Rock stabilization barriers being installed in the Bronx and northern Manhattan conceal spectacular rock outcroppings, and make it impossible to remove litter or graffiti behind. Result: instant blight.

DOT did not win points for “context-sensitive design” by installing heavy fences and hairnets on rock outcrops in the Bronx and northern Manhattan. Rock stabilization barriers originated in the design department of NYS DOT as a response to potential liability. Where they are put up is discretionary: the Taconic Parkway (a scenic byway) avoided the same fate because the director of that region (8) considered them too unsightly. Riverdale, designated a Special Natural Area District in part because of the beauty of its rocks, was neither informed nor consulted before they began going up there. As mitigation to an enraged community, DOT planted clematis and Virginia Creeper at the base of the fences.