The first few months of 2011 have kept us on our toes here in NYC. The frivolous lawsuits are flying, the tabloid columnists and TV journos are on a mission to thwart anything that makes life better for pedestrians, cyclists, or bus riders, and a few City Council members and the Public Advocate seem to think that preventing street safety improvements is an accomplishment worth bragging about.

These are the times when you really need Streetsblog and Streetfilms around. We’re getting the truth out about the impact of the city’s street redesigns, and we’re giving a voice to New Yorkers who appreciate the change on their streets and want to see more. With your help we’ll be delivering this coverage for a long time to come.

We rely on the generous support of our readers to fund our reporting, videomaking, and commentary. A couple of times a year we turn to you to help keep Streetsblog and Streetfilms going, and here we are — it’s May and Bike Month is in full swing — let’s do a pledge drive. We’re counting on you to get us to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 30.

Here’s a quick rundown of the impact we’re making thanks to support from our audience:

• Streetsblog has fact-checked the blitz of distortions emanating from the Prospect Park West lawsuit and shed light on how bike lane opponents pull their political levers. You can be sure that high-level city officials, major media, and members of NBBL (in addition to our faithful daily readership and a large number of interested parties throughout the United States and abroad) are all following this coverage.
• Streetfilms is showing the world how NYC DOT’s new complete street designs are making the city work better for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.
• We’re the only place in town keeping tabs on important policy stories like the potential to reform NYC’s mandatory parking minimums. Our coverage has made the case for changing rules that induce traffic and drive up housing costs, and we’re starting to see signs of progress.
• Our reporting focused public scrutiny on Albany’s theft of dedicated transit funds and raised the political price of further transit raids. There’s a whole new round of transit funding battles coming up in a few months, and we’ll stay on top of it all.
• We’re creating irrefutable documentary proof that New Yorkers who ride bikes are normal people who just want to get where they’re going safely, and have fun doing it.

If you value this work, please give to Streetfilms and Streetsblog NYC — we can’t do it without you.

Thanks for your support!

— Ben and Clarence