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
Ninth Street Update: Robert’s Rules of Order
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First off, please accept my apologies for continuing to torture you with the intensely parochial drama taking place on Park Slope’s 9th Street. I justify all of this coverage by imagining that this story may be useful for advocates working towards Livable Streets goals in other neighborhoods. For those who are just coming in to […]
Choose Your Own Hells Kitchen
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The Ninth Avenue Renaissance project continues to evolve into the most thorough and impressive community-driven Livable Streets effort currently underway in New York City (the Gansevoort Project runs a close second). Following up on a design workshop facilitated by Project for Public Spaces in January, Ninth Avenue Renaissance has launched a survey that allows you […]
StreetFilms: Touring Brooklyn’s Future Waterfront Greenway
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On Saturday, over 100 cyclists turned out for Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s annual ride. For nearly a decade, they have been working with numerous community & government groups to bring a Hudson River-style recreation path from Greenpoint to Sunset Park. In the next few years, much of the 15-mile route will finally become reality. The tour […]
Another Look at the WSJ Article on European Cycling
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This weekend’s full-page Wall Street Journal article on the measures that European cities are taking to make themselves more bike-friendly makes for an interesting comparison to what I’m seeing in my own neighborhood. While Brooklyn’s Ninth Street Block Association "expresses concern" (i.e. yells and screams) that new bike lanes will increase traffic congestion, European cities, […]
The Benefits of a “Road Diet.”
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As the Department of Transportation’s "Road Diet" plan for Brooklyn’s 9th Street stirs up the ire of a small but well-organized and politically-connected group of home and car owners, it’s worth taking a look at this Parsons Brinckerhoff presentation, "Applying the Road Diet for Livable Communities." PB’s case studies show that, after properly executed Road Diets, car crashes and […]
This is How State Senator Eric Adams Celebrates Bike Month?
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Sources say that first-term Brooklyn State Senator Eric Adams has delivered a lengthy letter to Department of Transportation Acting Commissioner Judith Bergtraum expressing opposition to DOT’s 9th Street traffic safety and bike lane plan. Though the Senator, a former cop, has no urban planning or traffic engineering background, he questions DOT’s assertion that its plan […]
PlaNYC Team Releases Transportation Technical Report
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The PlaNYC team has released the technical report providing the detailed background data for the transportation recommendations made in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s April 22 Long-Term Planning & Sustainability speech. It’s a big download — 25 megabytes and 166 pages — but if you are a New York City transportation policy wonk, it’s totally worth it. […]
Eyes on the Street: Critical Mass of U.S. Senators
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Further review of photos from Senator Charles Schumer’s Saturday bike ride in Brooklyn, which included an entourage of about 20 cyclists and a police escort, has turned up what appears to be two more U.S. senators, both from the fine state of Vermont. Snapped outside of Schumer’s Prospect Park West apartment building, that looks like […]
Eyes on the Street: Tour de Senator Schumer
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Senator Charles Schumer hit the road this Saturday with an entourage of about 20 other cyclists and a police escort. As he led the group down Prospect Park West our tipster heard him telling the assembled, "Jennifer Connolly lives here…" Does anyone know what the bike tour was all about? Photo: Dave Kenny
Eyes on the Street: Parking it for Lunch in London
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On-street parking space becomes a pub’s outdoor patio in Covent Garden, London. Photo: Aaron Naparstek
Sadik-Khan Has Two Things Her Predecessors Lacked…
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Transportation Alternatives’ press release on the naming of Janette Sadik-Khan as New York City’s new transportation commissioner doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to her predecessors: Transportation Alternatives commends the Mayor on his appointment of Janette Sadik-Khan as the next Commissioner of the NYC DOT. His thoughtful and progressive appointment will usher in an […]
Sadik-Khan Press Conference Coverage
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New York 1 covers the Mayor’s announcement of New York City’s new transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan. "No matter what you call it, environmentalism, sustainability or a greener New York, we all want a healthier city for our families and kids and it is that shared desire, it’s a necessity really, that brings us together," said […]