Seen & Heard: The 1st Precinct’s Dangerous Shortcut

April 28, 2015 Arts & Culture, Construction, Real Estate, Restaurant/Bar News

••• NYPD cars continue to turn right—against one-way traffic—from White to W. Broadway, in order to get to N. Moore. The driver of this one, license plate 5255, waited for the green light, so I suppose that’s something. UPDATE: The 1st Precinct said via Twitter that the car below isn’t from the 1st Precinct, but the general point stands. UPDATE #2: The precinct sent me a direct message on Twitter saying “I will talk with my personnel and share with neighboring commands.”

••• Thanks to Rob for sending over the rendering of 15 Hubert’s storefront that just got posted. 15 Hubert, you’ll recall, is L-shaped and includes 407-411 Greenwich, a.k.a. home to Wolfgang’s Steakhouse.

15 Hubert rendering••• Friends of Duane Park‘s annual spring event is on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10) from 10 a.m. to noon: “Folks are invited to stop by, pot a plant as a gift for mom, bounce in our bouncy castle, or enjoy live music.” It’s free.

••• There is a film/TV/advertising shoot on every other street this week; I’ve given up trying to keep up. I will say (once again) that the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment should really post online a schedule of who’s shooting where and when. It’s the least they could do. The shoots are extremely disruptive, as we all know; the hyperlocal economic benefits are questionable at best; and there’s no compelling reason to keep the information a secret. Maybe this is something Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer could take on? Or Public Advocate Letitia James? (By the way, I think the one below is for the White House Black Market fashion line.)

WHBM copy••• Fun gift idea: Doob, which makes 3-D figurines of people like you—and/or your kids or dog—has opened a pop-up at Grand and Wooster. It’ll be there at least a month, probably two—the timing depends on when the Leslie + Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art next door moves into the corner space. The figurines cost from $95 to $695, depending on the size (of the figurine, not you). The second picture below is a bit blurry—the figurines themselves are crisper than they appear.

Doob1 Doob2••• Work seems to have started in earnest on Man of the World’s clubhouse/shop/mancave at 1 White. (Side note: Robert Janz graced the plywood with a “Post only bills.”) Elevations were posted, too.

1 White St 1 White St elevations••• The Downtown Alliance’s visitor center at Pier A has opened. There appears to be a coffee bar too.

 
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16 Comments

  1. Local Yokle
    April 28, 2015 • 2:34 pm

    Lots of taxis cross West Broadway like that, not just cops.

    Reply
  2. J Allen
    April 28, 2015 • 5:27 pm

    The 1st precinct cops may be admirable in many ways, but certainly not in the way they daily flout parking regulations and basic traffic laws. There seems to be a cultural problem (not limited to the 1st precinct) where these officers feel above the law. This behavior erodes the respect the community has for them, and eventually coarsens the cops themselves. No wonder we have a problem with police routinely using excessive force.

    Reply
  3. ffff
    April 28, 2015 • 6:19 pm

    the 1st precinct has had multiple vehicles double parked in the bicycle lane on Varick between Ericsson and N Moore EVERY SINGLE DAY for at least the past year. 365 straight days. No exception.

    Reply
  4. Bill
    April 28, 2015 • 6:29 pm

    Both police vehicles and fire trucks are often seen taking this shortcut, turning their emergency lights on while doing so. It’s hard to believe that these official vehicles are not equipped with GPS trackers to monitor and verify this, especially when every taxi and service/delivery van has GPS.

    Reply
  5. Jim Smithers
    April 28, 2015 • 9:15 pm

    So who is supposed to ticket the police for the illegal turn?

    Reply
  6. Rafael
    April 29, 2015 • 9:28 am

    someone should send this story to the Post..

    Reply
  7. Jim Smithers
    April 29, 2015 • 9:53 pm

    If the police cruisers make an illegal turn on W. Broadway, then they’ll also have to make another illegal turn onto Varick. What would Ray Kelly do?

    Reply
  8. Local
    April 30, 2015 • 9:41 am

    I’ve lived on West Broadway near that corner for the past six years. I can tell you this is a daily occurrence and standard protocol for the precinct. Half the time they don’t even pay attention to the lights… they usually just turn on their siren lights, make traffic and pedestrians stop for them, then make the illegal turn.

    Its annoyed me so much over the past six years, I’ve been tempted to sit at the corner and video tape for a day to see how many time it happens per day. Two things stopped me… one I don’t have the time to, and two quite honestly I’m concerned of the repercussions.

    Seriously, I’m not exaggerating… this happens EVERY day.

    Reply
  9. spoony
    April 30, 2015 • 11:23 am

    I have lived near this corner for over 20 years. I also have watched cops take this illegal shortcut on a daily basis. I have also called the 1st precinct many times over that period to complain. After all this time, I have come to think that their indifference stems from the fact the overwhelming majority of their officers do not reside in NYC. The chronic illegal parking of squad cars on our sidewalks and the illegal turns highlight the fact that our neighborhood’s pedestrian safety is not a priority with our “safety officers”. One could well imagine these same
    officers not tolerating this in there Long Island and upstate hometowns. I think it is time to take this to the larger media, not the Post, though, they would surely find a way to turn the story around and make us seem petty for our concerns.

    Reply
  10. James
    June 29, 2017 • 10:17 pm

    Just saw a 1st Precinct SUV marked “supervisor” (and the number 3799) make this illegal right turn with lights flashing, as if that made it okay.

    Do as I say, not as I do.

    Reply

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