Midtown
Streetsblog Basics
Putting the Public Back in Midtown’s Privately Owned Public Spaces
"It's a private property with public access," a security guard explained after stopping me from taking photos of a mid-block passageway through the Metropolitan Tower on 56th Street. The space in question, which connects 56th to 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, is one of more than 150 privately owned public spaces in central Midtown, many of which are products of a 1980s zoning program to improve pedestrian circulation. In exchange for development bonuses that today are worth millions of dollars in rentable square footage, developers were supposed to build and maintain publicly accessible mid-block passageways to help ease pedestrian congestion on the heavily used north-south avenues. The problem is many of these semi-public spaces now appear so private, most walkers wouldn’t even know to use them.
May 22, 2012
Eyes on the Street: Eighth Avenue Protected Bike Lane Heads North
Reader Niles Ray sends in this bird's-eye view of bike lane construction on Eighth Avenue at 37th Street.
May 14, 2012
Bike-Share Is Going to Be Huge at NYC Transit Hubs
The Department of Transportation is currently going around to community boards and presenting preliminary maps of bike-share locations. While the map for the full service area isn't finished yet, the details that have come out so far are pretty exciting.
April 20, 2012
CB 4 Wins Sidewalk Expansions, Bike Corrals For West Side Bike Lanes
One of the year's most exciting street safety projects is on track to get better. Thanks to a recent set of recommendations from Community Board 4, the extension of the protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues will include additional sidewalk expansions and on-street bike parking. Though DOT didn't adopt all of the board's ideas -- most notably, the agency is leaving a gap in the physical protection for cyclists in front of the Port Authority Bus Terminal -- on the West Side, the community board's requests are helping to build a better bike lane.
March 28, 2012
Select Bus Service Boosted East Side Bus Ridership 9%; 34th Street Is Next
Speaking this morning at the launch of weekday Select Bus Service along 34th Street, Mayor Bloomberg, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast released the latest stats documenting the effect of Select Bus Service improvements along First and Second Avenues.
November 14, 2011
34th Street Select Bus Service Launches This Sunday
It's no physically separated transitway, but bus riders can still get excited about the launch of Select Bus Service along 34th Street this Sunday.
November 11, 2011
UN Deal Clears Way to Close East River Greenway Gap Over Next Decade
The signing of an agreement to close the East River Greenway gap between 38th Street and 60th Street is big news for people who want to enjoy the waterfront on Manhattan's open space-starved East Side. There's finally a realistic plan in place to build a continuous route to walk, run, or bike along the water. When finished, it could form the backbone of the bike network on the East Side.
October 7, 2011
West Side Protected Lanes Get Thumbs Up From CB 4
By a vote of 26 to 10 Wednesday night, Manhattan Community Board 4 endorsed DOT plans to extend the protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenue from 34th Street to 59th Street. The bike lanes will improve safety for all users on some of Midtown's most chaotic streets, which pass by Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and the Lincoln Tunnel entrance.
October 6, 2011
Wednesday: CB 4 to Vote on West Side Protected Bike Lanes
Community Board 4 will vote Wednesday on the DOT plan to extend protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues north from 34th to 59th Streets.
October 4, 2011
CB 4 Committee Says Yes to West Side Protected Bike Lanes Up to 59th Street
DOT's plan to extend the protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues from the low 30s north to 59th Street won unanimous approval from the transportation committee of Community Board 4 last night. With the exception of two blocks of Eighth Avenue in front of the Port Authority, the lanes will be fully protected through the length of Midtown.
September 22, 2011