One in every of New York Metropolis’s most iconic tunnels (for pedestrians) shouldn’t be so recognizable after a shock paint job stripped its partitions of the curated art work and added graffiti that has turn out to be synonymous with the thruway.
The 191st Street pedestrian tunnel has turn out to be the most recent lightning rod for controversy after town’s Division of Transportation scrubbed the partitions over the weekend, leaving the practically 1,000-foot pathway naked.
An unofficial landmark of Washington Heights, the tunnel connects St. Nicholas Avenue with Broadway for entry to the No. 1 practice. It is obtained consideration not just for its painted partitions, however reported considerations over security and cleanliness from group members.
Regardless of these worries, one metropolis councilmember couldn’t consider the choice to wipe its partitions clear, eradicating what she calls the “soul of the tunnel” seemingly with out group enter.
“The continual lack of transparency from city agencies has long damaged our community’s trust,” Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, who represents the realm, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the DOT confirmed the company’s clean-up work, saying “cleaning is the first step towards creating a new art project for the tunnel.”
“We look ahead to working carefully with the group and native elected officers on a challenge that celebrates the tradition and variety that makes New York so particular,” Interim Press Secretary Vincent Barone mentioned.
The change comes practically eight years after town commissioned artists to fill the tunnel partitions with murals. A lot of the unique art work has been painted over within the years since.