
Paul Glassman (Guest)

There has been no progress. I'm going to bring the issue to the board of directors of Castle Village Owners Corporation. Since the poor condition of the site affects property values, in addition to presenting a hazard to residents who cross the street at that very point from Village Lane, over which CVOC has eminent domain.

2013-05-16 · Flag Flagged

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Stop sign needed Open

718 West 184th Street New York, NY 10033, USA - Washington Heights

Traffic in Bennett needs a stop sign. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic and drivers on 184 th can't see past the parked cars to tell if anyone is coming up Bennett until they are out in the traffic lane and at risk of causing an accident.

2013-03-31 · Reported by jbrizzle · · Flag Flagged

Shawn Folz (Guest)

Agree. Lots of kids and elderly folks crossing those streets to get in and out of Bennett park and sight lines are not good.

2013-05-01 · Flag Flagged

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No Hot Water, Low Pressure Open

255 W 187th St New York, NY 10040, USA - Washington Heights

Our hot water goes completely out several times a day, and has for over a year now. The overall pressure is very, very weak. And the temperature is barely "warm" (we never turn on the cold water in the shower). We brought this matter to the building's attention the day we moved in, and have been brushed off ever since. We've filed multiple (successful) complaints with the City, but the Super, and the Building Condo Board still refuse to do anything to help us.

2012-02-25 · Reported by E&M (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

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E&M (Guest)

We have filed several successful complaints via 311, which we pointed out in our original post. Please refer to the HPD site for those citations. They are publicly visible.

To the Councilman's Office: apparently each LETTER in this building has it's own water line. And since we're at the top, we're getting the worst water pressure. The management keeps telling us that "we're the only ones", which may be true, but it doesn't negate the fact that we're experiencing major, major issues, and have reported them for well over a year now. Also, the previous tenant (whom we have been in contact with) experienced the same problems, and repeatedly reported them to the building and apartment management as well. She has given her permission for us to use that correspondence. We've also documented a large % of the witnessed outages, and even have many videos of the problem. But ever time we offer to show them to management, they decline the offer.

And yes, there may very well be someone with a washing machine, or even a hot tub on our "line" sucking out all our water. But the problem is the Super has never, ever tried to investigate the problem. In fact, he made it very clear early on that we "were NOT to call him with this problem."

Thanks for your responses.

2012-02-27 · Flag Flagged
Please Help (Guest)

We have documented this issue for over a year. The super and building management have REFUSED to not only respond when the water is off (which is often) they have refused to see this evidence; which is ample. No effort has been made by the super or building management to even ACKNOWLEDGE that a problem exists.

http://lifewithouthotwater.tumblr.com

2012-03-27 · Flag Flagged
Heatwatchnyc (Guest)

If you would like to post the manager's contact info, we will call on your behalf. Or via email: heatwatchnyc@gmail.com

2012-03-28 · Flag Flagged
EH (Guest)

We finally got this issue addressed, after posting the entire affair on our blog. Turns out "Public Embarrassment" still works wonders. It's a real shame it took a YEAR and a HALF to remedy. Beyond unacceptable.

2012-11-23 · Flag Flagged

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Excessive dog feces on sidewalk Open

196th Street New York, NY - City Council District 10

For some reason the dog owners on this street do NOT clean up after their dogs. Has to be one of the worst streets in the boro of Manhattan!

2012-07-24 · Reported by Anonymous · · Flag Flagged

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Abandoned Bike Open

566-598 W 166th St Manhattan, NY 10032, USA - City Council District 10

166th Street & Broadway, NE corner Mitchell Square -- Sent remotely. Pardon any blunders.

2012-06-06 · Reported by Guest (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

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Abandoned Bike Open

645-655 W 160th St Manhattan, NY 10032, USA - Washington Heights

West 160th b/t Riverside and Ft Washington If NYC can also remove the dudes selling crack at this location, that would be great, too!

2012-06-06 · Reported by Guest (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

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no heat Open

444 West 167 St. new york, NY - Washington Heights

usually not heat during day or nite.

2012-02-14 · Reported by ana hernandez (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

Heatwatchnyc (Guest)

Hi Ana,

HPD records list your building manager as:
CLAUDIO VARGAS
444-451 ORANGE BLDG DEV. CORP
444 W 167TH STREET 4-C
NEW YORK NY 10032
Please post his contact info and we will call on your behalf.
Thanks for posting.

2012-02-14 · Flag Flagged

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Dropped calls & No service Open

New York State Reference Route 907v New York, NY - Washington Heights

Verizon wireless calls in this area of the Henry Hudson pkwy north & south drop and cannot be completed.

2012-01-06 · Reported by RS212 (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

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Stairs from Riverside Drive dead-end Open

George Washington Bridge & Hwy 9 New York, NY 10033, USA - Washington Heights

Stairs from Riverside Dr to NY-9A dead-end at a fence piled with trash. This is a very dangerous situation, particularly given the seclusion and length of the stairs. The sidewalk should be cleared and the steps should be repaired to facilitate pedestrian movement between Fort Washington Park and Washington Heights.

2011-04-11 · Reported by Matthias (Guest) · · Flag Flagged

Throckmorton Bradshaw (Guest)

I believe these stairs go up to Haven Ave/Riverside Dr access ramps rather than NY-9A proper. Many of these pedestrian routes between the park and the Heights have been neglected.

2011-04-12 · Flag Flagged

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suffocating noise from gypsy cab and motorist honking Open

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No Hot Water, Low Pressure Open

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no heat Open

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Stairs from Riverside Drive dead-end Open

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