Neighbors Working Together for a Safer and More Beautiful Block!

Please join us for our next meeting on a Saturday soon at 4PM!
at Grace & St. Paul's Church at 123 West 71st Street


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.

Children are welcome!


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.



Monday, July 28, 2025

71st Street Block Association Prevails: Bike Corrals Coming



July 28, 2025 - I Love the Upper West Side.comiLovetheUpperWestSide.com

71st Street Block Association Prevails: Bike Corrals Coming to One-Block Stretch After DOT Initially Said No

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.


“The New York City Department of Transportation is set to enhance our neighborhood by installing four dedicated bike corrals directly in front of 234 Amsterdam Avenue, situated between West 70th and West 71st Streets,” wrote Elizabeth Caputo, Community Board 7’sTransportation Committee co-chair, noting that existing bike racks would be removed to make way for the project. “These bike corrals are designed to provide secure parking for approximately 24 to 30 bicycles, creating a convenient and organized space for cyclists.”

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.

“Corrals in the street should be used throughout the city, as many neighborhoods are complaining of extreme crowding and a messy, chaotic situation created by dozens of bikes!” said Ellison about their vision to bring a safer, less chaotic, cleaner, and more pleasant feel to the area—an issue she and her neighbors have been complaining about for years.

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:

  • Columbus Avenue and West 77th Street 
  • Columbus Avenue and West 83rd Street 
  • Amsterdam Avenue and West 91st Street

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.

“It felt good to know we could successfully advocate for something so badly needed and good for our neighborhood,” said Ellison about the bike corral project, which was initially shot down by DOT. The agency had cited concerns about manhole placement, but Ellison and others pushed back with photos taken by Eric Papa showing that DOT does, in fact, install bike corrals near manhole covers. “We were able to show that the law permitted a bike corral close to manholes, and indeed, Eric Papa provided examples of such corrals.”

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.”

Sunday, July 20, 2025

 Dear Friends & Neighbors,


Please join us to celebrate Theo’s 100th Birthday on Tuesday August 5th from 11-12 in front of Muffins Cafe (Columbus Ave between 70-71).
This is a good opportunity to meet your neighbors!  Let’s celebrate Theo - our oldest and most loyal member of the West 71st Street Block Association!

Kindly,
Katina and Karen





Katina Ellison & Karen Raschke
Founder & Co-Leader
West 71st Street Block Association
New York, NY 10023
(917) 796-7350

Balloons.jpeg

Saturday, April 12, 2025

We are working hard to clean up the area outside McDonald's to reduce chaos in that area!

Article from "I Love the Upper Westside" - April 11, 2025

Read entire article here: 

https://www.ilovetheupperwestside.com/71st-street-bike-corral-bounced-from-planned-location-block-association-fights-back/

71st Street Bike Corral Bounced from Planned Location: Block Association Fights Back

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.

bike corral 71st street uws