Sidewalks of Brooklyn

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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Should Michael Bloomberg run for president? He was elected mayor on the strength of his reputation as a business executive and a technocrat who gets things done. His popularity is high in New York. But is his sterling reputation as chief executive officer of the city based upon achievement or on the appearance of achievement?

Consider the case of Coney Island, where I happen to live. Mr. Bloomberg has made redevelopment of this storied but long blighted waterside community one of his signature issues. All sorts of plans are on the drawing boards, and there is a great deal of talk, and more talk, and yet more talk. But if the mayor is moving so swiftly in fixing things in Coney Island, why is he moving so slowly?

Over a year ago, on April 28, 2006, to be exact, I wrote to the mayor about the frightful conditions of the sidewalks here, particularly on one of the most important arteries, West 17th Street, one of two main footpaths to the boardwalk and the sea for the immediate neighborhood and for the neighborhoods to the north.

These sidewalks are composed of cracked, dilapidated, and garbage strewn concrete, and adjacent to empty lots that are wastelands themselves, and are covered with filth and junk.

I pointed out that “if a homeowner kept his sidewalks in this condition, he would be fined steeply by the city” and I concluded by expressing my wonderment that “the city tolerates these appalling conditions on these particular blocks.” I sent copies to a number of members of his administration, including the deputy mayor, Daniel Doctoroff, who is the point man for Coney Island redevelopment.

How did Mr. Bloomberg and his team respond? They did not respond at all. The months ticked by and the sidewalks remain in the same cracked and dilapidated and garbage-strewn condition, and I never heard back from the mayor, or any one in his office … until just this past Saturday, that is.

A full 13 months after I wrote my missive, I finally received a letter, a generic response, from a Mr. Joseph Palmieri, who is identified as the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, with absolutely no explanation for the year-long delay. The letter says in part:

“We are responding to your letter regarding defective sidewalks …

Please be advised that by law, the owner of the property adjacent to the sidewalk is responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing the sidewalk discussed in your letter. Additionally, the property owner may be liable for personal injury and property damage caused by failure to maintain the sidewalk in a reasonably safe manner …

The Sidewalk Management Unit will inspect the location and issue a Notice of Violation to the property owner, if warranted.”

But who is the property owner? As I had noted in my initial letter to the mayor, these sidewalks are adjacent to empty lots, and it is close to impossible to find out.

My inquiries to the vaunted 311 phone system were of no use. The operators simply could not guide me in determining the ownership of these plots. For all I know, perhaps the owner is the city itself.

Of course, I am grateful that I did finally receive a response from the Bloomberg administration — better late than never. But for the most part, the city’s letter only tells me what I already know. Yes, it promises an inspection, but when will this take place? The letter doesn’t say. Does that mean another 13 months?

Meanwhile, summer is already here. Children are making their way across the concrete rubble and the shards of broken bottles on the way to the beach. If this is an example of the hyper-efficient government that will be the selling point of the Bloomberg for president campaign, that particular presidential ticket will be as dead as any corpse in the New York City morgue.

If Mayor Bloomberg is serious about running for the presidency he has to relearn what John Lindsay, who left the streets in the boroughs unplowed, never knew. Take care of the boroughs and the boroughs will take care of you. They might even back your ascension to the White House and beyond.

Mr. Schoenfeld is the chess columnist of The New York Sun and a senior editor at Commentary magazine.


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