Manhattan

The Borough

Manhattan is usually known as one of the most significant urban segments of the New York Metropolitan area. It is a populated borough among the five boroughs of New York City. This place is popular as the economic and administrative center of New York City. Surrounded by small neighborhoods like Marble Hill, the borough largely consists of Manhattan Island. If you go back to the origin of the borough, the journey of it started with a trading post explored by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan. Later, in 1926, the post was named New Amsterdam.

The borough, Manhattan is divided into Downtown, Midtown, and Uptown. The fifth Avenue divides Manhattan lengthwise. The whole area of the borough is bounded by the East River to the East and Hudson River to the West. On the other hand, to the North, the Harlem River divides Manhattan Island from the main area of the United States and the Bronx. Previously, Lower Manhattan was expanded from the natural Hudson shoreline at Greenwich Street to West Street. Downtown Manhattan includes Southern areas of the borough while the uptown refers to the North. Manhattan has two central business districts namely the Financial District and the Midtown Manhattan district.

Transportation of the City

The city life of Manhattan experiences more public transportation and personal vehicles. In the whole US, a large number of people drive personal cars with a few traveling by public transport. But Manhattan is unique in this way. More than 70% of the total population in the borough use public transport while approximately 18% drive personal vehicles. As per the recent study, the majority of Manhattan households do not own a car.

There are 151 subway stations in Manhattan among the total 472 stations in New York. The PATH system subway connects six stations in Manhattan to northern New Jersey. There is Long Island Rail Road that connects Manhattan and boroughs to Long Island.

Have you ever looked at the avenues and alleys across the city of Manhattan? All of them are well-planned connecting various parts of the city to each other. In 1811, the Commissioner’s plan was issued in which 12 numbered avenues are there towards North and South direction parallel to the banks of Hudson River. The first avenue lies in the east and the 12th avenue on the west part of the borough. Several inter-connected avenues including four additional lettered avenues running from Avenue A eastward to Avenue D. The numbered streets run from east to west. The numbered streets mostly are 60 feet in width. The pair of streets have 200 feet gap between them. As per the original Commissioner’s plan, there were nearly 155 numbered cross-town streets. However, the grid was extended and it touched the northernmost corner of Manhattan where the last numbered street is 220th street. Though the grid plan is not as regular, the numbering system also continues even in the Bronx, the neighborhood of Manhattan. Near about 15 cross-town streets are considered a significant part of transportation across the borough. The cross-town streets include 34th, 42nd, 57th, 125th streets. These streets are also popular as shopping venues. Concrete contractors are often hired to repair these streets. The government is highly concerned about the streets, alleys, and sidewalks. That is why; they promptly take action and appoint contractors for street repair whenever damages occur.

Crosstown Traffic

There is a popular term namely “Crosstown Traffic”. This term refers majorly to the vehicular traffic between the eastern side and the western side. The heavy traffic on the narrow local streets and absence of expressways often, lead to much inconvenience to the people traveling in these areas. However, Trans-Manhattan Expressway is offering convenient service.

The Bridges and Tunnels in Manhattan

Now let’s have some words about the bridges across the city of Manhattan. Manhattan with its large part as an island is connected with New York’s other boroughs and cities by various bridges. Manhattan has found its highway connections with New Jersey to its west through George Washington Bridge, the Holland Tunnel, the Lincoln Tunnel. Also, the bridges take you to the other boroughs like Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, etc. the George Washington Bridge is a motor vehicle bridge, the busiest one in the world. There are other various bridges to the Bronx from Manhattan across the Harlem River. Five bridges connecting the Manhattan to the Long Island borough are the Triborough, Ed Koch Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges.

You can find several tunnels as well which connect Manhattan boroughs with other New York City boroughs and New Jersey. There is a famous Lincoln tunnel with a capacity to carry nearly 120,000 vehicles per day below the Hudson River. It runs between New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan. Considered the busiest vehicular tunnel in the world, it incorporates loose, open passage of large passenger and cargo ships that sail through New York Harbor to the Hudson River. Lower Manhattan is connected to Jersey City, by the Holland Tunnel. It is the world’s first mechanically ventilated vehicular tunnel. There is a well-known Queens-Midtown Tunnel that helps to manage the traffic on the bridges that connect Manhattan with Queens and Brooklyn. There are several ferry services as well that run between New Jersey and Manhattan. You can find these ferry services serving midtown, Wall Street, Battery Park City, and so on.

How streets connect the areas in Manhattan

Along with the streets of Manhattan, the sidewalks and alleys are of equal importance. The sidewalks connect the various important areas in the borough with each other. It allows the people to walk confidently on the roads without any hassles. You can enjoy walking to your school, workplaces, and universities through the sidewalks. You do not need to get a mess of your head amidst the busy, disturbing traffic on the road. The sidewalks are well-maintained and showcase efficient workmanship most of the time. The sidewalk contractors in the city are highly-skilled and professional to maintain the sidewalk in the best possible way. DOT takes special care of the sidewalks. It keeps all of the sidewalks in the city under observation. They necessarily take strong action whenever they find any damage on the sidewalk unrepaired. In Manhattan, like other parts of New York City, the property owners are responsible for repairing and replacing the sidewalk initially. If they fail to do so within the given time, the DOT comes to the forefront and takes action.

DOT Violation Removal Service for the Businesses

As a business owner, when your business establishments have sidewalks in front of it, you must know about how to use and maintain sidewalks properly. Sidewalk cleaning and maintenance is a major responsibility that you cannot ignore. Otherwise, your business may face unnecessary legal hassles. To repair the damages, you must hire sidewalk contractors to perform DOT violation removal service. Also, you should maintain the sidewalks before and after the repair.

When property lines extend into the surrounding sidewalk, the portion of the sidewalk inside that extended line comes within the property. You can perform activities within that premise. The sidewalk portions outside the extended property line may be considered public sidewalks. So, you must take care of the factor that your activity is limited within the property line. Keep the sidewalks in front of your business property clean and easy-to-use. As a business owner, it comes under your responsibility. Well, in this case, property lines do not matter. You are liable to clean and maintain the whole portion.

If you want to extend your property structure or perform any business-related activity beyond the property line, you have to ask for revocable consent from the City. The consent includes permission to use the place you mention. And if your property is on rent, you also have to ask the landlord as part of your consent application.

However, if you perform the responsibilities well, you can avoid the fines. By cleaning the sidewalk and gutters next to your business properties, you can avoid up to $300 as the fine amount. During the cold season, if you clear the snow and ice from the sidewalk, an amount of $100-$350 can be avoided easily. For tripping hazards and debris, you may have to pay $100-$300. So, remove such violations at the earliest to avoid the fine. Take care of the items like waste bags, boxes, ice machines, etc. These should not block the portions of public sidewalks.

What is Revocable Consent

Now let’s know a bit about revocable consent. Revocable consent is permission given by the City to the property owner to install and maintain a sidewalk structure on, over, or below a public sidewalk or street. The Department of Transport processes the application for revocable consent. To apply for consent, you require the landlord’s consent, copies of the deed, and lease. The whole approval process usually takes near about 4 to 6 months.

Give Us a Call

Sidewalk damages therefore must be solved at the earliest no matter whatever the circumstance is. If you require sidewalk repair and replacement for your business property or residential property, give us a call. We offer expert sidewalk service at the best price.