Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bollards

NYC Finally Cracking Down on Security Barriers

Security5.jpg In the aftermath of September 11th, concrete and steel barriers sprouted like  mushrooms around big buildings in New York City. It almost seemed to me to be a kind of status symbol. You knew you worked in an important building if your landlord had hardened it against truck bombs.

The barriers were often ugly and almost always stole vast tracts of sidewalk space from the public. Meanwhile, their security benefit was usually questionable. While annexing public space from the city's pedestrians the bollards did absolutely nothing to prevent a rental truck filled with explosives from rolling freely into Midtown (a camera-based congestion charging system like London's might help with that, however).

Jeff Zupan of the Regional Plan Association raised the issue here on Streetsblog in July with his short photo series of sidewalk-blocking bollards (here and here). He also wrote an excellent essay, Bombs, Barriers and Bollards for the RPA's Spotlight on the Region newsletter.

Five years after September 11th, the City has responded. Saturday's New York Times reports:

After evaluations by the New York Police Department, the city's Department of Transportation has demanded that many of the planters and concrete traffic medians known as jersey barriers be taken away. So far, barriers have been removed at 30 buildings out of an estimated 50 to 70 in the city.

Officials found that the barriers obstructed pedestrian flow and, in the case of planters, often ended up being used as giant ashtrays. Counterterrorism experts also concluded that in terms of safety, some of the barriers, which building owners put in of their own accord, might do more harm than good.

"Wherever possible, we want to avoid the appearance that the city is under siege or unwelcoming," Iris Weinshall, the city's transportation commissioner said in an e-mail message.

Photo: Jeff Zupan. 

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Daylight Again! Council Seeks Universal Parking Ban At Intersections

The city will also have to physically protect 1,000 corners from parking each year.

December 6, 2024

Friday Video: Wider Bike Lanes on Second Avenue

The Department of Transportation has made some excellent improvements on the long-dangerous roadway. Check them out.

December 6, 2024

Friday’s Headlines: City of ‘Yes, But’ Edition

The City Council passed Mayor Adams's "City of Yes for Housing" plan by a vote of 31 to 20 on Thursday. Plus more news.

December 6, 2024

Adams Considering Letting Midtown Business Group Issue Parking Tickets So NYPD Can Tackle ‘More Serious Issues’

The Department of Finance retracted its proposal to allow the 34th Street Partnership to be the first business improvement district empowered to enforce city parking rules after we started asking about it.

December 5, 2024
See all posts