Sustainable Flatbush » Summer Streets http://sustainableflatbush.org Promoting sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:06:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Flatbush Bike Ride to Summer Streets! http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/19/flatbush-bike-ride-to-summer-streets/ http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/19/flatbush-bike-ride-to-summer-streets/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:49:11 +0000 anne http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=490

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)

]]> http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/19/flatbush-bike-ride-to-summer-streets/feed/ 3 Streetfilms: Summer Streets 2008 http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/11/streetfilms-summer-streets-2008/ http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/11/streetfilms-summer-streets-2008/#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:13:25 +0000 anne http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=480

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!

]]> http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/11/streetfilms-summer-streets-2008/feed/ 0 Summer Streets!!!! http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/10/summer-streets/ http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/10/summer-streets/#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:44:04 +0000 anne http://sustainableflatbush.org/?p=471 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:

- WCBS
- Gothamist
- NY1

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

]]> http://sustainableflatbush.org/2008/08/10/summer-streets/feed/ 0