Patricia N. Saffran, Frontal Assault at the Sherman Equestrian Monument in New York’s Central Park

Patricia N. Saffran

New York City officials finally got rid of the highly polluting, unsightly large food trucks surrounding Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ historic masterpiece, the Sherman Equestrian Monument, off Fifth Avenue. https://jameshfetzer.org/2023/07/patricia-n-saffran-sherman-monument-ambushed-on-fifth-avenue-central-park/ Now the monument has a new enemy, an awkward, clunky, appalling Citibank bike rack, placed right in front of the valuable sculpture.

After the Plaza Hotel’s lawsuit against NYC DOT to remove the abysmal Citibank bike rack from their entrance was tossed by a judge, https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/judge-tosses-lawsuit-by-plaza-hotel-asking-to-have-citi-bike-rack-removed/ the bike rack continued its green mission in front of the hotel, all the while blocking traffic, looking awful, and making the narrow street in front of the hotel unsafe. A recent construction/repair of the Pulitzer Fountain across from the hotel entrance resulted in DOT moving the bike rack across the street, in front of the nearby Sherman Equestrian Monument. On August 19, 2024, a DOT press officer was asked about the inappropriate relocation of the bike rack but offered no explanation.

As to the Central Park equines, those pulling Central Park’s horse drawn carriages, their staging areas near the Sherman Equestrian monument on the Park Drive and at the 6th and 7th Avenue entrances to the park remain under attack from illegal motorized pedicabs. A devastating expose of the thuggish motorized pedicab drivers appeared in the NY Post, https://nypost.com/2024/08/18/us-news/out-of-control-nyc-pedicab-drivers-terrorize-tourists-locals-and-even-sexually-assault-their-own-customers-they-are-like-piranhas/ Carriage drivers told the Post they have been assaulted by the pedicab drivers. It appears that the pedicab drivers attack tourists and passengers alike in other areas as well.

The same day the Post article appeared, on August 18, 2024, Cadet Gabriel Wieckowski answering the phone at the NYPD Central Park precinct insisted, “We do patrol the 6th and 7th Avenue entrances and we give fines to the pedicabs.” The carriage drivers tell a different story.

A longtime carriage driver in the Park Drive area at the Sherman Monument said, “The weekends are really bad. Yesterday [Sunday 8/11/24] the pedicab drivers completely blocked the 6th Avenue entrance. They wouldn’t allow us in at all.” As we were speaking, a motorized pedicab parked in the exclusive carriage-only area and picked up passengers, not paying any attention to regulations as to where he’s not allowed to go.

At the 7th Avenue horse drawn carriages’ staging area, a carriage driver said, “We’ve called 311 and the Central Park police precinct hundreds of times and no one comes when we’re having trouble with the pedicabs. The police say, ‘That’s not so important,’ and hang up. Also, tourists and pedestrians are in danger of crossing on the crosswalks which are often blocked by the pedicabs. I’ve seen tourists get very annoyed by the guys holding up their charts right in front of the tourists’ faces to get business for the pedicabs. It makes the place look like a Third World country.”

City and Park regulations define a pedicab as strictly non-motorized. The City and NYPD are turning a blind eye to the illegality of allowing motorized pedicabs in the park at all, but at least they have made some attempt at pedicab confiscations.

NYPD Commanding Officer, Captain Anthony Lavino, Central Park Precinct, explained 6/5/2024, “We did have a successful operation last year in which we seized 77 pedicabs and issued 96 summonses between midtown and Central Park. The operation was arranged after intelligence was obtained that many of the operators did not have valid licenses or insurance. After our operation was conducted, the number of properly licensed pedicabs jumped from 8 to 416 today. We will be planning another large scale operation in the future. I should also note that off all the summonses we issued during the operation, nearly all were dismissed from court by the presiding judges. Most of the operators faced no penalty or fine for the infractions.” In other words, judges uncooperative with law enforcement are making it difficult to remove fake-licensed pedicabs.

After the exposure of illegal motorized pedicabs in the NY Post, 8/18/2024, the NYPD took action recently to seize 52 pedicabs, make 5 arrests and issue 56 summonses. https://nypost.com/2024/08/31/us-news/nypd-cracks-down-on-unlawful-pedicabs-after-post-expose/ These NYPD actions may placate the public that they’re doing something to crack down on the pedicabs. To date, the NYPD still have done nothing to alleviate the dangerous chaos in the horse drawn carriage horses 6th and 7th Avenue staging areas because the NYPD have not made any attempts to throw the pedicabs out of these areas which officially should be exclusively for the carriages.

A carriage driver reacted to the NYPD crackdown, and observed, September 1, 2024, “Unfortunately no noticeable change. Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue continue to be overrun with pedicabs today and yesterday despite cops sitting there ignoring them.”

This author has suggested to Captain Lavino that there be a NYPD patrol to ticket the pedicabs for parking in the horse drawn carriages exclusive zones. Captain Lavino never responded and as of today NYPD seems to still be in a stand down mode, unwilling to protect tourists, pedestrians and horse drawn carriages at the highly visible 6th and 7th Avenue entrances to Central Park.

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, §1-05 Regulated Uses

9. “Pedicabs. No person operating a pedicab shall occupy an area reserved solely for buses, taxicabs, horse drawn carriages or other vehicles or motor vehicles.”

In addition, motorized vehicles are strictly prohibited from Central Park.

Under Traffic Rules, Section 4-01, Rules of the City of New York, New York City Department of Transportation, Title 34, Chapter 4, defines pedicabs as strictly unmotorized.

“Pedicab” means a bicycle as defined in the vehicle and traffic law or other device that is designed and constructed to transport or carry passengers, that is solely propelled by human power, and that is operated to transport passengers for hire.”

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