Quality of Life
Streetsblog Basics
Meatpacking District Will Get a Makeover
A rendering of the proposed Gansevoort Plaza, looking southbound.
June 22, 2007
Leave Your iPod at Home Tomorrow
The first annual MAKE MUSIC NEW YORK is coming to New York tomorrow, Thursday, June 21.
June 20, 2007
Jackson Heights: New Front in One-Way Battle
A view of 35th Ave. in Jackson Heights, part of the DOT's proposed one-way pair for the neighborhood
June 19, 2007
Brooklyn Community Board Supports DOT’s 9th Street Plan
Last night, Brooklyn's Community Board 6 narrowly voted in favor of a resolution supporting the Department of Transportation's plan to put Park Slope's 9th Street on a "Road Diet."
June 14, 2007
Brainstorming a New Vision for Midtown’s East River Waterfront
The Municipal Art Society of New York, City Council member Dan Garodnick, and Manhattan's Community Board 6 ran an intensive day-long workshop last Wednesday to develop a new vision for Midtown's inaccessible East River waterfront. On Sunday, MAS unveiled some of the results. From the MAS press release:
June 13, 2007
Call for Ped Safety Measures on Third and Fourth Avenues
A third-grader was hit on her way to school here two weeks ago.
June 11, 2007
Chicago Alley Initiative Shows How to Make Streets Greener
Chicago's Department of Transportation started the Green Alleys Program to use the city's many alleyways to conserve natural resources and improve the environment. Although New York City doesn't have too many alleys, the beautifully-designed, 47-page Green Alleys Program booklet (PDF) offers several techniques that could still be useful in making New York City streets perform better environmentally.
June 7, 2007
Car-Free Sundays Return to the Bronx
In the early 1990's three and a half miles of the Grand Concourse, a major arterial roadway
in the Bronx, was closed to cars every Sunday from July through November (kind of like Bogota Colombia's Ciclovia).
The closures provided residents with much-needed open space to bike, walk, play and develop a sense of community with neighbors.
Despite its popularity, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani killed the
program in 1996.
June 7, 2007
Eyes on the Street: A Special Lane for Parking Cars
This was the scene along the Edward L. Grant Highway in the Bronx on May 27, where the southbound buffered bike lane near Jerome Avenue was being blocked by SUVs from Florida and New Jersey and assorted other vehicles. The bike lane markings here are worn out by the constant wear and tear of automobile tires. A complete lack of enforcement makes this bike lane inadequate for cycling and a great benefit for auto mechanics and double-parkers.
June 6, 2007
Ciclovia: Is NYC Ready?
With a successful Bike Month now behind us and a spectacular Tour de Brooklyn completed, we perhaps have an opportunity to dream bigger for how we can celebrate our bicyclists, our streets and communities in this city.
June 6, 2007