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
Staten Island Double Hit-and-Run Killer to Serve No More Than Five Years
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The unlicensed, speeding, hit-and-run driver who killed an elderly Staten Island couple in 2009 has been sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail. Peter and Lillian Sabados, ages 78 and 77, respectively, were crossing New Dorp Lane at Third Street on their way to Thanksgiving eve Mass when Allmir Lekperic, exceeding the 30 […]
Thursday: Speak Up for Cross-Town Central Park Bike Paths
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A plan to open Central Park to east-west bike traffic is poised to move forward, and proponents are encouraged to turn out Thursday night to voice their support. Phase one of the Central Park Conservancy project, which took root last year, will convert two existing pedestrian paths for shared use in the northern area of […]
Three Years In, Might the Dyckman Bike Path Finally Get a Hearing?
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It’s been over three years since residents of Inwood first proposed a separated bike path for Dyckman/200th Street, one that would link Manhattan’s east- and west-side Greenways and help foster a safer and more humane environment for neighborhood cyclists and pedestrians. So persistent are advocates of the project, known informally as the “Dyckman Greenway Connector,” […]
New York Post Bike Bile: Deliberate Lies or Pure Ineptitude?
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It’s getting to the point — probably well past the point, actually — where the non-stop cyclist hate spewing from the New York Post has attained a level of self-parody. So free of fact and full of bald-faced vitriol is the paper’s latest editorial, praising Ray Kelly’s NYPD for a marked increase in cyclist summonses, […]
NYC Marks “Decade of Road Safety” With Launch of City’s First Slow Zone
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New York City is plagued by speeding drivers. According to Transportation Alternatives, 39 percent of motorists drive in excess of the city’s 30 mph speed limit, regardless of the presence of pedestrians or even school children. Its ubiquity notwithstanding, speeding is far from a victimless crime. Speeding-related crashes killed 71 people in the city in […]
Deborah Glick Revives Push for Life-Saving Speed Cameras
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Legislation allowing the city to curb deadly driving through the use of speed enforcement cameras will soon resurface in Albany. A bill introduced last year called for a pilot program of 40 cameras, to be installed at crash-prone city intersections. Photographs would be taken of license plates (not of drivers), and tickets issued to vehicle […]
City Shows Inwood Some Much-Needed Livable Streets Love
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It’s no exaggeration to say that, by and large, the streets of Inwood are a free-for-all. With its two free Harlem River bridges, the neighborhood is a prime cut-through for toll-shopping drivers passing to and from the Bronx and Westchester, and is a seasonal haven for preening boom-car owners and speeding motorcyclists. Wide intersections and […]
Utility Cycling Tips From Bike Zealot Martha Stewart
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In addition to nerve-wracking weather, one sure sign of spring is the re-emergence of the bicycle as pop culture totem. If you’re on many catalogue mailing lists, you’ve probably seen them — gleaming utility bikes and cruisers at the ready as toned and tanned models relax at the outdoor cafe or by the pool. And […]
MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan: What’s Good for Times Square Is Good for America
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Should a pedestrian-friendly Times Square serve as a model for other American cities? Who would ask such a thing? Certainly not the real New Yorkers who constitute the city’s hard-bitten press corps. No, for meaningful analysis of the use of public space, it’s […]
Pedestrians, Including Bill Clinton, Breathe Easier in the New Times Square
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A new study commissioned by the city finds that air quality in Times Square has notably improved since the 2009 installation of pedestrian plazas on Broadway. Street-level readings taken by the New York City Community Air Survey, a city-wide air quality monitoring program created as part of PlaNYC, show that “concentrations of traffic-related pollutants were […]
Got a Drivers License and a Gripe? NYC Reporters Want to Hear From You
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If you want to get the attention of the New York news media, the formula apparently goes something like so. Step one: turn a personal pet peeve into a matter of public record by filing a baseless lawsuit. Step two: watch reporters beat a path to your door. Take one Jack McCloy, a motorist who […]
Washington Heights Towers Would Add 500+ Parking Spots on Top of 1 Train
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Since January, Upper Manhattan has been abuzz with news of a proposed development that could bring four new residential towers to Washington Heights. And according to developers Quadriad Realty Partners, there’ll be ample parking to go along with them. The Quadriad buildings, which would be constructed on both sides of Broadway at 190th Street, would […]