Eguahé porá*
And welcome to this newsletter.
It's where I (John Surico) talk each month about cities & all their contents: streets, environment, energy, cultures, people, food, form, etc. Thanks for being here, and hope you enjoy your time!
Greetings from 2023!
Above all else, I hope you’ve had a break. Time to zone out; turn off the news, email, Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Telegram, Signal (I could keep going… we’re distracted; that’s the point); and just be—with family, friends and loved ones. I know I did. And it felt… good!
I’ve been saying to a few people that this has felt like a very January January. I didn’t stop drinking or eating meat (I now do these both in moderation after past attempts!), but the month has felt like one big reset button on several projects, which I’ll have more updates on soon. And all of this rain-not-snow in New York has lent plenty of downtime to catch up, which feels like a virtue nowadays. Hopefully the center holds.
That strange self-help tangent aside, two exciting updates to Streetbeat!
The first is voluntary subscriptions. I’ll never charge anyone to read this newsletter, but recently, a subscriber pledged money anyway. That was very kind of them. So if you wanted to as well, that’s now possible—I’ve added the ability to send some dollars through subscription levels. Again, nothing will change for readers; Streetbeat is a labor of love, and will stay that way. But yes, now you can donate to me. (And thank you, Peter, for the launch pledge.)
The second is a new section: On the Radar. This will replace ‘City in Spotlight.’ Whenever I have a hard time thinking of an entry for a section, this, to me, is usually a sign that it’s trite. This was happening with said section. That’s not to say that there aren’t enough cities doing some innovative work—in fact, there are too many! But I’d rather talk about a piece of media (an article, book, documentary, movie, etc.) that shows—rather than tells—us this. So even though I don’t love when writers tell me how much they’re reading or watching—I mean, who really does?—we now have a recco section!
Enjoy, folks! And let me know what you think.
Back in the classroom
You really only have a few weeks off as a teacher. After a rush of grading in December, early January is consumed with syllabus tweaks, intro emails and assignments. And then, bam—it’s the first day. While I teach more of the 101 for reporting at NYU in the fall—which, last year, produced some really great and inspired stories—the spring sees the course I created that advises prospective journalists on how to write about the biggest challenges facing New York City, from its widening housing crisis to the growing pile of threats common for a rapidly warming planet. And the first class was already chockfull of good conversation about what this city looks like in the coming years. (Folks, Gen Z is very worried about affordability.) This is the capstone, so students work towards a 3,000-word magazine-length story—their undergraduate magnum opus, to some extent—over our five months together. Stay tuned on what emerges.
The popularity of Paseo Park
I was thrilled to hear that my August 2022 piece for Project for Public Spaces on New York’s Paseo Park—which was described as the city’s first Barcelona-sized ‘super-block’ by a supportive elected official—was the site’s most read article last year. Turns out the city’s ‘most exciting new public space’ lived up to its name: folks have asked to use my photos; other publications have shared the article, or directly quoted it; and it’s been used as an advocacy tool by local organizations.
Since the article, the project has only grown. Its signature feature—of plazas and shared streets sited in front of schools, which double as a traffic calming measure by cutting through traffic—has been added to the beginning and end of the 34th Ave Open Street, effectively dead-ending the 20-block thoroughfare. Chicanes, or odd street shapes to slow drivers, are at nearly every intersection. And much more furniture and planters have been sprinkled throughout.
The Paseo Park is the city’s largest full-scale permanent redesign based on a pandemic-era initiative, and likely one they’ll be showcasing around for a while. They’re proud of it, and not afraid to say it. The project expanded the DOT’s ‘toolkit,’ combining some previous iterations of bike lanes and curb extensions while adding some completely new ones. And, most notably, it wasn’t in Manhattan. Now, the question worth asking: where to next?
Public realm progress
For the last few months, I’ve been part of conversations with the Alliance for Public Space Leadership, a newly formed alliance between some of New York’s most prominent voices for livable cities. Like what we’ve seen with parks, the pandemic’s emphasis on public space (streets, sidewalks, plazas, etc.), or lack thereof, has instigated partnerships not seen before, inviting a new variety of fields into this amalgam of urban planning and design. Since, of course, a city’s built environment affect all of its residents, to some degree.
That said, the Alliance officially launched its website on the same day that it scored a major victory: in his first State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams echoed full support for a Director of the Public Realm, a long-sought goal of advocates and planners alike. The new office would be the point person for the city’s portfolio of space, tying in the alphabet soup of agencies who interface with it everyday. (And prevent things like having to uproot a new plaza because, whoops, we forgot the water main needs fixin’.)
I encourage y’all to check it out, and follow their work.
OSA: In hibernation
We’ve entered what we keep calling the ‘off-season.’ The few months where the weekend—what we’re hosting, organizing, scheduling, and permitting for on the Open Street—doesn’t consume the week. That gives us some breathing room to sit with our achievements and plan for the future a bit.
Even without regular programming, there’s still plenty to do. We’re fine-tuning the processes by which we do *waves to the entire world* everything, thanks to the immense help of a dedicated volunteer who is also an Airtable pro. We’re strategizing campaigns to further beautify the two blocks, like adding art to our newly installed curbside bike corral, or upgrading the trash bins so they’re not wide open to the elements. (Writing this as 30-mph gusts rattle my windows.) We’re continuing to formalize decision-making, now that we’re a registered non-profit with an actual bank account. And we’re talking to everyone and anyone, to see how we can improve or tee up the next season.
Similar local groups I regularly speak with—who felt burnout during pandemic highs and a sort of morale afterglow—are dedicating 2023 to getting what they do right, and not going beyond their capacity. We’re on the same boat. And having the time off has been a great way to refocus our efforts in ways big and small, all with the intent of making our lives easier come springtime.
Bright Side: Offset it all
I’ve said this before in this newsletter, but I have a big affinity for multi-purpose infrastructure. In other words: a piece of our environment—either human-made, or natural—that has more than one function. It’s a win-win; bang for your buck; two-for-one; etc. And we know that green space—trees, grass, flowers, preserves, lakes, ponds, etc.—are perfect examples. They clean our air. They’re carbon sinks. They retain stormwater. They add to biodiversity. They make communities safer. They even add to your property value. What’s not to love?
But a recent study painted, for me, the most vivid picture to date of their localized potential for the environment. Researchers at Columbia University found that, on some summer days—when you can really feel the sweat and steam of humankind cooking the planet—all that green offsets the entirety of the city’s traffic emissions. You heard that correctly: every single bit of carbon put into the atmosphere by cars, buses and trucks is essentially taken out of the atmosphere by our parks and green spaces.
Now, to be fair: there are more emissions than just what’s coming out of tailpipes. (In fact, the brunt for New York is coming from buildings like the one I’m writing this in.) Transit is just one toe of our very large carbon footprint. But consider the numbers: trees, at the current rate, only cover 22 percent of the city, and vegetation, like shrubbery and grass, 12 percent. Now, Imagine what’d happen if we added even more?
On the Radar
The Library Book, by Susan Orlean
I spent years researching how libraries can complement cities. I find myself in them often, and have worked at one in the past. I am fully bought into the idea that they can help mend our societal divides. (These are one of the only trusted institutions we’ve got left, people!) And I’m proud that I count librarians amongst family members. With that being said, Orlean does an absolutely wondrous job spinning yarn on them, using an epic fire in Los Angeles to dive deep into the idea of what a free public place of knowledge—a revolutionary idea, upon reflection—means in the modern age. Lover of libraries or not, this is one you can appreciate, from the everyday minutiae of the city library staff’s lives to the lively history of a downtown hallmark, throttled by change outside and within.
(Thank you, Jill, for passing it along.)
Public Space of the Month: January 2023 Edition
What: Windows for Love
Where: Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Features: I haven’t featured (enough) street art in this section, and that’s a mistake. Art and public space go hand-in-hand: murals, paintings and curated graffiti have the potential to brighten corridors and attract eyeballs, which, in turn, activate spaces by bringing people. So this month, credit goes to TIMUR, an Uzbeki-born New Yorker who took to street art during the pandemic. Quieter streets turned Manhattan into a canvas for him, he told me, and he wanted to use the moment to boost public morale. The result—’Windows to Love’—has spread over the window panels of the Bleecker Tower, a stunning brick building which once saw the largest bank robbery in U.S. history. Even if that history feels all but erased, the art installation has reanimated its walls for a different purpose. It will soon leave with a new tenant, but TIMUR is hoping to take the work to other buildings around the borough.
Want to shout out a public space? Submit it here!
Streetbeat Gig Board
Because transit and environmental issues are interconnected, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is looking for someone to work on clean mobility choices in the South. (Atlanta or Charlotte)
The nifty, nerdy Metropolitan New York Library Council is hiring a program manager to build up their new Digital Equity Research Center. (Remote)
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy has a few openings: Senior Director of Development; Finance and Operations Manager; and Park Event Associates. (New York City)
Housing is all the rage, and the Lewis Center at UCLA needs a housing data person to join them. (Los Angeles)
My pals at Center for an Urban Future are in need of a Deputy Policy Director. (New York City)
The London borough of Newham—home to huge projects, like Stratford and the Royal Docks—is looking for a principal planner in policy. (London)
My good friends at Queens Botanical Garden are hiring a gardener, communications manager and a garden maintainer. Some part-time gigs and internships, too! (New York City)