Rotunda Plan Will Boot UWS Little League From Home Fields: Report

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A $200 million city plan to renovate the West 79th Street Rotunda in Riverside Park will displace an Upper West Side little league from its home ball fields, according to reports.

The West Side Little League baseball fields in Riverside Park will become stagingareas for construction equipment as the city Department of Transportation works on fixes to the multi-level rotunda, which acts as a traffic circle and outdoor event space, the New York Post reported. The project could displace the league for as long as four years, according to the report.

"I guess the thing that concerns me about this project is this length," West Side Little League President Debbie Kling told the Post. "It’s not as if fields haven’t been closed in the past for renovations, but never this long. That is probably the most troubling aspect of this."

A city Parks Department spokesperson told the Post that other locations were considered for staging equipment, but the ball fields were the "only feasible location.

The city announced it would be renovating the West 79th Street Rotunda and nearby Amtrak bridge in March and is planning to begin the project sometime in 2019.

Much of the work being done on the rotunda and bridge will include restoring infrastructure such as the roadways, ramps and sidewalks. The city will also upgrade the rotunda to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, upgrade nearby restrooms and take measures to increase safety.

Cyclists have criticized the plan for neglecting safety improvements to the rotunda for biek riders. The rotunda provides a link to the Hudson River Greenway — the city's busiest bike path — at West 79th Street, making it a popular route for cyclists.

Read the full New York Post article here.

Photo by Google Maps street view