At last night’s town hall meeting hosted by Mayor de Blasio on the Lower East Side, local residents asked all sorts of questions about big picture issues, as well as hyperlocal concerns. In most cases, there were no easy answers, but here’s one exception.
You may have noticed that two traffic agents are standing at the intersection of Grand Street and Clinton Street this afternoon. During the meeting, Grand Street resident Tommy Loeb raised his hand and described the terrible traffic congestion issues in the area. He mentioned that the Department of Transportation recently agreed to study the problem, but in a plea to the mayor, Loeb said traffic cops on Clinton Street could make an immediate positive difference. “That could be done tomorrow,” he suggested.
The mayor called up Steven Hellman, the 7th Precinct’s commanding officer, and other NYPD officials. Manhattan South Chief Bill Morris promised, “I will get you a traffic agent at this corner.”
Grand St. resident gets the job done at Town Hall! There will be a traffic agent at Grand & Clinton, to alleviate traffic congestion! pic.twitter.com/8oFnEGzv6T
— NYPD 7th Precinct (@NYPD7Pct) June 22, 2017
The mayor may have already been familiar with the issue. Just yesterday, local elected officials sent a letter to NYPD Commissioner James O’Neil to request a traffic agent at this location. In the letter, supplied to us by State Sen. Daniel Squadron, the elected reps said, “Due to a number of high traffic areas in the confines of the 7th Precinct, the precinct has said it would require additional personnel in order to staff this intersection.”
Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the Department of Transportation, also chimed in last night, saying her agency understands the importance of alleviating traffic congestion in the area leading to the Williamsburg Bridge.
