Montgomery Street | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side

After Seeing Citi Bike/Fire Hydrant Photo, DOT Swings Into Action

Madison Street, near Gouverneur Street’ this morning.

That was fast. The city moved swiftly yesterday, adjusting a Citi Bike station placed in front a fire hydrant.

Citi Bike Station: Fire Hazard?

Madison Street near Montgomery.

TLD reader William sent along this photo from Madison Street, just east of Montgomery, where a new Citi Bike station popped up in the last couple of days, replacing another station that was located just a few steps away on Gouverneur Street. He points out that the docks were placed right in front of a fire hydrant. “If these were cars, there would be (parking) tickets all over,” he wrote.

Sprucing Up Montgomery Street

Lo-Down reader David Flaherty noticed some welcome improvements along Montgomery Street. Work has been completed on a fancy new median stretching from South Street to Madison Street. There are multi-level planters, which we assume won’t be fully beautified until next spring. The project is part of a larger Greenstreets program funded by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp (using 9/11 recovery money).

Pike Street Pedestrian Malls: Still in Limbo

Here’s a photo we shot last October, as Parks Department crews began to transform the pedestrian malls on Pike Street, near the East River. How much progress has been made in the past five months?

Breaking: Transformer Explosion on East Broadway

Firefighters are on the scene at East Broadway, near Montgomery Street, where two manhole covers exploded shortly after 5pm. It happened in front of the Emigrant Savings Bank and across the street from P.S. 134. No one was hurt but police have strung crime scene tape along Montgomery and a section of Grand Street to keep onlookers at a safe distance. There were two loud booms when the manhole covers blew off, about five minutes apart, and a fairly strong smell of smoke.

The bank building is owned by the Seward Park Cooperative. Seward Park General Manager Frank Durant was told a transformer blew (the elevators in the bank went out briefly). A firefighter speculated that salt (used in the lead-up and aftermath of yesterday’s snow storm) probably seeped underground and set off the explosions. We’re told Con-Ed will be on the scene shortly. More photos after the jump:

Basketball City Financing Deal Announced; Summer 2011 Opening Envisioned

Pier 36

This just popped up on the wire: The NYC Economic Development Corp. announces a financing deal for Basketball City, the privately owned facility being developed on Pier 36, at the end of Montgomery Street. Unsurprisingly, there’s no mention of a protracted dispute with several neighborhood organizations, who have pressed Basketball City to make a wide range of concessions to low income residents. Here’s the full news release:

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and United Fund Advisors, LLC (UFA) today announced the closing of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) financing for Basketball City USA. The nearly $13 million project includes the conversion of City-owned warehouse space on Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan into a first-class recreational sports and special events facility with publicly-accessible open space. The project is estimated to create 50 full-time jobs which will be targeted to low-income residents of the area.