Join us on Saturday October 4th from 11am-2pm!
Outdoors (in church if raining)
at Grace & St. Paul's Church at 4pm
123 West 71st Street
Come meet your neighbors and share and your concerns for our block!
Join us for refreshments,
Block Association T-shirts,
literature, and more.
The West 71st St Block Association covers the blocks between Central Park West and Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
West 71st Street is a great place to live and we are working together to make it even better! Come and meet our co-leaders Katina Ellison and Karen Raschke.
Current issues we are working on: Improving safety and reducing chaos at the pedestrian plaza outside McDonald's following the shootings there on Halloween 2024. Stopping the proposed e-bike charging station for the bow-tie intersection (sign petition below!), beautifying the tree wells, rats, trash/litter on the sidewalks, scaffolding, nighttime noise and illegal behavior, working with the 20th Precinct and outreach groups to help the homeless, and replacing the newspaper bins with newer and fewer ones.
We work on the above issues by collaborating with local legislators, Community Board 7, city agencies, police, both churches on the block, local businesses, outreach to the homeless, Sanitation and Health Departments, landlords, neighbors.
How to help:
1. Tell your neighbors about our block association and have them e-mail us to add them to our list.
2. Call 311 or e-mail 311 at http://www.nyc.gov/apps/311/about.htm to report block issues. Or call the 20th police precinct at 212.580.6411.
Following the Halloween night shooting in 2024, in which two teenage boys were shot outside the McDonald’s at 2049 Broadway, the West 71st Street Block Association proposed ten measures to enhance the safety and cleanliness of Sherman Square Pedestrian Plaza — the one-block stretch between West 70th and 71st Streets, home to shops like Pinkberry and CBD Kratom. Part of the initiative aimed to quell pedestrian congestion and what the group described as “chaos at the plaza” — an area often impacted by bikes locked to sidewalks and riders weaving through foot traffic. Now, after some back and forth with the DOT, the block association is getting four new bike corrals.
Caputo also shared that a bike corral could not be installed at the end of West 70th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where four small racks are currently in place and used to capacity on a regular basis — although some bikes in this area have been abandoned for months.
“But now we have to see if the delivery guys will actually use the corral and not just keep their bikes on the plaza with a kickstand!” said Katina Ellison regarding the next steps in this initiative. “The goal, as we see it, is to relieve chaos and congestion in that area.” Ellison detailed that her block’s plan also includes keeping the abandoned newsstand by the south subway entrance at West 72nd clean. It was initially earmarked to become an E-Bike Hub by Mayor Adams in 2023, but CB7 opposed the plan, and nothing has happened since.
The area under discussion has seen several shootings since 2021. On October 28, 2021, a man in his 70s was shot near the same McDonald’s. In August 2022, a man was shot in the foot at Lincoln Convenience, a smoke shop that has since closed. In March 2023, a 17-year-old student from Martin Luther King High School was shot twice and managed to stagger two blocks back to school. “Less friction here would be good,” said Jennifer Comers while eating pizza at Little Italy on Saturday, July 26. “This is a wide sidewalk compared to other areas, but with all the bikes locked to the tree bed grates, it severely cuts down the walking lanes. And then you still have inconsiderate people riding bikes and scooters—it’s too much,” she added. ILTUWS witnessed numerous bikers—some electric, including one from Little Italy Pizza—riding directly through the sidewalk.
“NYC DOT looks forward to adding in-demand bike parking on the Upper West Side, providing dedicated space for cyclists to store their bicycles and help keep sidewalks clear for pedestrians,” said a DOT spokesperson regarding the incoming bike corrals. They noted that the timing of the installation will depend on “internal capacity,” and no specific date has been provided yet. DOT also plans to monitor all roadway bike parking locations and make adjustments as needed.
Additional locations set to receive bike parking include:
DOT referred us to the NYPD regarding the removal of bikes parked in unauthorized areas. We’re working with DOT to provide more details on the additional parking locations.
c/o Eric Papa
Ellison’s advice for other block associations looking to accomplish local goals when seeking help from the city: “When you know your idea is sound and within the law and guidelines, don’t give up!” She added that they were able to ally themselves with Community Board 7 and local elected officials including Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, City Councilmember Gale Brewer, and State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who won the Democratic nomination for Manhattan borough president in June 2025. “They advocated right alongside us.”
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
Article from "I Love the Upper Westside" - April 11, 2025
Read entire article here:
On April 3, the 71st Street Block Association sent an email addressed to Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, City Councilmember Gale Brewer, and State Senator Brad Hoylman.
“We are writing to you because we need your help in securing our promised bike corral in the street just off the curb at the McDonald’s Plaza (at 71st and Amsterdam), which was agreed upon when we met on November 18, 2024,” it read. The message was co-signed by Katina Ellison and Karen Raschke, the co-leaders of the association.