Author Archives: Aaron Naparstek
What’s Really Behind New York City’s Bike Lane Backlash?
If you haven’t visited New York City in a few years, you might be surprised at how much the city’s streets have changed. In Times Square, a five block stretch of Broadway is now a pedestrian-only zone packed with people lounging at tables in the middle of what was once a gridlocked street. Public plazas [...]
Posted in Backlash Comments closed
The New York Post’s Third World Vision for New York City
Dear Pulitzer-Prize Winning Columnist Michael Goodwin, I was impressed with the way you smuggled that anti-bike lane crack into your anti-union column the other day. That’s not easy to do. I see why they gave you a Pulitzer: Our town spends millions to in stall bike lanes and pay workers to shovel the snow from [...]
Posted in Quality Journalism Comments closed
Does Nicolai Ouroussoff understand that a city is more than just a skyline?
This was my stream of consciousness as I read New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff’s staggeringly obnoxious review of the new Frank Gehry tower in Lower Manhattan (I like the building, by the way. Ouroussoff, on the other hand, may very well be the most clueless high-profile journalist currently writing about cities) Nicolai’s text [...]
Posted in Architecture Critic Criticism Comments closed
It saddens me that we have to spend time on this but…
You should take a minute today to write a letter to the Daily News in response to their deeply misinformed editorial attacking the New York City Department of Transportation’s bike program. Just send in two or three sentences. Let them feel some push-back. Send your letter to: voicers@edit.nydailynews.com. Here’s mine: To the Editor: Under the [...]
Posted in Quality Journalism Comments closed
The NYPD must end the secrecy and obstructionism on street safety data.
From Streetsblog’s comments section this morning: Mayor Bloomberg should be publicly challenged to create a public health strategy to sharply reduce deaths and injuries from motor vehicles. This means telling the police department to climb out of their bunker of secrecy and obstructionism. The Health Department and the DOT are already deeply engaged in efforts [...]
Posted in J. Edgar Kelly Comments closed
Komanoff on NYC’s pathetic response to traffic violence
This passage from Charlie Komanoff’s Streetsblog piece today, really nails it: …What links these deaths, beyond their human tragedy, is a traffic “safety” ideology that blames victims instead of perpetrators, fetishizes silver bullets like seat belts and bike helmets at the expense of promoting a genuine safety culture, and misdirects enforcement toward trivia and away [...]
Posted in Traffic Violence Comments closed
Some great story ideas for New York Post reporter John Doyle
Hi John, I was glad to see you writing about the NYPD’s bike crackdown in yesterday’s New York Post. I hope you’ll consider following up with some more reporting on this issue in the coming days. There are lots of interesting questions to explore when it comes to bicycling and the NYPD’s enforcement of New [...]
Posted in Quality Journalism Comments closed
The New York City Bike Lane Backlash is Completely Irrational