Petition demands better lighting for Broadway Bridge

Petitioners have had it with being in the dark. They are demanding new, effective lighting on the Broadway Bridge, which crosses the Harlem River at Broadway, serving as a vital connector between Marble Hill and Inwood.

On a recent Friday around 5:15 p.m., pedestrians made their way across the bridge — dimly lit by just two functioning yellow streetlights. One of those lights repeatedly turned off for several minutes at a time, throwing the walkway into near darkness.

The situation has prompted a petition drive on Change.org.

“I don’t walk here often because it’s so dark,” said Susan Tennant, a Marble Hill resident, as she walked north on the bridge.

She explained she was visiting someone in the hospital just across the river, but normally she tries to avoid the area at night. She said she would support any efforts to get better lighting for the pedestrian path.

Long-time Marble Hill resident Edmar Flores initiated the petition last week, calling on local politicians, including Mayor Bill de Blasio and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, to replace the broken lights. As of Tuesday afternoon, 90 people had signed the document.

“Let’s have consideration of those who come home late from work, transportation, shopping and everything else that’s involved with the Broadway Bridge,” the petition reads. “On the behalf of Marble Hill and Inwood, let’s illuminate and bring beauty to a bridge which continue to serve our community for 53 years.”

Mr. Flores said the bridge was not always so dark; he remembers coming to there with his family when he was a boy, waving at trains and watching the sunset.

“[The bridge] was very light,” he recalled. “Now all of a sudden, it’s like, ‘Aw, who cares.’ It shouldn’t be that way.”

“I have lived in Marble Hill for years attended Kennedy HS. I have walked this bridge a great amount of times,” Naimah Alford wrote on the petition’s Web page. “I believe it will be a great idea as well as more safe path for people who need to use this bridge daily.”

Mr. Flores said the dark bridge makes residents feel unsafe.