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
NYC’s “Flawed” Traffic Plan Brought to You by… Toyota
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Grim picture: A screenshot from the CBS Channel 2 web site. CBS’s Marcia Kramer adds some splatter paint to the Village Voice’s "grim picture of the state of civic engagement" on congestion pricing. On Tuesday, her Channel 2 special investigative feature let us know that one guy in London has foiled that city’s congestion pricing […]
Compromise “Ruled the Day” at Congestion Pricing Hearings
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#Persons %Persons Position 39 26% Support congestion pricing as proposed by Mayor Bloomberg in April 2007 PlaNYC proposal 46 31% Support the concept of pricing, have concerns and recommend changes/additions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal 13 9% Express serious concerns with the current proposal and offer suggestions for improvement 39 26% Oppose congestion pricing, suggest other […]
$115 $230 Summons for NASCAR Driver #19 Elliott Sadler
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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 […]
T.A. Responds to Fidler’s Tax’n’Tunnel Pipe Dream
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We probably shouldn’t be lavishing any more attention on Lew Fidler’s Tax’n’Tunnel proposal but Transportation Alternatives’ Paul Steely White fired off a pretty good, concise response to the Daily News the other day: Instead of supporting congestion pricing, Councilman Lew Fidler wants to impose billions of dollars in payroll taxes and dig three new tunnels […]
New Bleecker Bike Lane Already Blocked by Parked Cars
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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: I can’t say that the striping was universally respected. You can see from the background of the photo that there’s a car in the lane. Also, between Mercer […]
NYC.gov Holiday Traffic Plan Makes Way for NASCAR
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Gridlock Sam warns of widespread "pedlock and "traffic wrath" today. Not helping matters was this morning’s NASCAR Victory Lap around Times Square, conveniently timed to coincide with the morning rush. Times Square will serve as one big pit stop for NASCAR’s annual Victory Lap Wednesday, starting at 44thSt. between Broadway and Sixth Ave. and […]
NYPD Emerges as New Focus for NYC’s Livable Streets Movement
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Arrest Her! T.A. membership coordinator Abby King tears up the streets on a "sport utility bicycle." With their rampant illegal parking, refusal to enforce basic traffic laws and unwillingness to treat pedestrian injuries and fatalities with any level of seriousness, the Police Department is establishing itself as the New York City government agency most in […]
TSTC.org Would Be More Thankful If…
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The Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s new Mobilizing the Region blog is really starting to come alive. If you haven’t added it to your daily news feed yet, it’s probably time to do it. After giving thanks for the transportation policy advances of 2007 on Thursday, the TSTC staff, engorged with Tofurkey, went back to work on […]
NYC Voters Oppose Pricing Unless it Helps Prevent a Fare Hike
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A new Quinnipiac Poll shows that New York City voters would support congestion pricing by a 53-41 margin if it "prevents a hike in mass transit fares." The new poll also shows that a majority of voters still oppose the idea of congestion pricing by a margin of 61 to 33. Support for Mayor Bloomberg’s […]
Alan Durning’s “Year of Living Carlessly” and “Bicycle Neglect”
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Alan Durning, executive director of the Seattle-based Sightline Institute has been doing some great writing on Livable Streets and sustainable transport issues over the last year. If you haven’t run across his work, he is writing a pair of ongoing series that I think will be of particular interest to Streetsblog readers. On Friday, Durning […]
Wall Street Journal Declares Peak Oil No Longer a “Fringe” Idea
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Realizing that it’s generally considered passé if not altogether wacky to talk about New York City transportation policy and politics in the context of global energy business, a Wall Street Journal story this morning confirms that global fossil fuel production appears to be hitting a plateau. In other words, Peak Oil is no longer a […]
30 Firms Submit Proposals for NYC’s Congestion Pricing System
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In response to its "Request for Expressions of Interest," the New York City Economic Development Corporation has received proposals from 30 companies interested in implementing New York City’s congestion pricing pilot project. "This large number and quality of responses clearly indicates that the market place believes that the implementation of the City’s congestion pricing plan […]