Check out this week's top news stories for the Upper West Side.
Upper West Side Residents Fed Up With CB 7 Inaction on Complete Streets
Last night, Manhattan Community Board 7′s transportation committee debated the merits of bringing protected bike lanes and pedestrian refuges to Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues between 59th and 110th Streets. This would be a big gain for the Upper West Side, which currently only has one mile of protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue. After years of debate and negotiation, residents are growing impatient with the committee’s indecisiveness on street redesigns that make walking and biking safer. Read More
Blaze in Robert De Niro’s upper West Side apartment may have been linked to security cams or intercom
Robert De Niro’s lint-clogged dryer may not be to blame after all for a summertime blaze in the actor’s upper West Side co-op.
City fire officials initially said the June 8 fire in the actor’s three-floor Central Park West apartment was caused by an excess of dryer lint. But court papers suggest the culprit may instead have been the security cameras or intercom system. Read More
Suspended doorman says lax security at upper West Side building led to alleged rape by pizza delivery boy
A doorman at the upper West Side building where police say a woman was raped by a pizza delivery boy has been suspended — but he insists he did nothing wrong.
Luis Rodriguez, 63, blamed the attack on the suspect and the lax security at the building. He said the position of overnight porter — a worker who used to accompany deliverymen upstairs late at night — had been eliminated.
“There was nothing I or anyone put on that desk that night could have done to assist in whatever was going on upstairs on the 10th floor,” Rodriguez told the Daily News. Read More
Joanne Trattoria, Lady Gaga's Family's Restaurant, Receives C Grade From Health Department
Lady Gaga might love the pasta dishes at Joanne Trattoria, after all her parents own the Upper West Side restaurant, but don't expect city health inspectors to be taking up the superstar's recommendations anytime soon.
The New York Post reports New York City's health department slapped Joanne Trattoria with a C grade by racking up a total of 42 points for various "critical violations" including a lack of hand-washing facilities near the kitchen area and improper food placement. Read More
Bike Lane Supporters Say Upper West Side is Behind the Curve
Two years after the Department of Transportation created the Upper West Side's first protected bike lane along Columbus Ave, plans to extend it and build a new one on Amsterdam Avenue are being discussed.
Community Board 7's Transportation Committee was initially split on the one mile stretch of bike lane along Columbus Avenue from West 96th Street to West 77th Street, which runs next to the curb with a row of parked cars between cyclists and traffic. Read More