DOT Secures Federal Grant to Add More Sidewalk Seating
A federal grant will bring more public benches to NYC sidewalks, DOT announced yesterday.
The CityBench program, a PlanNYC initiative launched in 2011, has brought hundreds of steel benches to streets across the boroughs. DOT marked the installation of the 1,500th bench yesterday, at MS 22 in the Bronx, and said the Federal Transit Authority has awarded the program an additional $1.5 million. The FTA provided 80 percent of the initial $3 million CityBench budget.
CityBench targets commercial districts and areas where seniors and people with impaired mobility lack places to sit. Bench sites can be requested via the DOT web site.
"New York's CityBench program is a welcome reprieve for many who pound the pavement every day,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “The additional funding for this program will benefit many, especially those in my district of East Harlem, which has a prominent and growing senior population.”
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
Deal Reached: Hochul Says ‘Sammy’s Law’ Will Pass
The bill, though imperfect, has been four years in the making.
Komanoff: A ‘Noise Tax’ Can Ground NYC Helicopters
A proposed $400 “noise tax” on “nonessential” flights is a start — and it will work.
Thursday’s Headlines: Welcome to the War on Cars, Scientific American
Our favorite story yesterday was this editorial in an unexpected place. Plus other news.
Meet the MTA Board Member and Congestion Pricing Foe Who Uses Bridges and Tunnels For Free Every Day
Mack drives over the transportation authority's bridges and tunnels thanks to a rare perk of which he is the primary beneficent.
Randy Mastro Aspires to Join Mayor’s Inner Circle of Congestion Pricing Foes
The mayor's reported pick to run the city Law Department is former deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani and notorious foe of bike lanes and congestion pricing.
