Aaron Naparstek
AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.
Recent Posts
Bloomberg Sustainability Announcement
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As we reported this morning, Mayor Bloomberg is in California with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to make a major policy announcement on a major, long-term, environmental sustainability initiative. The key components of the Mayor’s plan include: The creation of the Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability. The undertaking of a major greenhouse gas inventory for City […]
State of California Sues Carmakers on Climate Change
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If you think Eliot Spitzer picked some tough fights as Attorney General, check out this guy Lockyer in California: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California filed a global warming lawsuit on Wednesday against Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and three other automakers, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have cost the state millions of dollars. […]
Streetsblog Interview: Ryan Russo
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Ryan Russo is the New York City Department of Transportation’s Director for Street Management and Safety, a newly-created job that he started in July. Previously, Russo worked as DOT’s Downtown Brooklyn Transportation Coordinator where he was instrumental in designing and developing a number of improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and more livable streets (PDF file) over the last three years. Streetsblog caught up […]
Bill Clinton’s Reading List: Richard Heinberg
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This week’s New Yorker has a lengthy profile of Bill Clinton by David Remnick. The article is not available online but this Q&A with Remnick is. Check out what Clinton was reading around the time of the World Cup this summer: [Clinton’s] taste in fiction, although I don’t think it’s limited to this, seems to […]
Richard Heinberg: Saudi Oil Supply May be Crashing
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Richard Heinberg, whose latest book "The Oil Depletion Protocol" aims to help citizens and municipalities deal with the increasing likelihood of global energy supply disruptions, publishes an excellent monthly newsletter called "Muse Letter." The latest issue focuses mainly on the recent Israeli-Hezbollah conflict — not exactly within Streetsblog’s purview — but it also contains a potentially critical piece of news about global […]
Sneak Preview of Bloomberg’s 21st Century Urban Vision
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As reported in today’s Observer a team working under Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff has, for the last year or so, been secretly developing a sweeping, new urban planning vision for New York City. In its scope and ambition, the Observer compares the plan to the 1811 layout of Manhattan’s street grid system and the 1929 […]
Hillary Feels Staten Island’s Pain on Traffic
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While transportation issues are clearly not very high up on Mayor Bloomberg’s agenda, at least one New York elected official is acknowledging that the city has major traffic problems in need of big solutions. At last week’s Staten Island Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Clinton focused almost exclusively on transportation issues, according to the Advance: From scorning Staten […]
Bloomberg on Oil Dependence: Punditry or Policy?
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The Daily News reports that Mayor Bloomberg made his first public statements about U.S. oil dependency on his radio show last week: This constant dependence on oil is something that leaves this country vulnerable every day. Two reasons. One, what happens if it gets cut off overseas? We’re never going to have enough capacity domestically. […]
No Wonder the NYPD is Cracking Down on Bikes
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Reuters reports, Bicycle and oil deals cement Chavez’s ties to Iran: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez enveloped his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a bear hug on Sunday and the two men backed their anti-U.S. rhetoric with deals on everything from bicycles to oil.
We’re in Good Hands With Allstate
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Above: A message from Allstate, the company that recently stopped renewing New York City home insurance policies due to the increasing risk of global warming-induced hurricanes. Spotted on Broadway near 9th Street.
Car Ownership Cost Calculator
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The Volvo has stolen $214,177.23 from our son’s college education. Calculate how many grande latte’s you could be buying with the money you spent on that last muffler job: "The Real Costs of Car Ownership."