Brad Aaron
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
Recent Posts
NYPD Starting to Roll Out Traffic Safety Data Online
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Traffic crash data, long a closely guarded secret of the NYPD, is now slowly being released online. Pursuant to the Saving Lives Through Better Information Act, which took effect Wednesday, the department will begin posting monthly updates on summonses and crashes, differentiated by mode of travel and contributing factors and broken down by precinct and […]
Rahm Emanuel Refuses to Say He’s “Not Against Bike Lanes”
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Okay. We can be envious now. We noted a little while back that in setting out to make Chicago the nation’s most bike-friendly city, Rahm Emanuel was setting a tone not heard before from a big-city mayor. Indications are that cyclists aren’t tolerated in Emanuel’s Chicago, but wanted. Here’s an excerpt from an Emanuel statement […]
Community Boards Line Up for Car-Free Central Park. Whither Bloomberg?
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By unanimous voice vote, the full board of Manhattan CB 11 has passed a resolution endorsing a summer trial for a car-free Central Park. Says park advocate Ken Coughlin, “We have the agreement of all the boards surrounding the park and are now waiting for a response from DOT on whether they will move ahead […]
Eyes on the Street: Sidewalk Hogging A-OK With NYPD
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Reader Marc Norman sends this shot of sanctioned law-breaking from Kent Ave. and Broadway in North Brooklyn. SUVs parked on the sidewalks as far as the eye can see all under the watchful eyes of NYC traffic (see scooter also on sidewalk). A cop saw me taking the photo and assured me it was OK […]
Breaking: No Decision in NBBL Prospect Park West Suit; Next Hearing in July
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There was no decision today in the Prospect Park West “Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes” lawsuit. The next hearing was set for July 20. We will have more on this morning’s Brooklyn Supreme Court proceedings later today.
Tonight: Upper Manhattanites Finally Get to Talk About Bike Lanes
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After years of delays, a citizen-generated plan for a separated bike path in Upper Manhattan will get an audience tonight. The Dyckman Greenway Connector would, as the name suggests, link the east- and west-side Greenways a short distance from the northern tip of Manhattan, in Inwood, completing an uptown circuit for commuters and recreational riders. […]
Tonight: Keep Up the Momentum for a Car-Free Summer in Central Park
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Amid the flurry of community board votes this week on the proposed trial to make Central Park car-free this summer, we missed tonight’s CB 8 full board meeting. The car-free trial resolution has pretty much sailed through in CB votes across Manhattan, and it cleared a combined vote of the CB 8 transportation and parks […]
Two Pedestrians Critical After Manhattan and Brooklyn Crashes This Week
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Crashes in Manhattan and Brooklyn have left two pedestrians in critical condition this week. According to NYPD, around 8:23 p.m. Tuesday a 41-year-old woman walking at 330 W. 145th St. in Harlem was struck by a driver who jumped the curb. Police said a 63-year-old male was attempting to parallel park his Ford Explorer when […]
Rahm Emanuel: What’s Good for Cyclists Is Good for Chicago
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Given the rapid innovations on city streets over the last four years, New York cyclists and pedestrians don’t yet have much cause to be envious of their counterparts in Chicago. Still, it’s hard not to feel a little green watching Mayor Rahm Emanuel express such unqualified support for an ambitious bike lane plan while elucidating […]
Tonight: Public Hearing for Bay Ridge Summer Streets
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A quick note from Brooklyn Community Board 10 regarding a meeting set for 7:00 tonight: [The CB 10] Traffic & Transportation Committee will host a public hearing to discuss our elected officials’ suggestion to create a “Summer Streets Pedestrian Mall” along 3rd Avenue between 82nd and 92nd Streets on Friday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to […]
Car-Free Central Park Trial Picks Up More Community Board Endorsements
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Support for a car-free Central Park trial is gaining momentum, with three additional community board nods. There are two proposals in play. The first would close the park to cars for four months, from the July 4 weekend through the first weekend in November. A second plan, from the Manhattan Borough Board (borough boards are […]
City Transpo, Health Advocates: One Traffic Death Is One Too Many
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The Drum Major Institute and Transportation Alternatives today called on the city to step up efforts to reduce vehicular deaths, and implored the Bloomberg administration and the New York City Council to change the widespread “culture of acceptance” that leads many New Yorkers to view thousands of preventable, life-altering injuries as an inevitable byproduct of […]