Dear Neighbors,
We write today with an important update regarding upcoming construction activity on 16th Street. Beginning next Monday, May 21, a mobile hydraulic crane will arrive onsite in front of Friends Seminary to complete an approximately four-week steel operation. This work, to be completed between May 21 and June 19, will consist of the installation of steel frames and braces on the Townhouse buildings (212-216 East 16th Street). As discussed at our previous community construction meeting, this work is a key step toward rebuilding the Townhouses so that the school’s entire campus is 100% ADA accessible. As well, once the Townhouse buildings are enclosed later this fall, their facades will be restored and enhanced, returning them to their 19th century design. Below, please find NYC DOT-approved parking and vehicular access changes for the upcoming four-week period while the mobile hydraulic crane is onsite:
16th Street between 3rd Avenue and Rutherford Place will be closed both to daytime/overnight parking, as well as through traffic from May 21 and June 19. This closure will be 24 hours a day, due to the crane’s positioning in the street during operation and when not in use at the end of each day.
Pedestrians walking down 16th Street toward Rutherford Place will be encouraged to use the north sidewalk during construction hours, as portions of the south sidewalk will be restricted to pedestrians while crane operations are underway. As before, during summer 2016 when 16th Street was temporarily closed for a four-week crane operation, flagpersons will be onsite during the day to safely guide pedestrians, residents, and students when the crane is in use.
Rutherford Place will remain open during this four-week period, however, traffic between 16th and 15th Streets will be redirected north to flow toward 17th Street. (Currently, the southern half of Rutherford Place flows south between 16th and 15th Streets toward 15th, and the northern half of Rutherford flows north from 16th toward 17th Street. During this upcoming four-weeks, both halves of Rutherford will flow in the same northward direction.)
Construction work hours will remain the same during crane operations: 7 AM – 6 PM, Monday – Friday, and 9 AM – 5 PM on Saturday.
DOT signage is being installed this week along 16th Street and Rutherford Place to provide advance notice of these forthcoming vehicular changes to take effect on May 21.
As always, Friends Seminary greatly appreciates our neighbors’ ongoing patience during construction. As noted in our six-week construction look-ahead published May 9, all work is on schedule towards the enclosure of the Townhouse buildings in fall 2018. At that point, the project’s final 12 months will largely consist of interior build out, which we anticipate will be a significantly quieter scope of work to our neighbors.
For more information about the Townhouse project and forthcoming crane work and site logistics, please click here to review the presentation Friends made to neighbors at our previous community construction meeting on February 26.
Please do not hesitate to be in touch with any questions.
Respectfully,
Friends Seminary