Park(ing) Day
Streetsblog Basics
Park Slope Has Its Park(ing) Day
Evicted from their Park(ing) Day spot by the 78th Precinct last month, Park Slope Neighbors (with the PD's permission) observed the event over the weekend. StreetFilms' new producer Elizabeth Press was there, talking to participants, passers-by and motorists who support human-oriented use of valuable public space.
October 16, 2007
More Park(ing) Day: San Fran Rolls Out the Parkcycle
I was pretty sure that New York City had San Francisco beat for this year's Park(ing) Day, what, with the children's reading hour and the on-street gymnasium in Brooklyn; Staten Island and Queens getting in on the act; and German tourists frolicking on the sod in front of the MoMA (all captured by StreetFilms, of course). Then I saw photos of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome admiring Rebar Group's Parkcycle -- literally, a pedal-powered park on wheels -- and I realized that we had been foiled again. Back to the drawing board New York City Park(ing) fans. We've got 12 months to come up with something better than this...
September 27, 2007
How Much Potential Park(ing) Space is There Anyway?
Writing for the Christian Science Monitor, Mark Clayton takes stock of the nation's paved parking lots and asks "does America's four-wheeled fleet really need all that extra elbow room?" This article comes on the heels of International Park(ing) Day, a one-day grassroots event in which urban dwellers all around the world transform metered, on-street parking spaces into pocket parks and public plazas as if to suggest that, in a crowded city, there might be better uses for publicly-owned land than storing privately-owned motor vehicles:
September 24, 2007
More Park(ing) Day Photos
Park(Day) co-organizer Jen Petersen and Robert Cipriano lounge at No Impact Man's spot in front of Whole Foods at 7th Ave. and W. 24th St.
September 21, 2007
Myrtle Ave. Parking Spot Becomes a Park and Classroom
The first round of Park(ing) Day photos are coming in. Here is a public space reclamation project currently underway on Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Blaise Backer, executive director of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership explains:
September 21, 2007
Tonight: Park(ing) Day Planning Meeting
Tonight, you are invited to a planning meeting to prepare for the previously discussed parking spot squat in New York City as a part of Park(ing) Day 2007. If you want to get involved, this is the place to be. Let's show those San Franciscans who's boss.
August 2, 2007
Park(ing) Day is Coming
Depressed about the direction Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan is heading? Cheer yourself up by starting to plan for Park(ing) Day 2007. Friday, September 21 is the day when urban dwellers the world over pop quarters into parking meters and take over on-street spaces, temporarily transforming them into miniature parks, playgrounds, cafés and community spaces.
July 16, 2007
Happy Memorial Day Weekend
Happy Memorial Day weekend from Streetsblog. If you're driving out of town, consider paying down your carbon debt with a solar-powered barbecue -- just make sure to wear sunscreen while you're using it. See you Tuesday
May 25, 2007
Pedestrians Fighting Over the Scraps
The Brooklynian message boards are often the scene of fierce fighting over Brownstone Brooklyn's crowded sidewalk space. While Park Slope's legion of double-wide stroller-pushing moms and sidewalk-riding cyclists tend to generate the most ire, yesterday a new target emerged: Guys playing cards on the sidewalk.
May 17, 2007