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Six new benches are being installed along Columbus Avenue between 81st and 92nd Streets, after Council Member Gale Brewer urged the Department of Transportation to address a significant gap in public seating on the Upper West Side.
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Brewer wrote to DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in August 2025 on behalf of seniors in the neighborhood, pointing out that a long stretch of Columbus Avenue — from West 82nd Street to West 92nd Street — was essentially a “bench desert,” with almost no places for pedestrians to sit and rest.According to DOT’s own Public Seating Map, there was only one bench between West 85th and West 92nd Street at the time, and just a single bench between West 89th and West 94th Street.
A senior who frequently walks in the area told Brewer’s office she found it difficult to find a place to sit when she needed a break — and recalled there being more benches in the neighborhood when she moved here 30 years ago. Members of Goddard Riverside’s Older Adult Center at 593 Columbus Avenue echoed the concern, noting that many of them walk to and from the center and need places to rest along the way.
In her letter, Brewer emphasized that Manhattan Community District 7 has one of the highest senior populations in the city, and that more benches encourage increased activity, exercise, and better overall health.
The DOT responded, and new benches will be installed at the following locations in the coming months:
- 445 Columbus Ave. (between W. 81st and 82nd Streets)
- 451 Columbus Ave. (between W. 81st and 82nd Streets)
- 527 Columbus Ave. (between W. 85th and 86th Streets)
- 562 Columbus Ave. (between W. 87th and 88th Streets)
- 640 Columbus Ave. (between W. 91st and 92nd Streets)
- 641 Columbus Ave. (between W. 91st and 92nd Streets)
Brewer announced the news in her February 14 email newsletter.
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