Four strangers engaged in an intense Scrabble game at the busy corner of Atlantic Ave. and Court St. in Downtown Brooklyn, my first stop.

The Park(ing) spot on Montague St. in Brooklyn Heights was jam packed with teenagers from St. Anne's on their lunch break. These two played Connect Four.

The Montague St. spot was designed to accommodate all ages...

...and all species.

In Manhattan, this Park(ing) spot next to Noguchi's Red Cube on Broadway and Liberty offered fine halal food and a front row seat to the global financial metldown.

In Soho, on Thompson between Prince and Spring, DEGW's "City in a Box" spot was exceptionally pleasant.

Over on LaGuardia Place, a block away from NYU, the owner of Washington Square Wine and Liquor argued with these Park(ers) from the Center for Architecture that the loss of this parking spot was hurting his business. Forget that only six percent of Soho shopping trips are done by car -- I didn't have the heart to tell this upstanding merchant that if he's having trouble selling liquor on a Friday afternoon in the middle of a college campus, Park(ing) Day is the least of his problems.  

There was less controversy on Sixth Ave. near W. 4th St. where NYU Wagner School students sunned themselves, tossed beanbags and provided cool drinks to passersby.

Christine Berthet and Ian Dutton (standing and talking at left) represented Manhattan Community Boards 2 and 4 over on Eighth Ave. and 14th St. That's Ian's wife Shea on the bench with the incredible red hair.

And explaining all of this to New Yorkers via NY1 was Streetswiki producer Lily Bernheimer at The Open Planning Project's super-high concept "Open Source City Park" spot on 8th Ave. and 15th St.

Manhattan Community Board 4's transportation committee unanimously approved DOT's plan to install a physically-separated bike path on Eighth Avenue in Lower Manhattan. The committee enthusiastically recommended the plan to the full board on Wednesday. The board then voted to ignore their own committee and block the plan. Apparently, some members feel that complete streets and safe bike infrastructure are somehow incompatible with the neighborhood's gay-friendly environment. Chelsea Now has the play-by-play:

Board member Allen Roskoff was more specific. “I refer to Eighth Ave. between 14th and 23rd Streets as ‘Gay Boulevard,’ he said. “Large numbers of gay people go there… It’s where we feel at home. … The atmosphere there—the restaurants, the activity, the people walking— it’s a home to many of us that no other avenue is. I don’t think these changes are for the positive in any way, shape or form.”

Which reminds me... Have you looked in to joining your local Community Board lately? This kind of thing is going to keep happening until either the Community Board system is overhauled or we get more Ian Dutton's, Christine Berthet's and Teresa Toro's serving on local boards.

The DOT's plan for a pilot project on Eighth Avenue, which can be downloaded here, mirrors the complete street redesign of Ninth Avenue one block to the west. The Eighth Avenue bike lane also runs through part of CB2, which unanimously approved the project last month.

It's also worth noting that outcry against the bike lane at CB4 was not at all universal and that Community Boards only have advisory power. DOT can go ahead with the project with or without the board's support. Again, from Chelsea Now:

Board member David Hanzel observed that “walking down Ninth Ave., I think it’s an improved experience.” He said there’s less traffic, fewer cars making sharp turns, and it’s “more of a leisurely stroll now.”

Hanzel was seconded by longtime member Bob Trentlyon, who observed that the discussion was the “most retro conversation I’ve heard at a board meeting in a long time. … There must be two Ninth Aves., because the Ninth Ave. I see, the traffic is moving very smoothly along… There are no businesses that have gone out of business since this has happened; there are more people starting to use the bike lanes.”

A leading pedestrian interval, or LPI, lights up the pedestrian signal a few seconds before vehicular traffic gets the green. This gives pedestrians a head start into the intersection and makes it less likely that they will be hit by vehicles turning into the crosswalk. LPI's are also known by their sassier nickname, Pedestrian Head Start. But in my view the best variation on what LPI stands for comes from Christine Berthet of the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, who proposes "Life Preserving Interval."

Transportation Alternatives has recently begun a push to make these more common in New York City. Here's hoping our video (featuring some nice visuals from TOPP's own Carly Clark) can help argue the case.

The garage, situated near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, will add more traffic to the already-congested streets of Hell's Kitchen, but its approval has strengthened calls to review similar permits more carefully in the future. "There are some positives," said Christine Berthet of the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition (CHEKPEDS) in an email message. "The Borough President's office, the City Planning Commission, and the council all have special permits on their radar, and the commission indicated they are ready to do 'something about parking.' The Speaker is also interested in a long term action."

As a 2005 re-zoning leads to a surge in development around the West Side railyards, adopting stricter standards for the approval of special permits could prevent a concurrent boom in parking. The leniency of the current approval process, said Berthet, flies in the face of the city's goals for air quality and traffic reduction, and approving a flurry of permits now would saddle the neighborhood with parking facilities for years. "The special permit is like radioactive material," she said. "It remains toxic for a very long time."

Photo of traffic on 10th Avenue: SarahNYC/Flickr

A bill intended to step up enforcement against drivers who block the box made it through the state legislature last Thursday. While the measure is not expected to play a major role in traffic reduction, it should improve conditions for pedestrians and residents on some of New York's most congested streets, as long as agents follow through on strict enforcement.

The bill reclassifies blocking the box from a moving violation to a parking violation, a switch that enables all 2800 of the city's traffic agents to issue citations for the offense. Previously, only cops and a small number of agents had that ability. The bill also bumps up the penalty from $50 to $115.

In a 2006 study conducted by Borough President Scott Stringer's office [PDF], more than 3,000 blocking the box violations were observed at 10 locations in Manhattan during a single nine-hour period, but no driver received a ticket.

At the worst locations -- near the entrances to the Lincoln and Holland tunnels -- box-blocking vehicles clog the crosswalk constantly during peak hours. "That is a huge part of complaints on Varick Street and Broome Street, where pedestrians can't get across the intersection," said Ian Dutton of the Community Board 2 transportation committee, which passed a resolution in favor of the bill last Tuesday. "This is a beginning step to make the enforcement more comprehensive."

Near the Lincoln Tunnel, the river of traffic can sometimes form a continuous queue on Ninth Avenue, spilling over into cross streets. "Everybody's blocking everybody," said Christine Berthet of the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety (ChekPeds). "You see the backup going from 36th to 57th Street on Saturday and Sunday nights."

The fact that no one wants to give up their spot in the queue causes problems for first responders. Engine 34 and Ladder 21, for instance, often face delays leaving the firehouse on 38th Street because intersections are blocked.

Then there are the noise problems. "From a quality of life standpoint," said Berthet, "you can barely function inside your apartment because the honking becomes unbearable. Residents have had to call police because people get out from their cars and get into fistfights, it's so infuriating."

She hopes that stepped up enforcement will impose some order on the situation, noting that the new law will only be effective if agents shift their focus accordingly. "It's a conflict between giving the tickets out and moving cars," she said. "I just hope the NYPD will really educate the agents to change their priorities. That's going to be a cultural change that's welcome."

While clamping down on one type of traffic violation pales in comparison to what Albany has rejected during the current legislative session, even this relatively minor measure has aroused indignation among many drivers, if the attitudes captured by NY1 last week are any indication:

"I think only cops should be able to give the tickets to be honest with you," said one driver.

"I think with this kind of congestion, it's very difficult to implement such a law, and it wouldn't be fair," said another.

"I think, like most drivers, we just don't like the traffic agents," said a third.

Photo: Claire's overseas/Flickr

Two weeks ago Streetsblog reported on the glut of public parking garages being built in Hell's Kitchen, which threatens to worsen traffic conditions in one of New York's most congested neighborhoods. The City Planning Commission could have set a precedent last Friday by denying a developer's request to build a 400-car public garage as part of a mixed-use project at 310-328 West 38th Street. Only 232 parking spaces would have been allowed without the special permit.

Instead, the commission approved the request. Despite the objections of community representatives, the only restriction imposed was to reserve most of the spaces for monthly parking. In its report [PDF], the commission asserts that streets near the new building "will be adequate to handle the traffic" generated by the garage. The analysis fails to consider the aggregate amount of parking in Hell's Kitchen, and flies in the face of DOT's efforts to improve the neighborhood's streets for pedestrians, says Christine Berthet of the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition (CHEKPEDS).

"It's particularly egregious considering what we know about 37th Street," which carries cars heading toward the outbound Lincoln Tunnel, she adds. "The mitigation proposed as monthly parking demonstrates they have no clue on the science of parking, as monthly parking attracts commuters and discourages shoppers -- the worst case scenario."

The 38th Street garage, and others like it planned for Hell's Kitchen, are "a terrific example of the 'nibbling effect' that Jane Jacobs wrote about," whereby concessions to cars gradually multiply to erode the pedestrian environment, says Nick Peterson of the planning firm Alex Garvin & Associates.

The developer, Glenwood Management, will undergo one more stage of public review, needing approval at a June 18th session of the City Council to get the green light for the garage. Since the current review process appears to conflict with the sustainability goals of PlaNYC, Berthet believes it would make more sense for developers to appeal to DOT, not City Planning, for special parking permits. For now, this looks like another case of parking politics winning out over sensible policy.

Photo of a garage in the upper 50s between First Ave and Second Ave: lewisarothkopf/Flickr

If there's one thing a neighborhood overrun by traffic doesn't need, it's more public parking garages. But that's exactly what New Yorkers who live by the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel will get if the City Planning Commission allows current development patterns to continue.

Case in point: In January, the developer Glenwood Management requested permission to build a 400-car parking garage attached to a new residential property in Hell's Kitchen. The application -- for 310-328 West 38th Street -- is the latest in a string of special permit requests to build parking in the area. It is currently pending before the City Planning Commission, which is scheduled to render a decision on June 6th. If the commission turns down the application, it could signal an important shift in the ongoing redevelopment of Hell’s Kitchen, which has seen a wave of new construction since a 2005 rezoning took effect.

The last time Streetsblog looked at the parking situation in Hell's Kitchen, local activists were fighting a provision in the new zoning that enabled substantially greater quantities of accessory parking -- spaces intended for building residents or commercial tenants. That battle is still playing out in court. The recent rash of permit requests represents another front in the effort to keep cars from overwhelming the neighborhood's streets.

A number of new buildings include plans for parking that exceed the amount allowed for residents. Glenwood Management, for instance, is only permitted to build 232 spaces for residents -- 114 under the pre-2005 zoning, according to local activists. The additional spaces will then be used by the developer as a public garage. At issue throughout Hell's Kitchen, in essence, is whether the city will allow developers to include public parking garages in new buildings without restriction.

"These regulations were put in place in 1973, more than a generation ago, and I don't think City Planning has ever denied any of those [requests]," says Christine Berthet of the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition (CHEKPEDS). "As long as each public garage meets the guidelines, they approve it." What gets left out of the discussion is the total effect of those garages on traffic and air quality, she notes. "They never look at it as an aggregate."

In the case of Hell's Kitchen, that aggregate is poised to grow at a rapid clip. Already this year, developers have proposed building garages in the neighborhood totaling more than 500 parking spaces, Berthet estimates. With hundreds of new buildings planned on the West Side, she believes the trend will spiral out of control if left unchecked.

The effect on local streets could be considerable, in terms of both traffic generation and the pedestrian environment. "The Department of City Planning doesn't seem to take seriously the fact that parking generates traffic," says Nick Peterson, a vice president at planning firm Alex Garvin & Associates, "but if a new garage opens on a block that provides a net increase of 200 parking spaces, that's 200 cars that weren't there before. It's pretty obvious that new cars are on the road as a result." As for the pedestrian environment, he adds, "A parking garage is a dead space along the sidewalk -- there is no reason to go in and out of a parking garage except to park or pick up your car."

Traffic heads west on 37th Street towards the Lincoln Tunnel.

The garages in Hell’s Kitchen will be especially tempting to commuters exiting the Lincoln Tunnel. The neighborhood is already one of the most congested in the city and suffers the third highest asthma hospitalization rate among Manhattan's twelve community board districts. New parking facilities will only compound the problem by inducing more commuter traffic.

That is not the intent of the planning commission, which considers traffic volumes as well as demand for parking when it grants developers' requests, but observers say induced commuter driving will undoubtedly result. "There is often this disconnect between the planned condition and reality," says Peterson. "When you walk down a street and see a parking garage in a residential building, does the sign say, ‘Parking for Residents Only’? No. It says, simply, ‘Parking’ or ‘Public Parking.’"

When reached for comment, a Department of City Planning spokesperson referred to a commission report (PDF) on a recent parking application, which states that new garages are needed to offset the loss of parking incurred by new development, and to accommodate the influx of new residents.

Berthet takes issue with this stance because it assumes that existing parking lots were intended to serve as parking in perpetuity. In fact, she notes, the lots that are about to get displaced were supposed to serve as placeholders until developers could assemble parcels to build on. "They were not intended to be permanent fixtures," she says.

Meanwhile, DOT has committed to the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Traffic Study, evaluating measures to, among other things, improve pedestrian safety in the neighborhood. The hesitation on the part of the planning commission to deny developers' parking requests seems at odds with DOT's efforts to tame traffic as well as Mayor Bloomberg's long-term sustainability agenda, but there are signs the commission may adopt a position more consistent with the goals of other agencies.

"In the last two hearings that we went to, we could see that the City Planning Commission is moving in its position," says Berthet. The commission has been more willing to place restrictions on new parking facilities, she notes. The report mentioned above, for example, required a development on 11th Avenue to provide monthly parking instead of the usual hourly parking -- a small step, but one that may signal more significant changes to come.

Before rendering its decision on the 11th Avenue garage, "the commission took into account the concerns about traffic, the decreasing supply of parking and the proposed use of the parking," said a department spokesperson in an email message. "The traffic analysis was based on a large share of the proposed parking spaces to be used by local residents. Accordingly, the commission required the garage to provide for monthly rather than largely hourly parking. This will serve local residents and businesses but reduce transient traffic."

In addition to weighing its priorities differently, the planning department should work more closely with other city agencies, Berthet says. Specifically, she’d like to see tighter coordination between the officials making transportation decisions and the ones making land use decisions. "Where you need parking is really a transportation issue," she says, especially when that parking will be used by commuters and other non-residents.

Making these long-term changes will not be easy. Peterson notes that the planning department is subject to pressures from community boards, which tend to favor more off-street parking. And some of the most effective ways to better manage parking supply, like raising the tax on spaces, lie outside the department’s control.

But for now, the planning commission has the authority to curb the quantity of parking being added to Hell’s Kitchen, if it so chooses. Without a swift change to current practice, developments winning permits today are likely to generate traffic far into the future. Even if the city zoning text is eventually amended to put a stop to the proliferation of public parking, dozens of garages in the neighborhood will get approved in the meantime. "We may have a nice law at the end, but what are we going to do with all this parking that gets built between now and then?" Berthet asks. "We will be stuck with it for the rest of our lives."

Photos: CHEKPEDS

Streetfilms' Elizabeth Press was in attendance this week at the New York Historical Society where neighborhood activists, professional planners, and experienced advocates gathered to share their secrets on how New Yorkers can transform the public realm. The event was hosted by NYC Streets Renaissance and was moderated by Streetsblog editor Aaron Naparstek.

Panelists included:

• Christine Berthet (Clinton Hells Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety)
  
• Joshua David (Friends of the High Line)
  
• Penny Lee (Department of City Planning)
  
• Milton Puryear (Brooklyn Greenway Initiative)
  
• Paul Steely White (Transportation Alternatives)
  
• Robert Witherwax (Grand Army Plaza Coalition)
  
• Chauncy Young (Highbridge Community Life Center)

Here are some highlights.

What can you do to reduce automobile dependence and improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders in New York City? As an individual with finite time, energy and resources, how can you make a Livable Streets revolution happen in your own neighborhood?

On Monday I'll be moderating a panel discussion with eight of New York City's most successful neighborhood change-makers. They'll be sharing inspiring stories and practical advice on what it takes to transform the public realm.

If you're interested in getting more involved with New York City's growing Livable Streets movement or you have ideas for changes you'd like to see made in your own corner of the city, don't miss this event. Seating is limited, so RSVP now.

6:00 pm: Panel discussion
8:00 pm: Reception and exhibit

This event is free and open to the public but seating is limited.
Please RSVP online

Panelists include:

• Christine Berthet (Clinton Hells Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety)
• Joshua David (Friends of the High Line)
• Penny Lee (Department of City Planning)
• Milton Puryear (Brooklyn Greenway Initiative)
• Paul Steely White (Transportation Alternatives)
• Robert Witherwax (Grand Army Plaza Coalition)
• Elizabeth Yeampierre (United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park)
• Chauncy Young (Highbridge Community Life Center)

Today, StreetFilms debuts Street Stars, the first of many planned vignettes for 2008 which will focus on the amazing organizers in our communities who are fighting constructively for livable streets. Hopefully, these Stars will provide a road map for change and inspire others to work to transform their neighborhoods.

Their first choice is Christine Berthet, co-founder of Chekpeds, the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition. Together with Transportation Alternatives and the Project for Public Spaces, she was also instrumental in organizing the Ninth Avenue Renaissance, a movement to re-imagine neighborhood streets as a healthier place for people. She is an indefatigable advocate working hard for the community, organizing rallies, and is omnipresent at community hearings and testifying at City Hall.

According to surveys conducted in Hell's Kitchen: 75 percent said that they were afraid for their safety because of motor vehicle traffic, 5 percent because of crime.

The New York City Council's Transportation and Technology in Government committees are conducting a joint hearing this afternoon on Council Member Vincent Gentile's accident reporting and review bill, Introduction 567 of 2007. The legislation would require long-sought changes in the way that the NYPD and DOT report and investigate pedestrian injuries and fatalities:

• The New York Police Department to forward all accident reports involving a pedestrian or a pattern of motor vehicle accidents to the Department of Transportation for analysis and overview within five days from the accident.
• The Department of Transportation would study the location and look to improve safety at that location. Study will be started within seven days from receipt of the report.
• The study result would be forwarded to Community Board and Elected Officials from the accident area within 5 days form completion.

While some of the details of the legislation will need to be improved before these rules can be implemented by city agencies, it is critical that these improvements move forward. Currently, pedestrian injury and fatality data is handled as if it were some sort of state secret and the way that the NYPD handles pedestrian injury and fatality investigations is a downright embarrassment to New York City.

Likewise, it is incredibly difficult to get the NYPD to cough up information about specific pedestrian crashes, even if you are the family members of a crash victim. Unlike crime statistics, which are openly published on every police precinct web site monthly, car crash data is nowhere to be found.

Advocacy organizations and civic groups have no way to know what the most dangerous intersections are in New York City neighborhoods, which means we often don't really know where to focus pedestrian safety resources. This is particularly troublesome since we know that somewhere around 50 percent of all crashes involving fatalities or serious injuries to pedestrians occur at ten percent of the city's intersections. It is long past time for the city to collect this data properly and then put it out there so that communities and city agencies can make rational policy and improvements where they are needed. 

There will be a rally on the steps of City Hall at 12:45pm today, just ahead of the Council hearing. Christine Berthet of CHEKPEDS is urging Livable Streets advocates to show up. She writes:

Only two weeks ago we held a memorial for Kumo, an eight year old who was hit by a speeding car. It was not an "accident." It is part of a deadly pattern. This bill is a crucial step in our fight to bring focus and urgency to the prevention of pedestrian casualties. Your presence and support are very important.