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
Tonight: Park(ing) Day Planning Meeting
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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. When August 2, 2007 6:30 pm Where […]
Congestion Pricing Returns to Stockholm
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Sweden re-launched its congestion pricing system today following a 6-month trial and voter referendum last September, in which Stockholm residents approved the traffic control measure by a margin of 52 to 45. The referendum was a definitive victory for a system that reduced Stockholm’s traffic congestion by as much as 50 percent and decreased noxious […]
Fear and Loathing on the Upper East Side
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A Curbed tipster sent along this photo of the "controversial" new bike lane going in along E. 90th Street. In the last week or so, the New York Times, the Sun, Gothamist and Curbed have all run stories about the City’s plan to build new bike lanes across the Upper East Side and the community […]
Meatpacking Plaza Update
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Here’s another photo from Mike Epstein showing progress on the Ninth Avenue redesign at 15th and 14th Streets. The photo is looking southbound. It’s looking like most of the traffic engineering is basically done — note the new bike lane running along the left-hand side of the photo. Now let’s see what sort of public […]
August 1 Congestion Pricing Deadline Has Been Met
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This morning, I asked whether Mayor Bloomberg had met the August 1 deadline to submit his congestion pricing plan to the 17-member commission that is supposed to come together to evaluate "traffic mitigation" proposals for New York City. Here’s the quick answer, from City Hall spokesman John Gallagher: The Mayor has submitted the plan, which […]
Mayor Bloomberg’s Morning Commute
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The New York Times metro desk has been staking out "MetroCard" Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s morning commute for the past five weeks. At first, reporter Michael Grynbaum and his colleagues Cassi Feldman and Cristina Maldonado thought they had a big scoop, according to a reporter’s diary on City Room: We would be following the mayor’s morning […]
August 1: The Mayor Shall Submit the Traffic Mitigation Plan
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A couple of weeks ago Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Spitzer, Senate Leader Bruno and Assembly Speaker Silver agreed to a process that would lead to the formation of a 17-member commission that would evaluate and decide on New York City’s congestion pricing proposal. The deal laid out a very specific timeline by which the process would […]
Official Statement on Central Park Car-Free Hours Increase
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As we reported yesterday, starting Monday, August 6, Car-Free time in Central Park will be increased by one hour in the morning on the Park’s West Drive. Here are the details from the Dept. of Transportation: New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today announced further […]
DOT Expands Car-Free Time in Central Park by One Hour
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The Dept. of Transportation is announcing that it will add one additional hour of car-free time to Central Park’s West Drive during morning rush hour starting Monday, August 6. No incremental improvements have been announced for Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Here is DOT’s announcement: Beginning Monday, August 6th, the West Drive of Central Park between […]
Parking Meters: The Congestion Pricing Controversy of 1932
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By now we’re all familiar with the litany of complaints about the City’s new traffic control plan: It’s an unfair and burdensome new tax; it’s going to kill retail business and hurt the little guy; and most of all, it’s just plain "un-American." That, of course, is what critics are saying about congestion pricing in […]
Sadik-Khan: Many Initiatives Are Under Way…
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Today’s Crain’s Insider, available to subscribers only, reports on the next steps for the Bloomberg Administration’s broader Long-Term Sustainability Plan now that congestion pricing has cleared its first hurdle in Albany: 7.30.07 Crain’s NY Business The Insider by Erik Engquist and Anne Michaud GREEN PLAN Closer to home NOW THAT the Legislature has passed a […]
Congestion Pricing Process Moves Forward in Albany
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This afternoon the New York State Assembly voted 122-16 and the Senate voted 39-16 in favor of the process that would establish a 17-member commission to develop traffic mitigation measures for New York City. The commission’s plan would be required to produce a 6.3% reduction in average vehicle miles traveled in New York City. Mayor […]