Greetings Neighbors!
The West 50s Neighborhood Association started out as a small block association, but neighbor support helped us grow over the years. We are still growing and invite anyone interested in having a little control in the neighborhood to come join us!
Dave Achelis President West 50s Neighborhood Association
Mission Statement
Our mission is a simple one: To improve the quality of life in our neighborhood and surrounding area, for residents and businesses alike. How to achieve that goal is our ongoing struggle.
Most of our board have at one time served on Community Board 5, our district board, and we work as liaison between our membership and the Board. We also, as much as possible, fashion ourselves as a facsimile of the Board, in that we have delegated committees to work on different problems.
For example, the biggest quality of life issue affecting not only our neighborhood, but the whole city, is the out-of-control bike, e-bike, moped, and scooter situation. Our members are tired of fearing for their lives every time they venture out for a walk. So, at this moment, we have five board members working with several different city neighborhood groups, all dedicated to restoring sanity to city streets and sidewalks. You can read more about what’s happening elsewhere on this site.
Another major concern in our district, is the combined homeless, addicted, and immigrant situation. We are trying our best to coordinate with city agencies to effect change, but as you are aware, this problem has grown beyond any single agency to handle it. Having said that, we continue to move forward trying the best we can on the local scene, working with Midtown North and our council people to stay alert to daily hotspots. We have also provided a list of city phone numbers to help people find the help they need.
Right now, we have other committees working on landmarking and preservation, city cleanliness and health, the encroachment of Times Square into our residential neighborhood, local over-development, rogue businesses, POPS abuse, restaurant sheds, and scaffolding, just to name a few!
Lastly, but most importantly, we are also a social service, trying to connect people and businesses with each other, the most valuable part of any neighborhood!