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Saturday, November 29, 2014

Where the streets are original

I was in New York City last week and it's amazing to see how many of the trendy neighborhoods have cobblestone streets that were put in over 100 years ago, maybe 200 in some areas of the city. The same streets are being walked and driven on today. Boston is the same way; lots of history on their streets.

In Coconut Grove, we redo the streets and sidewalks on a regular basis. I guess the only reason they are never done right and have to be redone is that people don't take pride in their work anymore and pockets have to constantly be lined. If you check out the new "peanut" traffic circle on 27th Avenue, you'll know that a big chunk was removed recently to redo some pipe work below. It's never a case of doing it right the first time around here.

These cobblestone streets in New York are in very trendy areas so there is no reason why Coconut Grove which seems to be trying to emulate SoHo or Williamsburg is not keeping the old streets like those neighborhoods. This photo was taken in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and of course the new hot area, the  Meat Packing District, anchored by the Gansevoort Hotel and Highline, the land of Diane Von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, are almost all cobblestone. I'm trying to imagine Diane's reaction to the city of New York coming in and removing the ancient streets although there is talk of that recently. Here in the Grove it wouldn't be an issue to just come in and redo any street, no questions asked.

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11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just another clear example of the pathetic level of incompetence and questionable moral values, to say the least, of our laughable, wealthy and evidently fake elected politicians.

November 29, 2014 9:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Funny I was next to Central Park's south eastern corner yesterday and pointed the cobble stone sidewalk that has been there for probably one hundred years and we get the rubber mulch cancerous stuff and supposedly interlocking new technology brick sidewalks.

November 29, 2014 10:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Meh...I'm not impressed. I love history. But a sidewalk that is 40% concrete and 60% brick
A. Looks ugly.
B. Seems like a pain in the ass for a stroller/wheelchair, etc.
C. Looks like a twisted ankle waiting to happen.

C'mon. It's not even level...

November 29, 2014 3:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

@9:22

define "fake elected." Not sure what that means.

Asphalt is easier on the tires and suspension of cars, and as the comment above says it's even.

November 29, 2014 5:13 PM  
Blogger Tom Falco said...

Come on guys, this is not about getting cobblestone streets. It's about pissing away money on new streets & sidewalks every few years. If cobblestones can last hundreds of years so should modern methods.

November 29, 2014 6:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Umm, the original roads of Miami were made of dirt...not cobblestone....

But yes, I'll admit that walking the cobble-stone, narrow streets of an Italian walled village does have it's charm. However, as I said before, this NY iteration is dumb and ugly...

BTW, where are the utilities in the Big Apple (phone lines, power, internet?)

DKF

November 29, 2014 9:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

New Yorkers would skewer any politician who would think of laying recycled tire mulch or Home Depot bricks on THEIR parks or sidewalks. Problem with Miami is complacency.

November 30, 2014 1:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why is New York the alpha and omega of city planning? Let's think of our own, home grown, organic solution and stop looking 1,000 miles north.

With regards to cobblestone streets, don't think many Groveites are interested in turning the Grove into some sort of chintzy "Olde Tyme Towne" attraction with "antique" streets simply because they look charming.

November 30, 2014 11:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the trolls above especially at 11:39 trying desperately to convey we do not have a systemic problem in our political culture here. Miami is the fertile land of opportunity for crooked people with political aspirations.

November 30, 2014 7:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think its time to kick out everybody who has anything to do with planning in the grove and find new ones.anything is better than whats there now.

November 30, 2014 8:53 PM  
Anonymous swlip said...

That pic from NYC shows a cobblestone street that hasn't been properly maintained in decades. It has also been partially paved over with asphalt, the likely reason being that laying and restoring cobblestone is a lost art.

I lived in a European city that decided to restore its cobblestone streets after decades of communist neglect. Finding people with the right skills was difficult enough. The expense has been enormous.

December 01, 2014 12:22 PM  

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