Comments on: Happy Independence Day

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:35:10 +0000

Aha! The art of bribery to get Streetfilms to come cover an event. I like it.

By: Heffron

Heffron — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:51:02 +0000

Clarence, if the stars align right we might have a sketch artist doing free caricatures at our block party in Sunnyside on August 10th (permit permitting). Maybe you can get your mug made into art then.

By: Angus Grieve-Smith

Angus Grieve-Smith — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:20:47 +0000

Thanks, Clarence! That picture is the work of the graphic artist Patricia Dorfman, who I introduced you to in March. I'm very pleased with it too!

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:19:26 +0000

Angus,

Wow that is one spiffy icon photo. You have really brought a touch of class to streetsblog. Maybe I need to hire someone to sketch me.

By: Angus Grieve-Smith

Angus Grieve-Smith — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:54:57 +0000

I spent the day on a bus touring the La Romana province of the Dominican Republic – and a couple hours at the beach. It really seems like you can get everywhere in this country by public transportation. Sorry to be missing the fireworks, but happy Fourth to all!

By: Fendergal

Fendergal — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:15:30 +0000

I rode to City Island and back on my bike. Used a good chunk of the Moshulu/Pelham Park greenway. Ate a brownie sundae and bad fried food. Got rained on a little.

By: Urbanis

Urbanis — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:28:57 +0000

Hey Andy B,

If your car sits in your driveway most of the time, why not save yourself the costs of ownership and just rent one when you need it for your backpacking trips?

By: Andy B from Jersey

Andy B from Jersey — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:46:20 +0000

Vroomfondel, I own a car so I CAN go backpacking in remote places like that Adirondacks but for most of the time it just sits in my driveway and I ride my bike and/or take the train to where I need to go.

A car is simply a tool that is very good at doing some types of trips and very bad at doing others; like drive into Midtown Manhattan or a destination 3 miles away and easily accessible by bicycle. I don’t think there is anything wrong with cars when they are used for what they are best suited. It is just the misuse and overuse of cars that is troublesome and that is in many places at probably at least 50% of all trips.

By: Vroomfondel

Vroomfondel — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:06 +0000

Thanks, B-Rand, I’m feeling better now:)

What still bugs me, though, is the sheer inefficiency of whole endeavor. I’ve got the car for four days, but I’ll only drive it for two or three hours on Friday morning, then it’ll sit at the trailhead for three and a half days, and then I’ll be driving back two or three hours on Monday night. There ought be a better way…

By: B-Rand

B-Rand — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:13:29 +0000

No shame in renting a car. You don’t drive everyday so don’t worry about it!

By: Tom Rorb

Tom Rorb — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:13:07 +0000

da -

You should float the idea to your neighbors by showing Streetfilms like this one. THEN, they might be more inclined to come around!

By: Vroomfondel

Vroomfondel — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:56:02 +0000

To my eternal shame, I’ll be celebrating by renting a car. Why is it that the only time I feel the need to drive or eat processed food is when I’m going backpacking? In my defense, I’m trying to minimize the drive; I’m taking the train to Albany, and then I’m renting a car out of Albany for the last few miles into the Adirondacks. If there’s a better way to get to the trailheads, I’d definitely like to hear about it.

By: da

da — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:20:37 +0000

I’ve floated the idea of a block party to my Park Slope neighbors.

The ones without cars, like me, think it’s a great idea.

But, sadly, the folks with cars mostly think it’s too much trouble having to move their cars out of the way to make room for a party! How depressing.