New Plaza Planned For Washington Heights Clears CB: Report

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Plans to convert a street near Washington Heights' Columbia University Medical Center into a pedestrian plaza received the approval of the local community board after some opposition forced the board to delay its vote, according to reports.

Community Board 12 — which represents the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods — voted in favor of the new plaza on Haven Avenue between West 169th Street and Fort Washington Avenue, Streetsblog first reported.

The proposal was first brought to the board in the Fall of 2017, but a vote was pushed back due to concerns that the plaza would replace curbside parking spots.

Columbia University Medical Center applied for the plaza through the city Department of Transportation's plaza program, which seeks to repurpose underutilized public land into an asset for community use and programming, in 2016. Since applying for the plaza, the area has been used for one-day plazas that have drawn thousands of visitors, hospital officials said.

When Comunity Board 12 was first considering the application, some members stoked concerns by pointing out that the plaza will eliminate 17 spots of curbside parking. The board postponed a vote and the city Department of Transportation met with concerned community members. During these meetings, the DOT sought suggestions on where to add more parking in the neighborhood and attempted to calm fears of losing one block of parking.

Some neighborhood residents' main problem seemed to be that Columbia University Medical Center was behind the plaza application.

"We feel like Columbia is trying to force us out," Washington Heights resident Nelson Sepulveda told Patch during an October meeting.

At least 15 community organizations representing a variety of causes have pledged support to the plaza, which will give residents a place to plan events, enjoy green space and simply relax on a street without having to worry about cars, university and city officials said. The plaza will host arts performances, a greenmarket and health and wellness events organized by Columbia University Medical Center.

Read Streetsblog's full report here.

Lead photos courtesy NYC Department of Transportation