Park Hill

Our ever faithful anonymous source, let’s call the source Shallow Throat, writes:

Neighborhood residents met with Councilman Dennis Robertson on June 16th to discuss his proposal for making Undercliff St. a one-way down from Alta Ave. to the old elevator house. This narrow, steep, twisting street has long been recognized as dangerous and we are happy to see the Councilman and the City Traffic Engineer taking proactive measures to solve/alleviate the problem …hazard for children walking to and from school…heavy traffic rushing to the Parkways through the neighborhood… Edit/rewrite/change as you will.

Maybe I was supposed to take that last part out?

Anyway, another source who attended the meeting said it went well, and our councilman seemed ready to work with us (after having first cleared it with his South Broadway constituents). That said, it’s been a over a year since we first started trying to move on this, and I think all of us will believe it when we see it.

So, I understand from both sources that there was also talk of changing the directions of a couple of other streets. Faithful as ever, I immediately got to work on a little map showing the other proposed changes, only to learn yesterday that the proposed changes didn’t represent by far the majority opinion of the meeting and are unlikely to occur. I thought they sounded a little kooky, but what the heck.

Anyway, I’m not going to waste a perfectly good map with colors and text and everything. Just remember: this is NOT the actual proposal, just a pretty map. Well, ok, it’s not that pretty, but damnit, I worked for half an hour on it, so here it is.

I’ve been pretty tied up the last couple of weeks, so please accept my apologies for not keeping up with the blog as I should (which, of course, would be easier if I had a couple of co-authors, hint hint.)

So without the proverbial further ado:

Tonight: New Members Welcome Cocktail at the Racquet Club
We’ve got several new members, some of whom I’ve met, and if you can come out tonight to say hello and get acquainted.

Sunday: Encore Performance of Innovative Stages’ Understood Betsy.
Show starts at the Club at 14:00. It’s family friendly and (although I haven’t seen it), I’m told quite good. Why else would they have an encore?

Every Sunday: After the success of the last Sunday grill-fest-o’rama, the Club wants to hold the event every week. I was there, and I can assure you, passive voice notwithstanding, that a good time was had by all. If you can volunteer time or victuals, contact our indubitable Bar Committee chairman, Robert Moment at 1 914 376 0255 or email him at rjmoment.applepromotions AT verizon DOT net.

…and, last but certainly not least, I’ve heard that the meeting held to discuss making Undercliff a one way street went well. Does anyone have any more info on this? [/troll]

As I will not be able to attend this evening, I have written the following open letter to Concilman Robertson which I hope to have read at the meeting:

To the Honorable Councilman Robertson,

Let me thank you for taking time to meet with representatives from our neighborhood to discuss making Undercliff a one way street and to offer my apologies that I cannot attend in person. Although the Park Hill community members here represent the oft-considered sentiments of the entire neighborhood, I would like to add my voice to theirs in order to reiterate our strong concern for the safety of all who live in or transit through our neighborhood.

If I may make a couple of observations about the road itself, Undercliff was built at a time when automobiles were smaller and cars utilized roads like Undercliff much less. It was never designed to accommodate our larger cars nor its current volume of traffic. Living up to its name, Undercliff’s incline and turns are extreme; visibility on the road is severely limited; and during any kind of inclement weather, the road becomes nearly impassable.

In the best of circumstances, the road is hazardous. Despite the obvious danger, I understand that historically there has been opposition to closing the road or curtailing access to it. There’s no way around it, so I’ll just say it: the issue has become couched as a “those living up the hill” vs. “those living at the bottom of the hill” conflict.

This is a shortsighted obfuscation. To those who would frame the issue thusly, I would remind them that children coming from both up and down the hill walk on Undercliff everyday. It doesn’t matter whether a child lives at the bottom or the top of the hill – if even one child is injured (or God forbid, worse) on Undercliff, it will be a tragedy for everyone.

Moreover, Undercliff isn’t even needed. Park Hill Avenue and Rumsey Road – roads designed to accommodate larger volumes of traffic – both bisect the neighborhood and can be accessed mere blocks from the Undercliff /South Broadway intersection. No one is going to be inconvenienced by more than couple of minutes if the City makes Undercliff a one way street, but it will cut in half the volume of traffic on that dangerous road.

This is first and foremost a safety issue. I don’t think making one small road a one way street is asking too much the safety of all our children.

Yours Sincerely,
(Names and addresses redacted)

Please, if you can, attend this meeting or send a letter.

Gail Averill writes:

Councilman Robertson will meet with all interested parties on Thursday, June 16 at 5:00 at the Averill’s house, 158 Alta Ave., to present his new proposal for a one way, (going down) traffic restriction on Undercliff St. Please pass the word to anyone interested and try to attend. The traffic on this street affects the entire neighborhood.

Everyone who can - please attend. We need to rally our community to show Councilman Robertson how seriously we take safety.

If even one child gets hurt walking up this hill to school it will be a tragedy for the whole neighborhood. That street was not designed for the two way traffic of modern, large automobiles, and it’s high time we attenuated this dangerous situation.

Living up to its name, the Racquet club will be offering the following adult and childrens’ tennis clinics:

Saturday Tennis Clinics

June 4th (Note time Change below)
Sign up sheet on the Clubhouse porch or email Patty Cecere

Adults

10AM to 11AM – Shot ‘til U Drop
What is better than to have fun and get fit? A lot of running and drills to leave you breathless! This is an Intermediate/Advanced clinic.

11AM to Noon – Doubles Clinic
This clinic helps with doubles fundamentals; approach and volley, footwork and flow; transition volleys; “hot seat”; serve and return placement. This is a Beginner/Intermediate clinic.

Junior Development

Starting at Noon to 1:30PM – two sessions for ages 6 to 10 and ages 10 to 14
Blend of beginner and advanced beginner drills fostering control and consistency on basic strokes; hand-eye coordination; spin; drills with different match situations.

Come and get your game on, or whatever the tennis equivalent of that would be.

Continuing their century-long tradition of theater in Park Hill, The Racquet Club is pleased to sponsor Innovative Stages by offering our stage for the presentation of developing plays.

Tusk is the story of an elephant family’s quest for survival, and is a show that challenges the line between human and beast. An absorbing, thought provoking journey for the whole family.

This month’s production is the eighth the club has hosted, and the show is open to all. Suggested donations are $5.00 ($3.00 for students and seniors)

No word on whether Fleetwood Mac will actually be performing…

The Park Hill Residents’ Association will hold their annual meeting at the Park Hill Racquet Club on Thursday, June 8th, at 7:30 p.m.

Speakers will include Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone; Captain Frank Intervallo from the Yonkers Police Dept. 3rd Precinct; Det. Bob Stumpf also from the YPD to discuss identity theft and how to prevent it; and our very own web designer, John Boudreau, presenting highlights from our website.

This is fantastic organization doing good work for the neighborhood. I encourage everyone to go. Capt. Intervallo, whose taken time to do similar engagements before, is an especially good (and patient) speaker. And, naturally, I encourage everyone who’s not a member to become one.