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
RSVP Deadline for NYU/PCAC Transit Oriented Development Forum
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Alert: Today is the last day to RSVP for the Nov. 1 forum on Transit Oriented Development in the New York Metropolitan Region.
Transit Oriented Development in the New York Metropolitan Region
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Forum panelists will discuss Transit Oriented Development (TOD) – what it is, specific initiatives in progress or completed, and the benefits and obstacles to its implementation. Featuring Panelists: Eric Alexander, Vision Long IslandVivian Baker, NJ TransitJoseph Chan, MTARandall Fleischer, MTA Metro-North RailroadLarry Gould, MTA NYC TransitRobert Lane, Regional Plan AssociationElisa Picca, MTA Long Island Rail […]
Pricing for Sustainability
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In his weekly radio address yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg discussed some steps his administration is taking toward a sustainable future, including the creation of an Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and a Sustainability Advisory Board, which held its first meeting last week. Long-term sustainability is of course right up Streetsblog’s alley. Correspondent Charles Komanoff donned his […]
Central Park(ing Lot)
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Ed. Note: This has got to be the best item ever to come to us via a Streetsblog tipster. We love the photos! Got a post you’d like to share? You know what to do. Recent reports have drawn attention to city officials abusing their parking privileges around municipal buildings in crowded commercial districts. Images of portly desk-sitting bureaucrats […]
The Weekly Carnage
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Woman Pinned Under SUV Saved by UES Passers-By (Daily News) Hartford Man Killed By His Own Vehicle (Hartford Courtant) N.J. State Trooper Runs Stop Sign, Killing 2 Sisters (Star-Ledger) Husband Killed, Wife Injured in Crash on L.I.E. (Newsday) 2 Early Morning Crashes Send 9 to Hospital (Star-Ledger) 1996 Hit-and-Run Driver Arrested After Car Chase (Star-Ledger) Father Accused of […]
Above the Law: Parking Permit Abuse Study Released
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Transportation Alternatives has released a study of parking permit abuse among New York City employees (as observed in nine neighborhoods). Their press release notes the study’s key findings: Citywide, more than 3 out of every 4 permit holders (77%) use their permits illegally. The NYPD is responsible for 46% of illegal permit abuse, by far […]
Eyes on the Street: Bicoastal Streetcars
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Brooklyn San Francisco Like Clarence Eckerson, I recently returned from a visit to San Francisco. I left with a feeling that San Francisco has the best urban surface transportation in the country: emissions-free buses drawing power from overhead wires, regular buses, cable cars moving up and down steep hills, many cyclists despite those hills, partially buried lightrail and […]
What Is Traffic’s Human Toll?
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Location: NYU Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor Time: 9 – 10:30 a.m. RSVP: research@transalt.org. Note: A light breakfast will be served. Please join Transportation Alternatives, the New York City Streets Renaissance Campaign and the Wagner Transportation Association on October 5th at 9:00AM in the historic NYU Puck Building for the release of "Traffic’s […]
Can Sprawl Be Beneficial?
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Sprawl: A Compact History: A Panel discussion with author Robert Bruegmann In this lively program co-sponsored by the Municipal Art Society’s Urban Center Books and the Storefront for Art and Architecture, author Robert Bruegmann will articulate the ways his controversial claims about urban history and current public policy challenge conventional planning wisdom and highlight the […]
The Energy Task Force: New York’s Electricity Roadmap
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As recent brownouts and blackouts illustrate, bringing power to the five boroughs is a constant infrastructure challenge. Chairman of the Energy Task Force and Executive Vice President of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Gil Quinones will be joined by Kate Ascher, Executive Vice President of the EDC and author of The Works: Anatomy of […]
Urban Density and a Pocketbook Plea for Congestion Pricing
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Of the ten largest cities in the United States, New York has far and away the greatest population density: 26,402.9 people per square mile, more than double the second densest big city, Chicago. The chart at right shows how the largest metropolitan areas stack up in terms of core population, overall population and core population density. […]
The Weekly Carnage
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N.J. Towns Search for Ways to Pay for Carcas Removal (AP via Newsday) 3 Weekend Crashes Leave 3 Dead in Nassau County (Newsday) 2 Dead in Rural N.J. SUV Crash (Star Ledger) 2 Upstate Teenagers Dead After Hitting Tree (Newsday) Promising Hip-Hop Artist Killed in Chelsea Hit-and-Run (NY Post) Clues Sought in Fatal Hit-and-Run in […]