Old Albany Post Road in Riverdale is unpaved and strewn with debris. Residents say cars are abandoned there, often left unattended sometimes for years. Their own cars, forced to navigate potholes and obstructions, have been damaged.

Because of a massive puddle in the center of the road, which residents say is a year-round feature, the street was nicknamed “Lake Albany Post Road,” Any rain and the puddle consumes the opening of the street, preventing garbage trucks and other vehicles from driving onto it. A landlord of a Broadway building accessible from the tiny roadway built a wall to prevent the building’s basement from flooding.

Despite its physical problems, the city can’t do much to fix it. Legally, it hasn’t been able to for almost 400 years thanks to a fluke in state law that puts the street in the state’s jurisdiction.

That’s prompted Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Councilman Andrew Cohen to lobby the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) to take ownership of the long-neglected stretch of road. On Jan. 18, they held a news conference with nearby residents on Old Albany Post Road, which is directly adjacent to West 251st Street just west of Broadway.

The street currently belongs to the state’s Office of General Services (OGS), responsible for its upkeep. But OGS says it doesn’t have the resources for its upkeep.

“We asked DOT to acquire this street and DOT says it’s going to take us three months to study whether or not [DOT should purchase the road] and it’s not acceptable,” Cohen told the Norwood News. “These people are more than inconvenienced. I think it’s really a hardship here. There’s not a lot to study. It’s time to do something.”

Dinowitz, who coined the nickname to the derelict roadway, is puzzled over the city’s stance. “Why don’t they want to buy it?” Dinowitz asked. “Because then they’d be responsible for it, but we’re trying to convince them they should be responsible for it. In fact, how could they morally say ‘well this is not our problem.’ Of course, it’s their problem.”

Old Albany Post Road is a colonial-era highway that had connected Albany and New York City for the purpose of mail delivery. That’s been replaced by U.S. Route 9 that runs along the Hudson River, with disconnected sections of the old road still around in municipalities throughout New York State. OGS associate attorney Frank Pallante wrote in an email last year the state would be willing to sell the property to the city for $1.

“We believe that NYC and NYCDOT are in the best position to improve and maintain this road.” Pallante wrote in the email, shared with the Norwood News by Dinowitz’s office. “This is clearly a local NYC issue that serves the tax paying interests of those NYC residents that live on and utilize the road.”

Dinowitz and Cohen see it the same way. However, according to the two legislators, DOT responded to their concerns on Dec. 19 and said they would need 12 weeks to conduct an “extensive review.” Residents, whose homes back up onto Old Albany Post Road, say 12 weeks is too long.

“This is crazy,” Bob Giuricceo said. “Anything goes here… nothing ever gets done.”

A DOT spokesperson told the Norwood News that “DOT is still looking into this matter.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.