by Michelle Mullen

The long-awaited reconstruction of the Ewen Park staircase has left neighbors worried about how the block will function during the year-long project, as traffic changes and the loss of roughly 20 parking spaces reshape part of Johnson Avenue.

The $4 million project launched in August, and will replace the aging central staircase connecting the upper portion of Ewen Park near Johnson Avenue with the lower park near Riverdale Avenue. Once brought to fruition, the new steps and a rebuilt entrance will include handrails on both sides, new lighting and plantings, slope stabilization and work on retaining walls, according to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

This reconstruction has been years in the making, with funding secured for fiscal year 2022 and the design process starting that June. A spokesperson for the parks department said community input later led the agency to change the location of part of the project’s scope, substantially setting back the design process. The design was completed in August 2024, followed by six months of regulatory approvals before the project could move into construction bidding, the agency said.

But above the park, construction staging has taken over a section of Johnson Avenue, narrowing the roadway and removing curbside parking on a strip lined by private homes and multi-family buildings, including the Edmond Lee apartment building at 3135 Johnson Ave. — just across from the staircase.

Eve Weiss, who has lived in the Edmond Lee for 29 years, said parking was generally easy before construction began, aside from nights affected by alternate-side parking. The effects have been noticeable during the summer, when more residents are away, she said, and she expects them to worsen as the summer comes to a close.

“Try it after Labor Day or try it on a Sunday night,” Weiss said. “You’re gonna find nothing. It’s gonna be like parking five blocks away.”

The narrower roadway could also complicate pickups for older residents who rely on taxis or ride-hailing services, she said, particularly in a building with a large senior population.

Michael Heller, another Edmond Lee resident and a New York State Democratic Committee member, said neighbors are not opposed to the rebuilding of the staircase itself, which was in desperate need of attention. He described cracked slate treads, uneven step heights and concrete patches that accumulated despite ocassional repairs over the years.

“The steps were in terrible condition, and no one would object to this job being done,” Heller said.

City plans show those problems went beyond ordinary wear, with the parks department telling The Press no major structural work has been done on the stairs for decades. The last reconstruction was in 2001, but only addressed repointing and new tread, according to the department.

In a 2022 design presentation, the parks department said the staircase’s risers, treads and railings were not code-compliant and cited uneven surfaces, poor visibility and inadequate lighting as safety concerns.

Julie Jenkins, who heads Stewards of Ewen Park, said the deterioration had reached a point where routine maintenance was no longer enough.

“The stairs were treacherous, they were literally crumbling apart,” Jenkins said. “Parks was trying to patch them and keep up with them by replacing the slate stairs with cement stairs, but they kept crumbling. They were too steep. They were all different heights.”

Jenkins said the entrance was also narrow and dark, with vegetation encroaching on the staircase. She expects the reconstruction to make the Johnson Avenue entrance safer and more visible.

For pedestrians, Jenkins said, the closure is somewhat less disruptive because another staircase remains nearby. Reaching it can add a few minutes to a trip through the park, but people can still move between its upper and lower sections. As for the loss of parking, she views the interruption as a temporary trade-off for a lasting improvement.

For Heller, however, much of the frustration centers on the area above the park and on what he described as confusion among neighbors who reside there.

Early plans residents saw appeared to call for blocking the northbound side of Johnson Avenue and shifting traffic into the remaining portion of the roadway, he said. The configuration now in place is less extensive, with one lane beside the park blocked, but residents remain unsure whether it will stay that way throughout construction.

The reduced curb access, he said, has also raised questions about deliveries, garbage collection and vehicles that need to stop outside nearby buildings.

Nearby resident Steve Bloom, an Ewen Park visitor since childhood, said construction has disrupted the park itself, including with a temporary access road for trucks and equipment. Still, he said the work was necessary.

“You can’t blame them for trying to fix something,” Bloom said. “I don’t mind fixing repairs as long as they re-fix the park up nicely once they get it done.”

The parks department said the construction staging area, site access and traffic impacts were developed jointly with the New York City Department of Transportation and the project’s contractor. Pedestrian and vehicle safety are the primary considerations, the agency said, followed by determining the minimum amount of space the contractor needs while limiting disruption to the public.

The department of transportation similarly said the staging area is necessary for construction and public safety and allows pedestrians to pass the work site without entering a traffic lane.

Council member Eric Dinowitz, who secured funding for the project in 2021, said his office has convened discussions with residents, the parks department and the department of transportation in an effort to reduce the project’s impact.

“Parking is of the utmost importance to our community,” Dinowitz said. “While we’re pleased that Parks has started the construction of the staircase that I funded, we want to mitigate parking disruption.”

Keywords

Ewen Park,

Ewen Park staircase,

Johnson Avenue,

Riverdale,

Bronx,

Riverdale Avenue,

NYC Parks,

staircase reconstruction,

park improvements,

construction,

parking,

traffic,

sidewalk,

Stewards of Ewen Park,

Eric Dinowitz,

community concerns,

accessibility,

pedestrian safety,

Bronx parks