Jason Varone
Jason Varone battles the streets everyday during a 9 mile commute on his bicycle from downtown Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. In addition to his efforts on Streetsblog, he is an artist making work related to the environment and technology. Examples of his work can be found at www.varonearts.org.
Recent Posts
Rising Gas Prices Hurt Truck Sales
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The New York Times reports: As with sport utilities, the popularity of pickups is in decline. Sales have dropped, rebates and other incentives are climbing, even for companies like G.M. and Toyota that have the newest models on the market…truck sales are down 5 percent so far this year from a weak market last year. […]
California Sues Municipalities for Bad Urban Planning
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USA Today reports on a new development in the fight against climate change: California is pioneering what could be the next battleground against global warming: filing suit to hold cities and counties accountable for greenhouse gas emissions caused by poorly planned suburban sprawl. The unprecedented action is being closely watched by states that have taken […]
96th St. Subway Station and Sidewalk Reduction Moving Ahead
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The MTA held a public hearing this week on the proposed $80 million overhaul of the 96th street subway station, one of the system’s oldest stations. While the new subway station looks great, the plan includes the nibbling away of 8 feet of much-needed sidewalk space on either side of Broadway while adding an additional […]
Chicago Alley Initiative Shows How to Make Streets Greener
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Chicago’s Department of Transportation started the Green Alleys Program to use the city’s many alleyways to conserve natural resources and improve the environment. Although New York City doesn’t have too many alleys, the beautifully-designed, 47-page Green Alleys Program booklet (PDF) offers several techniques that could still be useful in making New York City streets perform […]
Car-Free Sundays Return to the Bronx
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In the early 1990’s three and a half miles of the Grand Concourse, a major arterial roadway in the Bronx, was closed to cars every Sunday from July through November (kind of like Bogota Colombia’s Ciclovia). The closures provided residents with much-needed open space to bike, walk, play and develop a sense of community with […]
No Clothes, No Cars, Just Bikes
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Brooklyn photographer Spencer Tunick, known for photographing thousands of naked people in public settings worldwide, is at it again, this time in Amsterdam. The Siyney Morning Herald reports: Dozens of women posed naked on their bicycles on a bridge over one of Amsterdam’s historic canals on Sunday – a unique sight even in a city […]
CB4 Votes Tonight on a Revised Hell’s Kitchen
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In order to foster ideas on how to reclaim 9th Avenue from Lincoln Tunnel traffic, the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition (CHEKPEDS) sponsored a six month community input process designed by Project for Public Spaces. The process began with a design workshop in January, and has evolved into an impressive final report (PDF). Some highlights […]
REBNY Goes Green, Gets Behind PlaNYC
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The Real Estate Board of New York started running television commercials yesterday in support of PlaNYC. REBNY is arguably the most powerful interest group in the city. While not specifically mentioning congestion pricing in the ad, REBNY did quote former President Clinton saying in relation to the mayor’s plan: "The longer I wait in traffic, […]
Fantasy Island
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Three thousand free wooden bikes would allow for rapid circumnavigation on looping, leafy paths. New York Magazine features five finalists in a competition to turn Governors Island into an urban paradise: A large team (composed of landscape architects West 8 and Quennell Rothschild & Partners, architects Rogers Marvel and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and planners […]
NYPD Raid Nets Bikes and Bystanders
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This entry on the Village Voice Blog by Laura Conaway tells the story of an NYPD raid on parked bicycles last Wednesday night. When two residents questioned the officer in charge, they were arrested: Sparks from the NYPD’s circular saws arced through the night. Police, some in plainclothes, were piling cycles by the dozen in […]
Seventeen Elected Officials Endorse PlaNYC Initiatives
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On Saturday, seventeen New York City and State elected officials stood with the Campaign for New York’s Future and officially endorsed PlaNYC. They are: New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer New York State Senator Liz Krueger (District 26) New York State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman (District 31) New […]
StreetFilms: Bike to Shea
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Bike to Shea A StreetFilm by Sean Clifford Running Time: 3 minutes 2 seconds The StreetFilms team cycled with over 100 baseball fanatics during Bike Week on an amazin’ jaunt to Shea Stadium. The 4th annual ride was organized by the NYC Department of Transportation and the great spirits at Transportation Alternatives provided the valet […]