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
Mayor Bloomberg Sustainability Speech Tomorrow
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At an event hosted by the League of Conservation Voters, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will deliver a major speech outlining sustainability challenges and goals for the City of New York through the year 2030. This will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by NBC News Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw. When Tuesday, December 12th, 2006, […]
Streetfilms: Memorial for Eric Ng
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Eric Ng MemorialStreetfilms by Clarence EckersonRunning time: 3 minutes 17 seconds Eric Ng, a 22-year-old teacher and activist, was killed on December 1 by a drunk driver as he rode his bicycle on the Hudson River Greenway. Yesterday, Time’s Up! and Visual Resistance organized a series of events to pay tribute to Eric’s memory. Clarence […]
The Week’s Links
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Ugandan Transportation Policy Light Years Ahead of New York CityThe greater Kampala metropolitan area will flip the switch on its congestion charging system in February. The city "will raise revenue from vehicle owners who may want to drive to town instead of using cheap buses. The introduction of a congestion fee will instill discipline." […]
6-Year-Old Boy Fatally Hit by Truck in Brooklyn
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Three mornings a week I ride past the South Brooklyn Casket Company on Union Street with my two-year-old son strapped to the back of my bicycle on our way to the nursery school. Though the Casket Company always has trucks parked and unloading all over the sidewalk (and someone, I assume it’s the boss, likes […]
Seoul’s New Heart
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Below are some excerpts from a fascinating story by John Vidal in last month’s Guardian that I haven’t seen covered in any American media. As the debate over traffic relief heats up in New York City, take a look at how the demolition of an elevated highway motorway the center of South Korea’s capital and the […]
Chicago: A City Whose Mayor Cares About Bicycling
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November’s Governing Magazine has a great story on how big cities across the U.S. are gearing up to make themselves more bike-friendly. There is no mention of New York City, but check out what Chicago is doing and how they are doing it: In the next decade, it plans to expand its network of bike […]
Where Do Manhattan Auto Commuters Come From?
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Bruce Schaller’s studies continue to give New York City policymakers a much more detailed idea of who commutes into Manhattan’s Central Business District each day, where they came from and what they are doing once they get there (PDF file). Towards that end, his new Manhattan Institute study, Battling Traffic: What New Yorkers Think About Road Pricing, offers […]
Merry Gridlock III
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A Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods traffic analysis predicts gridlock conditions could be almost daily events in the current Atlantic Yards plan. To highlight the need for further regional analysis and better area-wide traffic solutions, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods will be holding an information event. This is an opportunity to point out how Atlantic Yards […]
Tillary Street: Bike Lane or Parking Space?
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Guess what Transportation Alternatives’ Brooke DuBose and Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson found in Downtown Brooklyn’s physically-separated bike lane on Tillary Street this morning? Cars and trucks, of course. Four of them driving, parking or unloading in the "protected" bike lane in just ten minutes of filming. Streetsbloggers who have been debating bike lane design and enjoying Bollard Porn, will appreciate Clarence’s […]
A Snapshot of New York City Gridlock
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Bruce Schaller’s new study, Battling Traffic, released this morning at a standing-room only Manhattan Institute panel discussion, digs in to the question of what New Yorkers really think about the city’s traffic congestion and the idea of using road pricing and other tools to manage it. Want to see what New York City gridlock looks like? Take a look […]
Important Meeting Tonight on New L.E.S. Bike Lanes
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Manhattan Community Board 3’s Transportation Committee is holding a public meeting on the new bike lanes on Grand Street in the Lower East Side tonight at 6:30 pm at 273 Bowery (at Houston St.), University Settlement, Room 1. Details here. It is important that some bicycling advocates show up to this meeting. From Transportation Alternatives: In […]
Manhattan BP Stringer Calls on NYC to Seek Federal Funds
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$15 Million in Grants Are Available for the Study of Congestion Pricing It’s rare that you see someone on the inside of New York City’s political power structure doing anything that looks even remotely like picking a public fight with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That is why this press release from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer caught my eye. Stringer, who […]