Parks
Streetsblog Basics
Breaking News: Frieden Tapped as DOT Commish
Please note: This was an April Fool's Day post...
April 1, 2007
Eyes on the Street: Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
A tipster spotted this Parks Department garbage truck doing its morning rounds on the sidewalk at Plaza Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, near the Grand Army Plaza subway stop in Brooklyn today. "As far as I can tell," he writes, "the sole reason for it is so the workers don't have to move the trash cans as far, but at the expense of safety (and propriety). There are many adults and children walking here due to nearby subway exit."
March 28, 2007
Playable Streets
The New York Times has a story today about efforts underway to develop a creative new playground near the South Street Seaport. The city has been working with David
Rockwell interior designer for Nobu and the Mohegan Sun Casino, on a playground that eschews traditional playground aparati in favor of foam blocks,
water, cardboard tubes, burlap bags, ramps, climbing nets and, most interesting, "play workers" to attend to the facility and guide kids through it. Gothamist, as always, provides a nice synposis.
January 10, 2007
Bloomberg on Bicycling
Unlike the Mayors of Chicago, London, Paris and a growing number of other world cities, it is exceedingly rare to hear New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg say anything at all in public about bicycling. So, we thought that this was an interesting big of reporting in The Villager last week:
January 8, 2007
Sacrificing Central Park to Appease the Traffic Gods
The Dept. of Transportation's 2005 study showed there is no need to eliminate car-free hours during the holidays. So why did they do it this year?
November 22, 2006
The Traffic is the Mitigation
mitigate, verb[Latin stem of mitigare, from mitis, mild, gentle]1. Make milder in manner or attitude, make less hostile, mollify.2. Give relief from pain. Lessen the suffering caused by an evil or difficulty.3. Make less oppressive. Make more humane, more bearable.
November 20, 2006
The Bronx is Burning Bicycling
In the aftermath of last weekend's 5,000 rider Tour de Bronx, I thought it might be worth revisiting the the Department of City Planning's August 2006 Bronx Harlem River Bicycle and Pedestrian Study. The study identifies a number of specific ways to carve out space for cyclists and pedestrians and help neighborhoods of the South Bronx get better connected to the Harlem River waterfront. Though it doesn't recommend any ways to actually reduce motor vehicle traffic, there is some good stuff in here. More:
October 26, 2006