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NYC’s Riverside Drive stuck in public works purgatory after contractor walks off job
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 9, 2025
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Stephen Nessen
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 9, 2025
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City contractors hired to replace a crumbling, century-old elevated stretch of Riverside Drive West in Washington Heights walked off the job last year, leaving behind an unfinished construction site and hundreds of residents stuck in a public works purgatory.
The work began in late 2019, when the city transportation department hired the company Judlau for $101 million to replace corroding steel and decking along the Riverside Drive Viaduct, which towers above the West Side Highway between 153rd And 161st streets. The roadway, which was built in 1928 and last saw major repairs in 1985, had “limited remaining life,” city engineers said at the time.
The job was scheduled to take three years. But last year — when roughly three-quarters of the work was completed — the contractors abruptly abandoned the project, claiming the city delayed the start of work, refused to cover the cost of inflation and kept adding more work than what was required by the contract.
The two sides are fighting in court over the future of the project in a lawsuit that could drag on for years. When asked for comment, city officials did not provide a timeline or plan to resolve the dispute.
But in the meantime, hundreds of residents living in a sprawling apartment complex are forced to navigate a maze of construction fences and barriers left behind by the contractor. They’re unable to use sidewalks and streets that have already been repaved, while one of its main entrances is largely inaccessible.
Jack Fogle, building manager at the River Arts co-op, is sick of living in public works purgatory.
Stephen Nessen
It’s the kind of disruption that many New Yorkers tend to cite when city officials conduct public outreach on major construction projects at town halls or community board meetings. The Riverside Drive viaduct work is similar to the type of repairs needed on the triple-cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Brooklyn Heights, another project that sparked vociferous outrage from locals. Back in 2018, after the city transportation department announced plans to shut down the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to reconstruct the roadway, community members successfully fought to send engineers back to the drawing board.
Many neighbors feared the work would drag on endlessly, as has become the case on Riverside Drive.
Residents at the River Arts co-op right on Riverside Drive West have wrestled with the headaches from the viaduct reconstruction for nearly six years. When the work started, Judlau was required to build a narrow ramp that leads from the front of the 244-unit building, through the work site and into the street. But since then, access to Riverside Drive West has been blocked by concrete construction barriers, creating what building manager Jack Fogle called, “a ramp to nowhere.”
Riverside Drive West's "ramp to nowhere."
Stephen Nessen
“They come out to Riverside Drive [West] and then, and what?” he told Gothamist on a recent tour.
The backside of the building has another exit, but requires walking up three flights of stairs and a long walkway, which can be treacherous for the elderly or people with disabilities.
“ This is the only access we now have [for] an ambulance, daily delivery for people, residents who are elderly or handicapped parents with babies and strollers,” Fogle said.
In the event of an emergency, it often falls on Fogle to coordinate with first responders.
“ I have had to call the ambulance twice for a heart attack, and as you know, with a heart attack time is of the essence, the lack of oxygen, you could end up with brain damage or loss of life,” he said. “Luckily that has not occurred, yet.”
City Councilmember Shaun Abreau, who lives in the building, said he’s had trouble getting Department of Transportation officials to fix the issue.
“ I demanded the Department of Transportation meet with our constituents to discuss what's actually happening on the ground,” he told Gothamist. ”We are trying to figure out why can't you open up parts of the streets that are completed, and they have refused to tell us why.”
DOT officials didn’t explain why the fences can’t be removed from the portion of the viaduct that’s been rebuilt, but said they’re working to offer an explanation to community members.
"NYC DOT is working to address challenges with its contractor on this project,” spokesperson Will Livingstone wrote in an email. “The agency is monitoring the construction site on a daily basis to ensure it is maintained; has a community liaison available to address any questions from residents; and is developing an update on construction for the community."
Every second counts during a medical emergency, and the stalled construction on Riverside Drive West forced Melba Davis to wait several minutes longer for an ambulance when she had a stroke last year.
Stephen Nessen
That’s scant comfort to residents like 80-year-old Melba Davis who has lived in the building for more than half her life. Last October, she said was preparing for a trip to Ghana when she had a stroke. She managed to take the elevator to the lobby where the doorman immediately realized she couldn’t speak and called an ambulance.
Fogle flagged down the EMS workers and direct them to Davis, but it still took extra time because of the construction.
“ If it hadn't been for things happening at the right place at the right time, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you,” said Davis. “There were two or three minutes that were lost.”
Last month, Judlau argued in court documents filed in its lawsuit against the city over the project that sidewalk sheds on the work site delayed the start of part of the work. The company claimed the city re-drew its plans after work had already begun, and inflation increased the price of labor and materials during the delay. The company wants the city to cover those costs.
“These cumulative breaches have caused cascading delays and severe and irrecoverable financial strain,” Judlau wrote.
The city, meanwhile, is arguing in court that Judlau actually owes city taxpayers money for the delay.
Until the case is resolved in state court, the stretch of Riverside Drive West is slated to remain barricaded while the fences outside River Arts co-op remain in place.
Tagged
manhattan
new york city
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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