Brooklyn Heights
Streetsblog Basics
Eyes on the Street: Gravelly Bike-Ped Path Through Brooklyn Bridge Park
A vital link in the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is open, as a path through Brooklyn Bridge Park for pedestrians and cyclists nears completion. Though the park is still far from complete, the path cuts straight through the construction, connecting Pier 1, just below the Brooklyn Bridge itself, and Pier 6, at Atlantic Avenue.
August 27, 2010
Fixing the Ditch: Planning a Less Awful BQE Trench
Between 1950 and 1964, Robert Moses gouged a path across two boroughs to build the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. In Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, the BQE slices through the urban fabric in the form of a below-grade trench, which has given many residents of those neighborhoods hope of covering that section of highway. As more people have moved to the west side of the ditch, the pressure to do something has mounted, but the BQE trench won't get capped any time soon.
May 13, 2010
Do Unto Others? Church Parking Placards Put Cyclists in Harm’s Way
We posted the link in today's headlines, but you really need the visuals that go with this story of bike-lane blocking, curb-mounting Sunday motorists, and the police who sanction them. Via Gothamist, the video comes courtesy of Ink Lake blogger Peter Kaufman, a Brooklyn Heights resident who noticed that all the cars illegally parked on Henry Street during Sunday services at First Presbyterian sport postcards on the dash. They say "Church Business," and the 84th Precinct honors them as if they were etched on stone tablets.
December 2, 2009
Eyes on the Street: Bigger Sidewalks, Better Bike Lanes, Safer Streets
Clarence Eckerson sends these shots of DOT street safety improvements taken on a recent ride near the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. Above is the newly traffic-calmed intersection of Joralemon and Hicks -- part of the Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Project -- which now sports two sidewalk extensions. (According to the Post, a third corner was slated for a curb extension, but DOT changed plans after residents said they were worried about how fire trucks would negotiate the turn.) Says Clarence: "I am sure the speed reductions will be dramatic, the equivalent of a chicane."
November 23, 2009
Eyes on the Street: Yarn by the Meter
The Montague Street Business Improvement District along with DOT's Urban Art Program today unveiled the "69 Meters" public art project. Hand-knitted cozies will adorn all the street's parking meters through mid-June. Says the BID:
May 14, 2009
Report: New Yorkers Like Ped Streets More Than They Expected
In addition to last summer's blockbuster car-free event, Summer Streets, three New York neighborhoods tried out pedestrian streets on a more intimate scale. Williamsburg Walks, Summer Space in Brooklyn Heights, and the 78th Street Play Street in Jackson Heights gave communities a taste of how streets function as public spaces when cars aren't clogging up the curb or barreling down the road. Get ready for more this year: About ten neighborhoods are applying to put on pedestrian streets in the summer.
April 9, 2009
Streetfilms: Biking the Falls
Before the four "New York City Waterfalls" began gushing along the East River this June, DOT marked a bike route passing by each installation and released a guide to go with it. In this Streetfilm Elizabeth Press shows us a recent bike tour of the falls, led by DOT commish Janette Sadik-Khan. Special bonus feature: commentary from "Waterfalls" artist Olafur Eliasson about his work.
August 1, 2008
Eyes on the Street: A Summer Space on Montague
In these shots from tipster Jeff Prant (more after the jump), Brooklyn Heights residents take advantage a car-free Montague Street this past weekend. Though the July 4th holiday, overcast skies, and inadequate publicity are all suspected to have affected turnout on its first week, those who missed out can enjoy Montague "Summer Space" events on Sundays through the rest of the month.
July 8, 2008
Eyes on the Street: Fresh Paint on Prince
A tipster sends this shot from earlier today of a newly-painted bike lane on Prince Street.
May 15, 2008