A beloved and well-traveled stair path that occupies a full block of Manhattan’s 215th Street right-of-way has received a long-needed renovation, and the result is a remarkable public space, improved and updated for contemporary use.
WXY Architecture + Urban Design, New York, designed the renovated 215th Step-Street in collaboration with the civil engineering group at AECOM, New York.
A fixture of Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood for generations, the path provides a unique pedestrian corridor connecting the residential Park Terrace East at its upper end with Broadway and essential public transportation below. The Step-Street covers a 50-foot change in elevation. After more than a century of use, the stairs had begun to crack and crumble, creating uneven surfaces and hazards for the hundreds of pedestrians who use the stair daily.
The New York City Department of Design & Construction selected WXY for the project, based on the firm’s unique, community-first approach to urbanism: knitting together places with better public spaces. The Department of Design & Construction also managed the project.
WXY began with the primary goal of reconstruction for safety, then went further. The design team rehabilitated the planted areas dividing the stairways, installing cobblestone paving and planting new trees. The renovated stair also incorporates a bike channel, allowing cyclists to easily roll their bikes up and down after dismounting to traverse the steep block.
“The Inwood community deserves a safe stair path,” says Claire Weisz, founding principal at WXY. “But they also deserve a beautiful public space they can feel proud of, where neighbors can greet one another as they pass on their daily commute.”
The completed stair path opened to the public officially with a ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 3.
PHOTOS: New York City Department of Design & Construction