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
LSN Member of the Week: Mr. Theo
| | No Comments
Let’s give a warm Streetsblog welcome to Mr. Theo, the newest member of the Livable Streets Network. You may recognize Theo as the star of the Louisville, Kentucky transit system’s YouTube hit, "Bikes-on-Board." Sure, some LSN members will criticize him for uploading a photo of himself standing next to a vehicle that gets about 7 […]
Alan Gerson Wants Greater “Review” of DOT Bike Safety Plans
| | 20 Comments
In 2006, Alan Gerson helmeted-up and rallied for a protected bike lane on Houston St. On a day when you’d hope City Council members would be focused on the Bikes in Buildings bill, Manhattan City Councilman Alan Gerson is planning to introduce a new piece of legislation aimed at giving someone — presumably City Council […]
Weiner, Ravitch and Gridlock Sam on Lehrer This Morning
| | 3 Comments
They’re talking about Barack Obama, why car-pooling doesn’t seem to work in New York City, and saving the MTA in three separate segments. Too bad Weiner’s not sticking around for the MTA piece to talk about his plan to raise the federal gas tax to pay for transit improvements.
Merge
| | 3 Comments
Conservatives are fleshing out their next generation transportation ideas and Matthew Yglesias suggests that there could be a pretty big area of overlap between the left and right in this particular policy realm: To my way of thinking an enormous amount of good could be done if conservatives were more interested in applying really basic […]
Dingell Wanes as Waxman Takes Over Energy and Commerce
| | 4 Comments
One of the major, Eisenhower-era obstacles to fuel efficiency, automaker reform and meaningful climate change legislation is finally out of the way. The Democratic caucus has ousted Michigan Rep. John Dingell as chair of the House Energy and Commerce committee. He’ll be replaced by California Rep. Henry Waxman. Amen. Grist, TPM and Politico have the […]
Obamites: “Yes We Can!” NYPD: “Traffic First”
| | 24 Comments
Jan Gehl and Enrique Penalosa often talk about the important role that public space plays in a healthy, functioning democracy. I was reminded of that last night as joyous Brooklynites took to the streets for spontaneous celebration following Barack Obama’s election victory. This was the scene at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Union Street […]
Newt Gingrich: I Vant to Suck Your Oil
| | 12 Comments
Before the financial meltdown severely undercut John McCain’s presidential ambitions, his campaign was giddy over the apparent success of its energy policy message: Drill, baby, drill! It is, after all, a simple sounding solution that appeals to politicians in love with the quick fix, oil companies desperate for access to new sources, and auto-dependent Americans, […]
Four More Years
| | 27 Comments
The City Council voted 29 to 22 to extend term limits. City Room and The Daily Politics have all the gory details.
Shaping the 2009 Transpo Debate: Rockefeller Foundation’s Nick Turner
| | 8 Comments
American transportation policy has not fundamentally changed since gasoline cost a nickel a gallon and President Eisenhower started building out the Interstate highway system. Today, with gas prices through the roof, gridlock grinding our cities to a halt and many Americans feeling trapped in barely affordable, far-flung, exurban homes, it’s clear that our 1950’s-era transportation […]
Anyone Biking Over the Brooklyn Bridge With a Camera This Evening?
| | 13 Comments
A truck fire has shut down the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in both directions around DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. I just biked back to Brooklyn from the Open Planning Project office in Lower Manhattan and, wow!, I have never seen a traffic jam as bad as the one that is currently underway in and around Downtown Brooklyn. […]
Jim Kunstler on the Bail Out and What’s Next
| | 9 Comments
Jim Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, has been predicting today’s financial catastrophe for a few years now so it’s no surprise that his blog is loading slowly this morning. The people want to know: What’s going to happen next? What the mainstream is truly missing here en masse is that another tsunami is building […]