How To Make Things More Difficult And Risky Than They Need To Be

If a contractor wants to occupy parking spaces and block the sidewalk, they need to go to two different locations to obtain two separate permits.  HPD, over on Union Street, issues $25 Parking Permits for machinery and dumpsters parked in the street, and DPW, over on Washington Street (or the second floor of 520 Warren), issues $25 Sidewalk Permits allowing the sidewalk to be blocked.  These two permits should be issued from one department, in one building, from one room, and from the same person.  Otherwise, as is often the case, and is the present situation in front of 360 Columbia Street, contractors, if they apply for a permit at all, are able to apply for one and not the other.

The owner of 360 Columbia, or their contractor working on the building, applied for and received a HPD Parking Permit for the lift parked in the street.  That permit is posted in the window.  However, they did not apply for a DPW Sidewalk Permit to block the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians into the truck route as they have been doing for the past few days. If a pedestrian or pedestrians were to be hit by a vehicle in the street in front of 360 Columbia, the city could be sued.  With a Sidewalk Permit issued, however, the city is held harmless for any damages that may arise from the blocked sidewalk.  You would think the city, especially the city attorney, would understand this, but it seems as if they do not.

If one department issued both of these important permits, they could make sure that a contractor applying for one permit would be asked if they needed the other:  "Will you also be blocking the sidewalk?" or "Will you also be occupying parking spaces?".  As it is now, though, no one at HPD or DPW is asking these questions (if they are, it isn't working too well). Because, apparently, it doesn't matter to HPD if a contractor blocks a sidewalk without a DPW permit, forcing pedestrians into the street, even into the narrow truck route.  And because, apparently, it doesn't matter to DPW if a contractor has no HPD permit for machinery or a dumpster parked in the street, making the street even narrower for traffic.

In the case of 360 Columbia Street, the sentiment from both the contractor and City Hall is apparent:  We are fine with protecting drivers and automobiles while acting as if pedestrians do not exist.  This should not be allowed to occur -- certainly not if City Hall wants to put an end to it.