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
The Times is a Changin’
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A chart illustrating the number who commute by auto to the Central Business District from Bruce Schaller’s study for the Manhattan Institute, Battling Traffic: What New Yorkers Think About Road Pricing. A great story on New York City traffic congestion, In Traffic’s Jam, Who’s Driving May Be Surprising, ran on the front page of the […]
Making Hell’s Kitchen Less Hellish
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StreetFilms Ninth Avenue Renaissance Town Hall Meeting Running time: 3:35 Monday night was the first meeting of the Ninth Avenue Renaissance project. About 130 neighborhood stakeholders filled the gym at the Holy Cross School in Midtown to begin a process to transform Ninth Avenue from a dysfunctional, traffic-choked, polluted highway into, what organizer Christine Berthet […]
Playable Streets
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The New York Times has a story today about efforts underway to develop a creative new playground near the South Street Seaport. The city has been working with David Rockwell interior designer for Nobu and the Mohegan Sun Casino, on a playground that eschews traditional playground aparati in favor of foam blocks, water, cardboard tubes, […]
Wheels: The New York Times’ New Auto Blog
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Just when it seemed like congestion pricing proponent Carolyn Curiel and Portland native David Shipley were helping to steer the the New York Times in a greener more urban environmentally aware direction, the Times launches Wheels, their new Auto Blog. Its mission: Cover the Detroit Auto Show and help drivers and auto enthusiasts know new […]
Memorializing Killed Cyclists: Is it Good for Cycling?
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Yesterday, scores of cyclists took to the streets in a memorial ride for the 14 bikers and 134 pedestrians known to have been killed by motor vehicles on the streets of New York City in 2006 (photo, right). I didn’t get to go on the ride but I heard from some who did that it […]
Bloomberg on Bicycling
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Unlike the Mayors of Chicago, London, Paris and a growing number of other world cities, it is exceedingly rare to hear New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg say anything at all in public about bicycling. So, we thought that this was an interesting big of reporting in The Villager last week: After the opening ceremony […]
A Tale of Two Cities’ Parking Policies
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As soon as Mayor Bloomberg finally decides to deal with New York City’s shameful and destructive government employee parking abuse situation, all he has to do is steal the simple new parking policy being instituted by Aetna Inc., a major employer in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartford Courant reports: Don’t look now, but right under our […]
Sunday Times City Section Hits Livable Street Trifecta
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Priorities for New York’s New Year (Editorial)Traffic Congestion. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has offered a dazzling and hopeful plan to prepare the city for what is expected to be a substantial rise in population during the next quarter century, but unless the number of motorists is reduced, New Yorkers will choke on their own gridlock. Mr. […]
Today’s Headlines
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Saturday Ties for Warmest January Day Ever in NYC Coney Island Polar Bears Stage Global Climate Change Demonstration (NYT) Ancient Global Warming was Jarring, Chaotic: U.C. Davis Study (LAT) Japan: Better Prepared to Prosper in a World of High Energy Prices (NYT) Park Slope: One of America’s Top 10 Eco-Neighborhoods (Natural Home) "Accident Forgiveness," […]
Today’s Headlines
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What A Car-Free Central Park Means to a 4 Year Old (Video)Upload your videos to YouTube and tag them "streetsblog" Longtime Residents Oppose Park Avenue Ped Safety Measures (Sun) Monica Howe is L.A.’s Pedal Pusher (LAT) Gothamitis: Adam Gopnik on Bloomberg’s Sustainability Speech (NYer) Power-Washing the Lower East Side. Wow. (Gothamist) MTA President Reuter Leaves […]
Day Two: Ten Things for Governor Spitzer to Fix
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Eliot Spitzer’s campaign for governor promised, "Day One: Everything Changes." Well, it’s Day Two and it’s time to govern. Much of New York City’s transportation policy rests in the hands of Albany legislators and agency officials. Here are ten things that the new governor can do to make New York City’s streets more livable and […]
New Year’s Resolution: Physically Separated Bike Lanes in ’07
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The Case for Physically Separated Bike LanesA Streetfilm by Clarence EckersonRunning Time: 8 minutes 30 seconds Happy New Year! As part of its commitment to create 200 miles of new bike lanes in the next three years, New York City’s Department of Transportation plans to build out 70 miles of new bike lanes in 2007. […]