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
The Bogotá Transformation: Vision and Political Will
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Last week’s saga of MTA workers seizing bicycles locked to a subway stair railing in Brooklyn illustrated, yet again, just how far New York City has to go towards making bicycles an integral part of the city’s transportation system. As Larry Littlefield aptly commented, "The MTA doesn’t see bikes as an extension of the transit […]
Bruno: “The people who travel around are taxed enough.”
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Up to now, State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has been a supporter of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal for a congestion pricing pilot project. There is no reason to believe that has changed. Yet, he strikes a slightly ominous note in today’s Daily News article on the proposed MTA fare hike. "The people who travel around […]
Correcting Thursday’s MTA Bike Seizure Correction
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Quick, easy, inexpensive on-street bike parking in Montreal. Why not Williamsburg, Brooklyn? On Wednesday we posted Aaron Curran’s video of MTA workers seizing bicycles parked against the Bedford Avenue subway station stair railing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. On Thursday we posted a clarification noting that the subway station stair railing at Bedford Ave. and N.7th St. […]
The Weekly Carnage
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On Tuesday afternoon an apparently "flustered" motorist accelerated her Nissan Maxima over the curb and onto Cadman Plaza in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn. Fortunately, the sedan’s blinged-out rims and high-performance tires appear to be salvageable. The brand new bus shelter, clearly, is not. It had only been installed days before. There is a certain […]
MTA: Not Stealing Bikes. Just Following the Rules.
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The MTA has been taking a lot of flack following yesterday’s dust-up over MTA workers seizing bicycles locked to the Bedford Avenue subway station stairwell railing in Williamsburg. Perhaps the wrong transportation agency is taking the hit on this one. A camera phone-toting tipster sends along the above photo. It shows that, not only does […]
Senator Duane Takes a Swipe at DOT for 9th Ave. Bike Lane
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About 70 people showed up for a screening of the documentary film Contested Streets and a follow-up conversation on transportation issues last night. Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Assembly member Deborah Glick were not among them, both claiming last minute conflicts. The event was hosted by Manhattan Community Board 2. State Senator Thomas Duane (right), […]
Now the MTA is Stealing Bikes in Williamsburg
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Back in July, New York City’s Department of Transportation built sidewalk extensions and bike racks on a few automobile parking spaces-worth of street space near the Bedford Avenue subway stop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was the first time ever that on-street car parking had been replaced by bike parking in New York City. The Bedford […]
Tykes on Bikes
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We’re a bit heavy on bike stuff today (especially considering that all eyes should be on the MTA right now) but following this morning’s bleak news in Brooklyn, I thought it would be nice to end the day on a more life-affirming note. Here is Nick Whitaker’s StreetFilm on the first annual Kids Art Bike […]
Who is Richard Brodsky?
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Matthew Schuerman offers up a brief but insightful profile of Westchester Assembly member Richard Brodsky in this week’s Observer. Who is the man who holds the keys to the future of New York City transportation policy? First of all, like many on the government payroll, he’s got his own ideas about parking policy: Already late […]
Rangers New Center is Happy to Be Back on His Bike
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No more double-parking in front of the net or on bike lanes around Madison Square Garden. Traded from Los Angeles, Sean Avery, the Rangers new center, tells the New York Times Magazine why he enjoys playing in the Big Apple: Home away from home: Before the Rangers, I played for the Los Angeles Kings, and […]
Idle Hands
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Class-cutting school kids in Bushwick and the South Bronx, fear not. The clipboard-wielding women standing outside your school aren’t looking to bust you, they’re trying to help you breathe. As reported in last week’s New Yorker Talk of the Town: The women belong to a nonprofit group called the Asthma Free School Zone, which, […]
Here is the Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free Report
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The report that we summarized this morning, Alternative Approaches to Traffic Congestion Mitigation in the Manhattan Central Business District, can be downloaded here in its entirety.