Aaron Naparstek
AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.
Recent Posts
Manhattan Bridge Bike & Ped Improvements Nearing Completion
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It looks like the street redesign around the Manhattan entrance of the Manhattan Bridge is nearing completion. Considering that Transportation Alternatives has been pushing for these fixes for years, that was pretty fast. DOT presented its plan to the local Community Board, to unanimous approval, in July; sketched out the lines on the street in […]
This Holiday Season London’s Streets Are “Absolutely Jammed”
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London retailers enjoyed a £100 million spending spree as Oxford, Bond and Regents Streets were closed to motor vehicle traffic for a day As New York City government issues its usual series of futile Holiday Season "Gridlock Alerts" (Warning to people stuck in traffic: You are stuck in traffic) while Manhattan shoppers have the life […]
Is America Finally Getting Interested in Passenger Rail?
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Despite fierce and prevalent Amtrak hating, and although I have yet to hear any presidential candidate discuss it, nationally syndicated columnist Neal Peirce suggests that "the stars are finally coming into alignment" for improvements of America’s passenger rail system. He writes: America’s train advocates are mildly optimistic. And for some good reasons. Amtrak is […]
More Boring Photos
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The entrance to the East Side Access work site in Sunnyside, Queens Last week, MTA PR man Jeremy Soffin sent along an interesting news blip about the gigantic tunnel boring machine chewing up the schist beneath 60th Street in Manhattan for the MTA’s East Side Access project. It turns out that blogger Michael Frumin knows […]
Radiohead: A Rock Band With a Firm Grasp of Urban Planning
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It looks like Radiohead’s Thom Yorke may be reading the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers classic "Theory of Disappearing Traffic" study in his spare time. Here he is talking to the New York Times’ Jon Pareles about the band’s recent digital commerce experiment: Signing a new major-label contract "would have killed us […]
Shoup on Lehrer
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Parking policy maven Donald Shoup will be on the Brian Lehrer show this morning, WNYC, 93.9 FM. He’ll be delving into the question: Is on-street parking too cheap in Manhattan? He’ll also be speaking tonight at 6pm: Fordham University – Pope Auditorium 113 W. 60th St. (at Columbus Av.) Manhattan By the way, check out […]
Inom Tullarna: The Ancient Roots of Congestion Pricing
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If you’re a New York City transportation policy geek but you’ve had enough of congestion pricing realpolitik and can’t bear to sit through another Kathy Wylde vs. Walter McCaffrey slugfest, Monday evening’s New School panel may be just the ticket. Equal Tolls, Unequal Access? Congestion Pricing and Its Historical Antecedents brings together an unusual group […]
New York Times Employees Say Renzo Forgot the Bike Parking
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When Ray Bengen learned that he was going to start work at the New York Times new Eighth Avenue office tower back in July as a software engineering consultant he thought, "Great. It’s just up the street from where I live. I can ride my bike to work." There was just one problem. While the […]
Chinatown Placard Abusers Get the Hook
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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 […]
Crashstat 2.0 Reveals NYC’S Most Dangerous Intersections
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Crashstat shows Fordham Rd. in the Bronx to be one of the most dangerous streets in New York City. For years, Livable Streets advocates have pushed New York City government to make citywide pedestrian and cyclist crash data more accessible to help civic groups and policy makers make more intelligent street design improvement decisions. Rather […]
This is the Pedestrian Refuge Area That CB8 Refused to Protect
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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 […]
MTA Chief Lee Sander Gets Megamodal
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The Fall 2007 issue of the NYU Rudin Center’s New York Transportation Journal is out and for anyone looking to delve into some wonkish, big picture, regional transportation policy issues, it’s worth a download. This quarter’s Journal has stories on the benefits of regular "programmed" fare increases, Seoul, South Korea’s successful bus rapid transit system […]