Washington Heights residents, lawmaker object to DOT's painting over of artwork in 191st Street Tunnel
NEW YORK -- Have efforts to clean up a tunnel that connects commuters to the subway been taken too far? That is how some feel after the Department of Transportation painted over iconic artwork in upper Manhattan.
Needles and plenty of garbage lined the floor of 191st Street Tunnel in Washington Heights. Calls by community leaders to clean up it up were answered by the DOT over the weekend -- and then some.
The floor was swept clean and fresh paint now coats the walls that street art regaled for years.
"I was instantly shocked. I was like, wow," resident Ivan Minaya said.
"It's different. Before more better, more happy," another person said.
"We never talked about painting the tunnel. That was not part of the plan. There should be community notification and input in a process," said City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa.
READ MORE: Multi-agency team created to clean up needles in Washington Heights subway tunnel
De La Rosa said the tunnel and its artistic trimmings are iconic in the community, so much so the movie "In the Heights" shot a scene there.
"There's definitely a generation, I would say a younger generation that I'm probably part of, that feels like a part of our history was erased," De La Rosa said.
"I like the street art. It has been street art since I was a little girl," a resident said.
"The artwork was brilliant. The artwork was absolutely brilliant," another said.
And it's already making a comeback as tagging covers some of the recently blanked canvas. Resident Milagros Henriquez said as of 9 p.m. on Sunday she saw nothing but eggshell.
"It looked much fresher and safer," Henriquez said. "Get the graffiti off. I'm sorry, it's beautiful, but they could do it someplace else."
The DOT told CBS2 on Monday the cleaning is the first step towards creating a new art project for the tunnel.
"We put a primer paint in this area for the purpose that we're going to be inviting local artists, local institutions to do the job," DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the search begins this week, so bright, bold artwork representative of the community can once again greet locals.