BxCM Gathers Community Partners to Address Pedestrian Safety Concerns

(L-R) Keith Kalb, NYC DOT Interim Borough Commissioner; Juton Horstman, Director of Planning and Development and Jeffrey Laufer, Director of External Affairs from the Office of the Borough President; Carla Precht, Founding Executive Director, Bronx Children’s Museum; Rocky Bucano, Founder and Executive Director, Universal Hip Hop Museum; Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC DOT Commissioner; Laurie Cumbo, NYC DCLA Commissioner.

On Thursday, February 16th, Bronx Children’s Museum led a walking tour with public and private sector leaders of the Lower Concourse neighborhood to see the unsafe pedestrian pathways to Mill Pond Park and vehicular safety problems identified by the Museum. Starting at Bronx Children's Museum, the hour-long tour canvassed select areas including Metro-North's 153rd Street Station, Yankee Stadium parking lots and Exterior Street.

(Center) Laurie Cumbo, NYC DCLA Commissioner, and Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC DOT Commissioner, conversing during the tour.

Founding Executive Director Carla Precht was heartened and grateful to hear that NYC Department of Transportation Ydanis Rodriguez is committed to further fixing the many concerns identified by BxCM over the years and to work with the Mayor’s Office to bring together a roundtable of all the stakeholders.

"We hope to reimagine and plot out the many ways which the area in and around the Museum and other destinations can be made safer, easier to travel and more uplifting," said Precht. "It will be important to create and execute a plan after a thorough comprehensive holistic study is conducted by the City."

"This has the potential of being the crown jewel of the Bronx and the hottest destination in NYC. Making the area safer and more attractive, well lit and beautiful, can lift up the Bronx," said DCLA Commissioner Laurie Cumbo.

The Museum thanks the Mayor’s Office, Bronx Borough President’s Office, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC DOT, NYS Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner's Office, NYC Council Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala's Office, Bronx Community Board 4, Bronx Terminal Market and the Universal Hip Hop Museum for their commitment to making the Lower Concourse a safer destination for all.

Photos: New York City Department of Transportation