Iris Weinshall
Streetsblog Basics
DOT’s PPW Data Greeted With Cheers, Paranoia at CB 6 Meeting
The loudest applause at last night's Brooklyn CB 6 meeting on the Prospect Park West bike lane went to DOT Assistant Commissioner Ryan Russo, after he wrapped up his presentation documenting the redesign's effect on safety, bicycling rates, and traffic. The brief summary: injuries are down, cycling is up, and speeding has been tamed while travel times and traffic volumes are the same as before. The project has been a success so far and DOT will be moving ahead with further tweaks, like installing raised concrete islands in the pedestrian zones between the bike lane and the traffic lanes.
January 21, 2011
Tonight: Support the New PPW and Stand Up for Safer Streets
At tonight's Brooklyn Community Board 6 meeting, NYC DOT will present its final report on the re-designed Prospect Park West. The Brooklyn Paper has the latest safety stats from the city, and they show what one would expect from a project that has substantially reduced speeding: crashes and injuries are down across the board.
January 20, 2011
Councilman Koppell Wants “Sadik-Kahn” Fired Over Turn Signal
More termed-out wackiness from City Hall. Last week, Bronx City Council Member G. Oliver Koppell issued a press release calling for the "resignation or removal" of DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. The reason? Koppell wants a left turn signal at 254th Street and Riverdale Avenue, and DOT doesn't think the intersection needs one.
May 6, 2008
What if DOT Simply Forgot to Open the Parks to Traffic?
This holiday season, users of Central and Prospect Parks got an unexpected and welcome gift after years of finding coal (and exhaust) in their stockings. Interestingly, the sources of that exhaust didn't seem to complain (or perhaps even notice) that things had changed.
January 11, 2008
Mayor Bloomberg at the Crossroads: Who Will Run DOT?
With DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall set to depart city government in three weeks, sources say that Mayor Michael Bloomberg is close to announcing her replacement. The Mayor's choice will have a profound impact on day-to-day neighborhood life as well as the City of New York's long-term future. Though the DOT commissioner job search has barely been covered by the local press, this may very well be one of the most important decisions of the last 1,000 days of the Bloomberg Administration.
March 20, 2007
Defending “The Bailey’s” Right to Kung Pao Chicken and an SUV
DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall and her husband Senator Charles Schumer enjoy a meal with The Bailey's.
March 14, 2007
Commissioner Weinshall Agrees: Two-Way Streets Calm Traffic
While Michael Primeggia, DOT's Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Operations is trying to sell one-way mini-highways through Park Slope as a pedestrian safety improvement, his boss, DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, is hawking the exact opposite. On Thursday, March 1, at the City Council Transportation Committee oversight hearing on the Mayor's Long-Term Planning initiative, Weinshall touted two-way streets as successful traffic calming measure for Downtown Brooklyn. From her lips to your ears:
March 5, 2007
Old Gray Lady Gets on the Bandwagon
The New York Times came out advocating for progressive transportation policies in its Sunday City section editorial, saying that the departure of DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall presents "a great opportunity to take bold action on a vexing quality of life and health issue: traffic congestion."
March 5, 2007
The Iris Weinshall Legacy: Queens Boulevard
"What became clear to me in this discussion was that the engineers were thinking from the motorists' viewpoint." -- Iris Weinshall, New York Newsday, April 29, 2001
March 2, 2007