Editing The Dakota (section)

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To the west of the Dakota was another garden;<ref name="nyt-2012-06-01" /> both the Dakota and the adjacent row houses were served by a mechanical plant below the garden.<ref name="Reynolds p. 228" /><ref name="nyt-1884-03-07">{{Cite news |date=March 7, 1884 |title=Big Boilers for Big Flats |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1884/03/07/archives/big-boilers-for-big-flats.html |access-date=May 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511180848/https://www.nytimes.com/1884/03/07/archives/big-boilers-for-big-flats.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Alpern p. 46">{{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=46}}</ref> The placement of the mechanical plant outside the building was a deliberate measure to reassure residents in case the machinery exploded.<ref>{{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|pp=45–46}}</ref> There were also tennis and croquet courts within the garden.<ref name="Alpern p. 121">{{Harvnb|Batter|1964|p=93}}; {{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=121}}</ref> Images show that the garden was surrounded by a fence, and the area above the mechanical plant was further enclosed by a hedge.<ref name="Alpern p. 64">{{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=64}}</ref> The garden had become a parking lot by the 1950s,<ref name="nyt-2012-06-01" /><ref name="Alpern p. 64" /> and the Mayfair apartment building was developed on the garden's site in 1964.<ref name="nyt-2012-06-01">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=June 1, 2012 |title=The Dakota's Back 40 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/realestate/the-dakotas-back-40.html |access-date=May 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512143508/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/realestate/the-dakotas-back-40.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The building is surrounded by a recessed [[Area (architecture)|areaway]], also described as a dry [[moat]].<ref name="AF p. 123">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1959|p=123}}; {{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=128}}</ref><ref name="NY1900">{{cite NY1900|pages=283}}</ref> The areaway was intended to increase residents' safety, as well as allow natural light and air to enter the basement.<ref name="NY1900" /> An entrance to the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[72nd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|72nd Street]] station, served by the {{NYCS trains|Eighth center local header}}<!-- This template is used to distinguish from the other 72nd Street stations -->,<ref name=MTAMaps-2015>{{cite web|title=MTA Neighborhood Maps: Upper West Side|url=http://web.mta.info/maps/neighborhoods/mn/M13_upper_west_side_2015.pdf|website=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|mta.info]]|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=December 30, 2016|date=2015}}</ref> is built within this areaway.<ref>{{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=63}}</ref> A cast-iron fence separates the areaway from the sidewalk.<ref name="NY1900" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=April 22, 1988 |title=Rediscovering An Ornate Cast Of Cast-Iron Buildings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/arts/rediscovering-an-ornate-cast-of-cast-iron-buildings.html |access-date=May 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922204421/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/arts/rediscovering-an-ornate-cast-of-cast-iron-buildings.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The sidewalk was originally made of bluestone slabs.<ref name="Alpern p. 162" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=August 16, 1992 |title=Streetscapes: Columbus Ave. Sidewalks; Bluestone Dressing For Historic District |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/16/realestate/streetscapes-columbus-ave-sidewalks-bluestone-dressing-for-historic-district.html |access-date=May 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116132239/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/16/realestate/streetscapes-columbus-ave-sidewalks-bluestone-dressing-for-historic-district.html |url-status=live}}</ref>