sustainableflatbush.org

Flatbush cyclists get ready to ride to Summer Streets! (photo courtesy of innocent bystander)

Okay, now I can speak from first-hand experience: Summer Streets, New York City’s experiment with creating a car-free haven for pedestrians and cyclists, is truly fantastic! A group of us departed from Vox Pop Cafe in Flatbush to ride our bikes through Prospect Park and across the Brooklyn Bridge for this historic event. I must say I never thought I’d have the opportunity to cycle through Manhattan - with no fear of cars - from City Hall to 72nd Street; riding through the streets of Soho, around Union Square, under the Met-Life building and up Park Avenue to 72nd Street… it’s just a beautiful thing.

The weather couldn’t have been better (apparently whoever handles such things is a supporter), and the streets were filled with folks enjoying themselves. The question I kept hearing was “Why is it only until 1pm??”

For your viewing pleasure!

This is history in the making, folks. As Gil Peñalosa says in the film, Mayor Bloomberg and (especially!) Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan deserve credit for having the guts to try something new. And as Noah Budnick from Transportation Alternatives points out, traffic is not something that “just happens”… we CAN do something about it. Last Saturday was a BIG moment for New York City!

Summer Streets will be back this Saturday the 16th, and we will host a “feeder” ride from Flatbush. The ride leaves from Vox Pop Cafe (1022 Cortelyou Road at Stratford), and they are offering a Dollar Coffee Special to get your day started!

Due to a MOST unfortunate prior commitment I was unable to attend the historic kickoff of NYC Summer Streets on Saturday… but I did manage to grab a photo (camera phone, sorry!) of the last few precious car-free moments.

Union Square, car-free!

Words cannot describe the excitement of seeing Park Avenue populated with pedestrians and bikes on a beautiful summer day. It may not look like much here (this was literally five minutes before the event’s end), but I’m sure Streetfilms will have plenty of front-line footage up tomorrow! For now, check out coverage from:

- Associated Press
- WCBS
- Gothamist
- NY1

Livable Streets advocates in New York City have dreamed of this for years, and now it’s all happening very fast…

You may have already heard about NYC Summer Streets, the car-free celebration coming up in August. On the 16th we will be hosting a “feeder” ride from Flatbush to join the party, stay tuned for details! For now, enjoy this promo video courtesy of our friends at Streetfilms:

Pink Maraca (photo by Themis Boaventura)

Saturday’s Newkirk Avenue Block Party was a great day of fun. In addition to a full schedule of live music (courtesy of Make Music New York, and coordinated by Mannix Gordon), we had Solar One, Brooklyn Compost Project, Alive Structures, and Transportation Alternatives represented; plus a paper casting workshop by Flatbush artist Kathy Levine, fitness activities with Midwood Martial Arts, and the ever-popular Recycling Game.

Recycling Game (photo by Themis Boaventura)

But the best part of the day was the simple fact that the street was closed to traffic, allowing everyone to enjoy a new (albeit temporary) public gathering place.

Street Games (photo by Anne Pope)

Midwood Martial Arts (photo by Themis Boaventura)

Face Painting (photo by Themis Boaventura)

More photos here at our Flickr Gallery!

I Love Brookln!, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush.

Yesterday’s Newkirk Avenue Block Party was a great success. More photos and story coming up… but I just couldn’t wait to post this one!