Since the building of 555 10th Avenue New York, NY 10018 - increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic has competed with vehicular traffic heading into the Lincoln Tunnel in an increasingly provocative and often dangerous pattern.  Traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle safety infrastructure improvements are sorely needed in the area, including but not limited to the corner of West 41st street and 10th Avenue. 

Though the area is certainly under the jurisdictions of several city, local, state, and interstate officials: including, but not limited to, the NY/NJ Port Authority Bus Terminal; NYC Dept. of Transportation; NYC Community Board 4; NYC Council District 3; and other state & local officials responsible for the safety of all in the vicinity - we cannot afford to push desperately needed infrastructure improvements off onto each other. One must take responsibility for the areas lack of safety measures. 

To be short: the area includes hundreds of residents from the building 555 10th Avenue; hundreds more school children (parents, family, friends, domestic workers) who are looking to get to Success Academy -a school that serves hundreds of children and teachers who serve them and who’s entrance to the school is located 4 meters away from the dangerous intersection of w41st Street & 10th Avenue; church clergy & members attending the Croation Church on w41st St.-and many other commuters traveling from north to south, east to west.  

People commuting through the area include tourists coming into the island or going to the Hudson River Park, Vehicle drivers coming to/from the Lincoln Tunnel on the other side of the building, bicyclists, dog owners going to/from Astro’s Dog Park, and everyone else who uses 10th Avenue to live our lives. 

With this said, increased construction along 10th Avenue, and the West side in general, especially the Hudson Yards - and the anticipated closure of parts of the Lincoln Tunnel itself - have and will continue to create unsafe conditions for everyone who depends on the area. 

Already several car accidents have been reported in the area, and the community has experienced aggressive drivers and vehicular traffic heading into the Lincoln Tunnel at West 41st Street that inhibits pedestrians and school children from crossing this corner safely without the threat of injury or death. Community members ourselves have documented with photos & videos- 16-wheel vehicles barely navigating the sharp turn on w41st st; busses riding up onto the north side of the sidewalk; up to 3 lanes of cars turning left onto w41st st off 10th Avenue AT THE SAME TIME, vehicles constantly blocking the box; vehicles going through red lights, speeding vehicles, and even incidents of people in the community being struck and harasssed by drivers rushing to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. 

THIS MUST STOP TODAY!  We must come together to make infrastructure improvements in the area in order to PREVENT injury or fatalities that may result from inadequate traffic signs and lack of protected bicycle lane on 10th Ave. 

Some improvements suggested include, but are not limited to:  installation and maintenance of speed cameras on the corner of w41st and 10th Avenue; Acessible traffic lights that include sound alerts for people with vision impairments, installation of a protected bicycle lane along 10th Avenue, street trees with large tree pits to be planted on westside of 10th Avenue to signal to cars this is now a residential area to drive safely, speed limit signs from w34th st along 10th Avenue up to w42nd st since the hill along 10th ave encourages cats to speed up until the lot reach the dangerous left hand turn on w41st St & 10thAvenue; improved traffic signals that include a left-turn only arrow on the corner of 10th Avenue and w41st St; left turn only lanes; new crosswalk paint; higher curb sides for cars that like to ride onto the sidewalks; potentially a ban on large trucks turning at this corner (already vacant property sits on the NW corner of w41st & 10th FOR YEARS due to cars crashing into the corner storefront. 

We all IMPLORE you to take this area into your consideration during Transportation Planning and building negotiations go on. We beg the agencies and representatives listed in this letter to listen to our concerns and advocate for more funding and resources to be allocated to the area for everyone’s safety!

Please be advised this petition also serves as a notice to those in office. A notice that we, as a community, are warning of the dangers that this intersection, and the areas leading up to it, pose to pedestrians and children, Commuters and residents, bicyclists and vehicle drivers alike.  

We urge all of those noted in this letter to meet our concerns and frustrations with swift and appropriate actions, including but not limited to the suggestions proposed in this petition. 

Finally, we thank you all for reading this petition, our concerns and observations made in this petition, and the call-to-action that we hope you respond to. Take heed and make changes to this area, and we will be forever thankful. At the polls and beyond. 

Truly

Michael Huarachi

and the residents, community members of the area.