Tessa, Volunteer Gardener in Sara Roosevelt Park for Decades.
Now “Guardian Gardener” of the new MTA Forsyth Plaza, with a common sense proposal for relocating the CitiBike Stand.
To: DOT’s Scherer: (Excerpt-See full letter below)
“We very much want to be sure that the Citibikes are moved to a close location but NOT on our new found plaza. We suggest that they be moved into the new pedestrian portion of Forsyth Street just north of Rivington Street. This would be in keeping with the other Citibike stations below Delancey and Grand Streets.
Please let me know your thoughts or whether you would like to walk the area with me, and possibly others, to look at the situation. I look forward to meeting you and appreciate your assistance in this matter.”
How the new Plaza looked after completion.
Tessa’s work:
Now:
Dear Ms. Scherer:
I am writing to you today to begin a conversation about the eventual relocation of the Citibike station currently in the Rivington Street transverse of Sara D Roosevelt Park. I am sure you are either actively in conversation with Steve Simon at the Parks Department or at least aware that our Community Board (#3) has been working on a redesign of the Rivington Street Playground and the transverse with Parks.
As a 40+ year resident of Forsyth Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets I have watched many scary interactions between vehicles and pedestrians on that particular transverse. As a result I am very pleased with the proposal to move the bikes elsewhere and to install permanent tables and chairs in the transverse as obstacles/traffic control as well as to separate adults from children within the playground.
As a volunteer I have taken on the care of the 22 new street trees that our block has received post the MTA’s construction of the Emergency Fan Ventilation Plant. These trees, and the “plaza” that the MTA has created, are a “reward” for the 6 years of construction we had to endure. We, the residents of the block, and others in the community, are really enjoying our new plaza and are looking forward to a MUCH greener streetscape and better air.
The Proposal:
That said, we need your assistance. We very much want to be sure that the Citibikes are moved to a close location but NOT on our new found plaza.
Below you will see my photographs of the proposed area we hope you will consider (maybe you already have). Steve Simon (Parks Dept. Landscape Architect) gave me no indication of what DOT has in mind. We suggest that they be moved into the new pedestrian portion of Forsyth Street just north of Rivington Street. This would be in keeping with the other Citibike stations below Delancey and Grand Streets.
Please let me know your thoughts or whether you would like to walk the area with me, and possibly others, to look at the situation. I look forward to meeting you and appreciate your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Tessa Huxley, president
152 Forsyth Street HDFC