Quality of Life
Streetsblog Basics
Rezoning to Encourage Street Life on Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue
When the Department of City Planning put forward its rezoning of Park Slope in 2003, one of the earliest of the now 111 rezonings under Mayor Bloomberg and City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden, it was intended to help turn Fourth Avenue into "a grand boulevard of the 21st Century."
June 22, 2011
MAS Survey: New York City Is Livable But Not Everyone Benefits Equally
New Yorkers think their city is very livable, a new survey conducted by the Municipal Art Society shows, but livability isn't equitably distributed across the five boroughs. To make the city truly livable, said panelists today at an MAS conference, New York needs to figure out how to bring its best features to all neighborhoods.
October 21, 2010
NYC’s Car-Free Majority Deserves a Share of Defunct Bus Stops
When the MTA service cuts took effect last month, 570 bus stops around the city suddenly became a collective no-man's land. Buses weren't pulling up to the curb anymore, creating an irresistible vacuum for motorists. If you belong to a neighborhood message board or listserve, you may have come across a few dispatches from car owners salivating over the prospect of more parking.
July 16, 2010
How Do You Get New York’s Street Fairs Past Fried Dough?
Every summer, New Yorkers face a dire shortage of tube socks. Or so you'd assume if you walked through the city's 300-odd street fairs. Though some fairs are cherished local institutions, the majority are corporate cookie-cutter affairs. That's a real wasted opportunity in a city so starved for public space.
June 17, 2010
Jackson Heights Neighbors Band Together to Win Car-Free Street Expansion
Nearly 200 Jackson Heights residents marched on their community board last Thursday night to support the expansion of car-free public space in their neighborhood. That feat of organizing helped win the approval of Queens Community Board 3 for a summer-long 78th Street Play Street, reversing the stance of the board's transportation committee.
May 24, 2010
Coming Soon: Ped-Friendly “Urban Umbrellas” for NYC Sidewalks
Walking through parts of New York can feel like walking through a tunnel. The city's ubiquitous sidewalk sheds -- typically blue scaffolding holding up green plywood to protect pedestrians from construction overhead -- corral people into cramped, dark spaces wherever development or building repairs are underway. There are about 6,000 of these sheds throughout the city.
January 21, 2010
Council Targets Roaming Tour Buses, Old School Buses
The City Council will hold hearings on new rules for tour bus operators next Monday.
September 17, 2009
City Council Bill Aims to Quiet Motorcycle Noise
The City Council is considering a bill to keep excessively loud motorcycles from stopping, standing or parking on city streets.
June 11, 2009
Wednesday: Public Meeting With NYPD About Upper Manhattan Lawless Driving
Tomorrow night, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will join the Community Board 12 Public Safety Committee and NYPD officials for a public meeting on out-of-control drivers in Inwood and Washington Heights.
June 2, 2009
Obama Keeps Roads Out of National Forests — For a Time
Paved roads are a fact of life in most of the country, but should they be permitted in the nation's protected forest areas? The Obama administration says no, as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack affirmed today in a directive that prohibits road construction in nearly 50 million acres of forest land.
May 28, 2009