No one seems to know why Marvin Place, a block-long street near the New York Westchester Square Medical Center, was never added to the city map.
Not that Ragnauth Singh cares. The senior homeowner and Marvin Place resident of 24 years wants his block mapped, history be damned.
Because the Department of Transportation is responsible only for mapped city streets, Marvin Place boasts Grand Canyon potholes and glacial chasms, Singh said. He visited Community Board 10 on Thursday, January 21 to ask for relief.
“The street is bad,” Singh complained. “The holes are wide, maybe two or three feet, the whole street.”
Marvin Place is a dead-end that meets St. Raymonds Avenue between Overing Street and St. Peter’s Avenue. Singh has watched the DOT resurface St. Raymonds three or fours times, he said. But never Marvin Place.
When it snows, DOT trucks do plow the street. But the trucks don’t sand Marvin Place, Singh said. The DOT fills potholes on unmapped streets in the interest of public safety, DOT spokesman Scott Gastel explained. It cannot do more.
To be mapped, a street must pass muster at the relevant community board and the borough president’s office, CB10 district manager Ken Kearns explained. In January, Kearns told Singh to obtain permission from his Marvin Place neighbors.
Mapped streets are eligible for DOT work but also alternate side parking. There are no parking regs on Marvin Street today. Some people prefer a bumpy street.
“[Singh] pays taxes and so thinks the street should be maintained,” Kearns said. “But he needs a letter signed by his neighbors.”
Two neighbors have agreed, Singh said. He and a third neighbor are on bad terms and don’t speak. Singh has requested help from Senator Jeff Klein and plans to draft a letter soon, he said.
Reach reporter Daniel Beekman at 718 742-3383 or dbeekman@cnglocal.com
