Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Downtown Brooklyn

Streetfilm: The Transformation of Willoughby Street

By Aaron Donovan | | 10 Comments
This spring, the DOT transformed the corner of Willoughby and Adams Streets in downtown Brooklyn from a dull gray, little-used automobile pass-through (above) into a pedestrian space complete with chairs, benches, plants, tables and sun umbrellas.  But would the people come? Filmmaker Clarence Eckerson took his video camera to the corner to find out. The result is a 1-minute, 26-second Streetfilm on […]

DOT Revs Up its “Alternative Modes” Department

By Aaron Naparstek | | 5 Comments
A rendering of the Sands Street bike path on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge Here is yet another sign that change is afoot at New York City’s Department of Transportation: Insiders are reporting that Ryan Russo has been promoted from the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner’s office to take over as the new Director of Alternative Modes. […]

The $46 Million Parking Perk

By Aaron Naparstek | | 11 Comments
The police tow one of their own in Chinatown on May 10, 2006. Community and business groups say that much of Lower Manhattan has become a free parking lot for government employees’ personal vehicles. (Photo: Geoff Lee) Illegally parked government employees are subtracting $46 million a year in potential parking fees from New York City’s coffers, according to […]

Brooklyn Traffic

By Aaron Naparstek | | 6 Comments
A correspondent sends in this photo of the morning commute on Bergen Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Moments before snapping it the photographer says he was "stopped at a light with six cyclists, all of whom looked at each other and smiled as if to say, ‘any more of us and we’ll need a permit!’" […]

Pedestrian Mall Revolution

By Aaron Naparstek | | 3 Comments
The other day, the NYC Department of Transportation unveiled a proposal to build a new pedestrian-only plaza with tables, benches, greenery and bike racks in Downtown Brooklyn along two blocks where Willoughby and Adams Streets intersect. According to a New York 1 report, the bottom two floors of the city-owned building at 345 Adams will […]