6 Months After Protests, Barricades Still Block UWS Street

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — You can walk freely down most New York City blocks, but not West 82nd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus.

Barricades appeared for the first time outside the 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side at the end of May as daily protests against police brutality were taking place across New York City.

However, six months later the barricades remain up.

"We are constantly reassessing the use of barriers and if the conditions on the ground permit, we will remove them," a New York Police Department spokesperson told Patch.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is not happy about it.

"It is unfortunate that long after any mass protests in the area and after a promise from Commissioner Shea that barricades should be put away unless there are immediate threats, the 20th Precinct continues to have barricades standing," Brewer told Patch.

Brewer's office conducted a survey between July 27 and Aug. 8 that found 19 of 23 police precincts in Manhattan still had barricades up.

Many of those have come down in the time since, but the barricades on West 82nd Street haven't budged.

"In addition to being alerted by Patch reporters about this issue, a senior official in my office on maternity leave had to walk with her newborn baby and her 3-year-old child into the street because she was unable to get through on the sidewalk," Brewer said. "I will be reaching out to Commissioner Shea and the commanding officer about why these barricades remain up."

Captain Neil Zuber, the commanding officer of the 20th Precinct, did follow up with Brewer on Friday.

He told the Manhattan borough president that the barricades were there because a Black Lives Matter protest took place in the area on Thursday, and there were threats made on social media.

Zuber told Brewer that the barricades would be taken down by the end of this weekend.

"My very strong hope is that the community and the precinct can find a way to improve communication over the next period," Council Member Helen Rosenthal told Patch. "That will help lay the groundwork for the re-opening of the block."

On Thursday, residents showed notes to three NYPD officers posted at the barricade to get through. A police cruiser also sat in the middle of the street directly behind the barricades.