UPPER WEST SIDE — Forget bike lanes — welcome black car lanes.
Luxury high-rise residents on Riverside Boulevard are such heavy users of livery service and chauffeur-driven cars that the Department of Transportation may create a special zone for the vehicles.
The DOT said Tuesday it could carve out eight spots along Riverside Boulevard, which fronts fancy Trump and Extell buildings, and reserve them for for-hire vehicles. The DOT's Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione unveiled the plan at a Community Board 7 meeting.
Forgione said the black car zone could solve a long-lingering complaint of residents, who've been asking for safety improvements on the street since at least 2009. Locals say the town cars, limos and SUVs that ferry executives to high-powered jobs double park, speed and run through stop signs.
A white-gloved doorman at The Heritage, a Trump building at 240 Riverside Blvd., said some residents ride in cars provided by the companies they work for, while others have personal drivers who take them to work in their own vehicles.
"Everybody who lives in these buildings has money, so they can afford to do that," he said. A five-bedroom apartment in The Heritage was on the market a few months ago for $12.5 million, according to Streeteasy.com.
Some residents in The Heritage head to the office as early as 4:30 a.m., the doorman said.
A doorman at a Trump building on West 69th Street and Riverside Boulevard described the black cars streaming past his building as "a constant moving line." It starts before he gets to work at 6:45 a.m. and continues until about 11 a.m., he said. On Wednesday morning, about 10:30 a.m., two black cars were double-parked in front of the building.
"It's a bit of a nuisance, but you need it," the doorman, who asked not to be named, said.
Yellow cabs are hard to come by on Riverside Boulevard, an isolated street that runs from West 63rd Street to West 72nd Street on the far west side. Buses and subway lines are a hike, so residents rely on drivers to get them to work, the doorman said. Some have Wall Street jobs, some work at big law firms, some are doctors who work uptown at Columbia University, he said.
The doorman said he wasn't sure that creating a permanent zone for black cars was such a good idea, because the vehicles don't seem to affect traffic on the block all day — it's mostly in the morning, he said.
"You're going to do that for (something that happens) just five hours a day?" he said. "That's a stretch. They need to think more about that."
But driver Adolf Camacho, who was double-parked in a tinted-window SUV, said a special zone for black cars would help drivers.
"That's a great idea," Camacho said. "Every week we get tickets."
Camacho said he regularly racks up $115 tickets while waiting for clients, which more than wipes out the $60 he usually earns during a morning rush hour.
As for the clients he picks up on Riverside Boulevard — where Carmelo Anthony was recently spotted apartment-hunting — Camacho said they're "just regular corporate people."
"The rich, rich, rich, they're not here anymore. They relocated after 9/11," Camacho said. "East side people have a lot more money than these people. They tip a lot better."
Community Board 7 will vote on the for-hire car zone plan, and a larger safety plan for Riverside Boulevard, at its June meeting.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.