Old Albany Post Road neglected for years

Old Albany Post Road is a one-block dirt road that slopes down from West 252nd Street to West 251st. Residents on Broadway and Post Road use it as a driveway and a place to park. The block was once part of a colonial-era route connecting the city to Albany.

Nowadays, the historic road is a mess. Regular flooding, abandoned cars, large potholes and garbage dumping plague the area.

“There’s no regular person coming through to check up on things,” said Harry Martinez, a tenant at 6211 Broadway, which backs up against the street. He has been complaining about the road and calling 311 for years.

More recently, when it rains, water runs down the hill and floods the back courtyard of the apartment building at 6211 Broadway. The dirty runoff cascades down a set of stairs and creates a small river that makes its way through the place tenants put their trash and out onto Broadway.

“I would be out there for hours trying to clear that out,” said 6211 superintendent Seldan Markovick.

Landlord Bernard Brachfeld said he has spent about $1,500 on plumbing problems since the flooding began. He blamed the phenomenon on workers who dug up the road without repairing it about a year and a half ago.

And no one seems to know who is responsible.

“This road belongs to the state. That’s just my opinion,” said longtime tenant Janet Loftus, who said the road looks like a lake after it rains. “You ask around and no one knows.”

Other residents have taken matters into their own hands. After heavy rains on Tuesday, 6211 tenant Suzanne Duffy and her son spent some time clearing out the weeds that had choked the drain. 

“All people have to do is clear it out of people’s garbage. No one ever comes out here except my son and I and I think it’s a civic duty,” she said.

“I hope they don’t change it, it’s a beautiful road,” she added.