Quality of Life
Streetsblog Basics
Electeds React to Congestion Pricing
Forty-eight hours in, here is what some elected officials are saying about PlaNYC and congestion pricing.
April 24, 2007
How Green Is Our Mayor
Bookending his much-vaunted Earth Day speech with congratulatory video clips from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mayor Mike Bloomberg called for New Yorkers to take the initiative in the international fight against global warming, positioning himself as a leader on the issue.
April 23, 2007
StreetFilm: Talking Transportation with Bob Kiley
The debate over congestion pricing has been heating up in advance of Mayor Bloomberg's big Earth Day speech tomorrow. What better time to get some talking points on the matter from Bob Kiley, who served as the Commissioner of Transport for London from 2001 to 2006? (Kiley was also chairman and CEO of New York's MTA from 1983 to 1990.)
April 21, 2007
Roosevelt Island Residents Want Pedestrian Access to QBB
Roosevelt Island's old connection to the Queensboro Bridge -- elevator building, 1916-1956
April 20, 2007
The Ultimate System: Free Mass Transit and Congestion Pricing
WABC's John Gambling spoke with Michael Bloomberg this morning. In anticipation of the Mayor's Earth Day speech, they discussed everything from congestion charging to light bulbs. Below are some highlights from their conversation; you can download to the entire show here.
April 20, 2007
Visions of a Grander Grand Army Plaza
One vision: Grand Army Plaza's fountain and arch connected to Prospect Park.
April 19, 2007
Bicycle Advocacy TV Ads from the Netherlands
We don't understand a word of it, but in this video compilation from the Netherlands, we see what a well-funded television ad campaign to encourage cycling might look like. Or not. Check out the ad about three minutes in: It appears to show an Al Qaeda operative a Saddam Hussein-like guy on a bicycle with a machine gun strapped to his back chasing three Western politician businessman types. It's probably not the best sales pitch for the US market but you get the idea.
April 18, 2007
SoHo Car Owners Mobilizing to Save Parking, Fight Bike Lanes
The SoHo Alliance is at it again. The neighborhood organization that specializes in persecuting street vendors and artists rather than helping to figure out ways to carve out a bit of street space for them and all of the people over-spilling SoHo's sidewalks, is now mobilizing against the City's plan to install new bike lanes along Prince and Bleecker Streets.
April 18, 2007
Bus Depots a Symptom of Environmental Injustice
Gotham Gazette talked recently with Cecil Corbin-Mark, of West Harlem
Environmental Action (WE ACT), about environmental justice in Upper Manhattan.
April 17, 2007