Sidewalks? What sidewalks?

By tradition, roads west of the parkway are country lanes, but pedestrians are at risk

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The area of Riverdale just west of the Henry Hudson Parkway is known for its spectacular views of the Hudson River, massive single-family homes, and green, hilly streets.  

It’s also known for the sidewalks — or, rather, lack thereof. 

Unlike other high-come neighborhoods like Fieldston, most of the streets in the northwesternmost section of Riverdale resemble more of an old country road than New York City streets. 

But Community Board 8 would like to see that change — at least on one street west of the parkway. 

The story begins nearly a decade ago, when Salanter Akiba Riverdale, better known as SAR Academy on West 254th Street, proposed expanding its parking lot from 61 spaces to 105. As a condition for the expansion, CB8 requested in 2010 that the Modern Orthodox Jewish elementary school add a sidewalk in front of its property. 

Now, seven years later, SAR is planning to follow through on that promise, with one small issue: There is no other continuous sidewalk on 254th. 

There is, however, a steep hill, which leaves most pedestrians out of breath and in need of a break. The road also is wrought with tight turns that limit drivers’ vision when going up or down the hill. 

Todd Jack is a construction worker from Westchester who commutes into North Riverdale every day for work. He says the hill is steep enough that walking it can be difficult, not only for adults, but the countless children who live on the street or commute to North Riverdale for school.

“I think there should be sidewalks everywhere, especially if you’re paying taxes on it,” Jack said. 

While some homeowners may be opposed to the addition of sidewalks on their streets, 254th also has been a source of attention concerning access to the Hudson River, where many community organizations — including many CB8 members — would like to build a greenway. Making a sidewalk is of particular concern for the board, as well as the transportation department, which would like to have sidewalks on all city streets.

But an obscure law in the city’s administrative code seems to place the responsibility of sidewalks onto those who own the land. So the onus of building a sidewalk falls on the homeowners while the transportation department remains free to charge them with violating city sidewalk requirements.

The transportation department has the ability to “essentially require the homeowner to build a sidewalk,” CB8 chair Daniel Padernacht said. “If it isn’t done in a certain amount of time, then DOT can just build it and bill the homeowner.”

Having the transportation department build now and bill later seems the best way to go, Padernacht said, as it could be cheaper in the long run for those homeowners. The problem, however, is the transportation department hasn’t told residents exactly how much cheaper, prompting Padernacht to call the sidewalk cost “the million dollar question.”

“We’re not up to that point yet,” he said. “We are trying to work with the homeowners to see if they are willing to do the work on their own, or if it is significantly cheaper … to have (the transportation department) do the work and then bill the homeowners.”

While many of the homeowners might feel like paying for a sidewalk is an unfair burden, people like Jack — who only commute through the neighborhood, and thus wouldn’t be footing the bill — think it makes sense.

“It should be worth it, this is a very affluent area,” Jack said. “They should be able to afford it and pay taxes on it like everyone else.” 

Many homeowners on 254th have expressed discontent with the prospect of paying for the sidewalk themselves, Padernacht said, especially when the price tag is a huge question mark. To make matters worse, many who live on the street don’t even know about the effort.

Take Todd Newby, for example, who lives on 254th and walks up and down the hill between Independence and Palisade avenues with his kids almost every day. He says he had no idea there was any effort to put a sidewalk on the street, but that didn’t stop him from sharing his opinion on whether he should have to pay for it.

“This should be a publicly funded sidewalk, the government should find a way to pay for it,” he said. “It’s obviously a public walkway. I don’t know what the law is, but it doesn’t seem to make sense.”

CB8 wants to bridge the knowledge gap between the transportation department and homeowners by hosting a walkthrough with everyone involved during the early morning of April 27. The purpose of the walkthrough, Padernacht said, is to both raise awareness of sidewalk efforts, and to allow transportation officials to examine the street and need for a sidewalk for themselves. 

“We’re getting all the stakeholders working together with the same goal,” he said.

But it remains to be seen if homeowners and transportation officials will find a common ground to get a sidewalk built, or if residents like Newby and his children will have to keep walking in the middle of the road between their house and the Hudson River.

West 254th Street, Hudson River Greenway, Daniel Padernacht, Community Board 8, CB8, sidewalks, Anthony Capote

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