Aaron Donovan

Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.

Recent Posts

An Old Car Interred

By Aaron Donovan | | 20 Comments
Bud & Walter Brewer Collection/Tulsa Historical Society, via The New York Times. Fifty years ago last Friday, the people of Tulsa, Oklahoma, assembled downtown and buried a brand new Plymouth Belvedere hardtop as a time capsule to be opened in 2007. The car, and $100 plus 50 years worth of accrued compound interest (a bit more than $700), would […]

East River Day Waterfront Tours

By Aaron Donovan | | No Comments
New York’s waterfront is being transformed. From Brooklyn Bridge Park to Throg’s Neck on the East River alone, over 1000 acres of redevelopment is slated to occur over the upcoming years. This scale of development is an enormous opportunity – and a risk. Too much waterfront development in recent years has created sterile, privatized places […]

Tell the Parks Dept. About Your Vision for the High Bridge

By Aaron Donovan | | No Comments
Under PlaNYC, the High Bridge, an 1848 pedestrian- and cyclist-only bridge connecting the Bronx with Washingon Heights, is opening after some four decades of closure. The Parks Department wants to learn about your priorities for the bridge. Cyclists and pedestrians (especially those who live in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx) should come out and help shape the design to ensure […]

Eyes on the Street: Franklin Avenue

By Aaron Donovan | | 6 Comments
The Shuttle, as seen from Brevoort Place. This four-stop line deteriorated and was nearly abandoned by the MTA in the 1980s and again in the 1990s. Instead, after community opposition, it was restored for $74 million in 1999, although one station, Dean Street, was closed. Does anybody know more details about the community advocacy that led to the preservation of […]

The Weekly Carnage

By Aaron Donovan | | No Comments
Fatal Crashes (12 Killed This Week; 289 Killed This Year) Manhattan: Man, 26, Killed in Hit-and-Run at 22nd & Park (Daily News, NY Post)  Related: Family Offers $5,000 Reward for Information (Daily News) Westport, Conn.: Couple Dies as Tree Falls on Car, 2 Boys O.K. (Westport News) Related: Governor Vows to Assess Safety of Trees (Newsday, Journal News) Related: Same […]

Memorial Ride for Mark Grichevsky

By Aaron Donovan | | No Comments
Mark Grichevsky was 18 years old. He was a student at City As School, and was also an intern at Recycle-A-Bicycle. He was struck by a car on May 29th in the afternoon, near his home in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He passed away 4 days later in the hospital. This ride will link up with the […]
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