Repair work can wait in the Bronx

Joey Scarborough for Daily News

The step street connecting Clay and Teller Aves. at East 168th St. in the Bronx is in “dangerous condition,” according to city officials — but it’s still open and will not be repaired until next summer.

The city has finally vowed to fix the quirky, and dangerous, stairway stretch of E. 168th St. in Kingsbridge – but the work won’t begin until next summer, putting thousands of residents at risk.

The stairway that links Clay and Teller Aves. in Morrisania has been classified as “dangerous” by the city, but it will remain open to the public until the $ 2.2 million repairs begin in mid-2014.

Locals have been concerned about the peril at the 184-foot staircase for about five years. Two years ago, the community board asked the city to survey the stairway — and last year, city officials finally declared it a hazard.

“It’s desperately in need of repair,” said Jose Rodriguez, district manager of Community Board 4. “I’m worried for the people who utilize those stairs.”

Currently, residents must deal with uneven steps and landings, bent handrails and missing and loose stones. For some, the stairway is not just a figurative headache, but a literal one as well.

“I got hit in the head with a rock, and it hurt like hell,” said Charlie Alston, 63. “Me and other folks won’t use the stairs anymore.”

Parents are particularly concerned because the stairway — one of roughly a half-dozen “step streets” in the Bronx — is often used by children heading to Public School 53.

“Parents are afraid to let their kids walk those stairs,” Alston said. “But it’s the only way for kids to get to school, without having to walk all the way around.”

Rodriguez said the stairs should be shuttered until the renovations take place, but a spokesman for the Department of Design and Construction said the stairs did not need to be closed because their basic structure is sound.

jscarborough@nydailynews.com

Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News

http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=15254

via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info