PARK(ing) Day Sidewalk (Photo by Elisabeth Deogracias)

September 17 2010: PARK(ing) Day

PARK(ing) Day is an annual and international event that SF has participated in since 2007. Along with thousands of other individuals spread throughout the globe, on PARK(ing) Day we reclaim the 120 square feet of space, which is labeled every other day of the year a parking spot, into a small but powerful public place for the community to enjoy. With so many families and young children in the Flatbush neighborhood, SF’s “Cortelyou Road Park” was a place full of child’s play. From puppets, to painting, to percussion, PARK(ing) Day 2010 entertained the young and young at heart while sending a clear message about the need for increased usable public space in Flatbush.

Bike Decorating Activities at the Traffic Calming Block Party

July 18 2010: Traffic Calming Block Party Organized by SF and executed with the help of local volunteers, the Traffic Calming Block Party raised awareness about the importance of ensuring that our streets are safe for pedestrians and bicyclists. With live music, bike decorating, sidewalk chalk drawing, and tasty food and drinks provided by the late (and lamented!) Vox Pop Café, this event had all the fixins’ of a summer block party. Helpful NYC biking guidelines provided by Transportation Alternatives and a pedestrian survey engaged guests in a discussion of street safety, particularly on Cortelyou and Stratford Roads. These surveys will be compiled to create a study that can be used to advocate on behalf of the community’s needs for safer streets.

Spring and Fall Street Tree Walking Tours

Fall 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour

This spring we held our fourth Street Tree Walking tour, now a semi-annual event. Local horticulturists Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardener) and Tracey Hohman led residents around Victorian Flatbush by foot, while giving a thorough account of the diverse local canopy. This event reminds us that streets are not separate from nature, but can in fact be places where one can connect to foliage. In addition to increasing knowledge and appreciation of the local environment, the walking tour impresses upon residents the important role street trees play in absorbing stormwater runoff, as well as filtering air pollutants released into the atmosphere. More recently we hosted the fall complement to the Street Tree Walking Tour series in late October. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and participants were guided along the streets of Flatbush by Chris and special guest Sam Bishop, Education Director at Trees New York. Sam and Chris described the identifying features of various tree species as well as some of the urban planning history that has shaped the current canopy. With over forty participants total, the fall walking tour was certainly a success!

It’s been quite  a busy year for SF, but the advocacy continues on without a doubt! Keep an eye out for our upcoming events and in the meantime consider these words from the NYC Department of Transportation’s May 2009-released Street Design Manual:

“The streets of New York are often seen as permanent fixtures of city life, and in some ways, they are. But our streets are also dynamic, and their character and uses can change as the city continually evolves and reinvents itself.”

And as residents, we have the right to a voice in how that evolution transpires.

Open House participants and storyboards (photo by Ernest Skinner)

I was very pleased with how knowledgeable and open about the process representatives were. One of my major concerns was that in one section of the route on Bedford Avenue the SBS bus and bicycles run in the same lane. One representative explained that the thought behind this portion of the design was that a wider bus lane would be able to accommodate both buses and bicycles. Within the bus lane there would be lines dividing the spaces that the bus and bicycle would use. The representatives also acknowledged the problem with the design and openly admitted that it is still being discussed and possibly reworked.

The highlights of the event were the delicious snacks and a working SBS bus outside of the event!

SBS bus! (photo by Ernest Skinner)

Dress up yourself, dress up your bike and come to our next Ditmas Ride this Friday (10/29) at 7:00 pm. Of course you can join us if you or your bike are not dressed up. We will meet in front of the Qathra Cafe on Cortelyou Road between Stratford and Westminster.

Please spread the word to other bicyclists who might be interested in cycling together. If you or your friends like to be kept in the loop then you can add yourself to the Ditmas Rides email list here. You can also subscribe to our RSS newsfeed.

The purpose of the Ditmas Rides is for us to have fun and to celebrate and spread a way of getting around we already enjoy. There is no planned route and we the participants will decide where we would like to go shortly before the ride starts. Ditmas Park has a lot of small streets so hopefully we can have a joyful and stress free rides. I myself am planning to bring my daughter Nona Lily along and hope that other parents will bring their children as well.

I am really looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

Thanks, Rene

P.S.: It would be nice if some of you could RSVP so we can wait for you if you end up a little late and be encouraged doing it since we know that there will be other people showing up as well.

WHAT: Ditmas Rides Costume Bicycle Ride
WHERE: Meet in front of Qathra Cafe, 1112 Cortelyou Road (between Westminster and Stratford)
WHEN: Friday, October 29th at 7pm

Bike helmet decorating (photo by Keka Marzagão)

Throughout the day, passers-by stopped in to chat, listen to various live music acts, decorate their bikes and helmets, pick up helpful NYC biking guidelines provided by Transportation Alternatives, decorate the sidewalks with chalk, get food and drink from Vox Pop Café, and most importantly, fill out our pedestrian survey requesting their opinions about the safety (or lack thereof) of Cortelyou and Stratford Roads. Everyone from toddlers to the elderly stopped by and took part in our party, which lasted from 10AM to about 6PM.

Along with the approximately 60 surveys that were filled out in person on Sunday, at least 40 more have been filled out online. Hopefully these can serve as further testament to the Department of Transportation that permanent action at this intersection is necessary, be it a four-way stop sign or a traffic light or some other design from their toolbox. As Cortelyou Road accrues more businesses and development, the number of pedestrians, cars and bicycles will only increase, which will make it that much more of a concern. I think that our Block Party was a great demonstration of a fun and creative way to take on issues on a community level that affect the whole city. Now if only we can have a block party for Queens Boulevard!

(UPDATE: We now have 140 surveys! Thanks to everyone who participated!)

I Love Brookln from our 2008 Newkirk Block Party (photo by Anne Pope)

Can’t make it to the party? Fill out our survey online and make your voice heard! Survey results will be shared with Community Board 14 and the NYC Department of Transportation, with the goal of bringing traffic calming infrastructure to Cortelyou Road.

Funding for this event provided by Citizens Committee for New York City’s Love Your (NYC) Block campaign

Flatbush Avenue (photo by wallyg)

This coming Monday night, June 28th, presents a great opportunity for local Livable Streets advocates to have some input on what the future design of Flatbush Avenue will look like!

See the invitation below (received from Assemblymember Rhoda Jacobs’ office) for a Public Input Session to discuss the Department of Transportation’s Flatbush Avenue Study, part of DOT’s Congested Corridors Project. The study area encompasses Flatbush Avenue from Empire to Nostrand Avenues, including the Flatbush/Nostrand Junction near Brooklyn College. (Apparently this study was initiated some time ago, since it refers to the Target store at the Junction as being “under development”.)

At the moment this major thoroughfare that cuts through so many of Brooklyn’s neighborhood’s is dangerous territory for pedestrians and bikes (a cyclist was killed at the intersection of Flatbush and Beverley only two months ago), and crossings are hazardous enough to effectively cut neighborhoods off from each other. Although street design appears to be a permanent and unchangeable part of the urban infrastructure, this is not actually the case, and the fact that DOT is studying this part of Brooklyn shows that they recognize the need for change.

Let’s dare to imagine and advocate for a Flatbush Avenue design that is welcoming to people instead of acting solely as a conduit for automobiles!

WHAT: Flatbush Avenue Congested Corridors Public Input Session
WHEN: Monday, June 28th from 7-9 pm (registration begins at 6:30)
WHERE: Erasmus Hall High School, Bedford Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues

Safety in Numbers
Bicycle commuting pack
Meet in front of the Flatbush Food Coop
1414 Cortelyou Road
Wednesday, June 10th, 7:30 am

If you would like to ride to work, you’re comfortable riding on streets, and you are a little scared, this is your opportunity to try commuting by bike.

Join me on my normal workday commute. We will leave from Cortelyou Road, ride through Prospect Park and go over the Brooklyn Bridge. The route is almost entirely on bike paths, the pace will be slow-ish, and we will be conservative with regard to traffic regulations.

Please be prompt, we will leave at 7:30.

This ride is not sponsored by any group or organization. Rain cancels.

If you have questions, please leave a message for Deb at 347-249-9667

Streetfilms are short videos that show living examples of streets and public spaces designed for people, where walking, biking, public transit, and fostering community are the priorities. Locations range from Copenhagen, Paris, Curitiba and Bogota to our own New York City. Discussion and party to follow, bring your friends!

Hosted by Vox Pop, cafe/bookstore/community space on Cortelyou Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Admission is free, food and drink will be available for purchase.

WHAT
An Evening of Streetfilms

WHEN
Wednesday June 10th at 8pm

WHERE
Vox Pop Cafe and Bookstore
1022 Cortelyou Road (corner of Stratford)
Flatbush, Brooklyn

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??”

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

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!