Manhattan
Streetsblog Basics
Chinatown Placard Abusers Get the Hook
It looks like 5th Precinct Commanding Officer Gin Yee, the Sheriff of Chinatown, is laying down the law once again. A Streetsblog tipster spotted these tow trucks as they were removing government placard abusers from their illegal parking spots in Chinatown. While it's refreshing to see the police "towing their own," the tipster notes that as soon as the trucks pulled away a new group of placard abusing government employees swooped in to claim the empty parking spaces.
December 5, 2007
The Rumble Underfoot at 60th Street
MTA Deputy Director of Media Relations, Jeremy Soffin, sends this along:
December 5, 2007
Houston Street Gets Tree-mendous New Sidewalks
We're just catching up to this piece of good news in The Villager last week:
December 3, 2007
This is the Pedestrian Refuge Area That CB8 Refused to Protect
This scene was photographed by Flickr photographer BicyclesOnly on Saturday. Read his note below. Hopefully someone will ask members of Manhattan Community Board 8's transportation committee if this sort of car crash meets their rigorous aesthetic standards. Last January, CB8 rejected a proposal to physically protect Park Avenue's pedestrian refuge areas because they didn't think bollards, barriers or planters could be made to look pretty enough. Streetsblog readers will also remember CB8's transportation committee as the group that tried to kill DOT's crosstown bike route plan for the Upper East Side last summer. It looks like CB8 is still trying to kill it. The 91st Street bike lane is on the agenda of their December 10 meeting:
December 3, 2007
$115 $230 Summons for NASCAR Driver #19 Elliott Sadler
Apparently parallel parking doesn't count for much in the NASCAR leader standings. Or maybe it does and that's why Elliott Sadler, the driver of car #19, angle-parked across the Sixth Avenue bike lane in Midtown this morning, is currently ranked 25th. (ADD: I just noticed that Elliott is also parked in front of a fire hydrant).
November 28, 2007
New Bleecker Bike Lane Already Blocked by Parked Cars
Streetsblog reader Dave Goldberg sends along a camera phone photo of the freshly striped Bleecker Street bike lane, shot between LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street. Goldberg notes:
November 28, 2007
NYPD Emerges as New Focus for NYC’s Livable Streets Movement
Arrest Her! T.A. membership coordinator Abby King tears up the streets on a "sport utility bicycle."
November 27, 2007
Morgenthau & NYPD Are “Dismissive” of Ped Fatality Questions
If you want to know how many cars were stolen in your neighborhood on any given week, the NYPD is happy to tell you. You don't even need to make a phone call, as "CompStat" data -- which also includes figures on murders, rapes, robberies, and burglaries -- is posted online and updated regularly, precinct by precinct.
November 16, 2007
Stolen Bike Rescued by Online Geeks
City Room has the amusing tale of a stolen one-of-a-kind bike, recovered with the help of the Internet, an avenging bike messenger, and inspired plots involving underwear worn on the outside.
November 14, 2007
Brian Ketcham Proposes a “Simpler, Cheaper Traffic Fix”
In an op/ed piece in Monday's Daily News, Brooklyn-based transportation consultant Brian Ketcham proposed some changes to Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. Ketcham, who has been pushing for some form of congestion pricing since his time working for the Lindsay Administration more than 30 years ago, argues that New York City should:
November 14, 2007