Tashi delek*
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. This month, we cover:
- What a warm winter is doing to urban parks;
- Creating a one-stop shop for the public realm;
- The invisibility of our urban world;
& much, much more.
Hello, folks!
I’ll be keeping these intros brief going forward; I’ve got plenty to say in the rest of the newsletter, and a preamble feels redundant. Instead, I’ll be using this space to mention any tweaks or updates. And this month, we have two:
First, takeaways. One bit I’ve always enjoyed about Azeem Azhar’s Exponential View is the brief bullet points at the top of each edition that tell the reader what they’re going to get if they keep scrolling. So, I’m taking a page from his playbook. This should act like a chapter list; it’ll be in the same order of the newsletter, if you want to jump to anything quick. And going forward, I’ll be using the sub-header to ask one of that month’s key questions.
Second, thank you’s. We now have a number of paid subscribers, and I want to take the time to show my deepest appreciation here. Again, Streetbeat is a labor of love, and always will be. (Remember: this is completely voluntary.) But for folks who recognize it as something more than that—I salute ye.
Now, onto some news:
In Memoriam
Like many of my neighbors this month, I was shocked, saddened and, ultimately, enraged by the news that Dolma Naadhum, a 7-year-old, was killed when crossing the street—the one she lived on—and hit by a driver blowing a stop sign. The culprit, who was behind the wheel of an SUV with a learner’s permit, stayed at the scene but hasn’t been charged. The crash is under investigation.
The intersection where it happened, at Newtown Road and 45th St., is around the corner from where Angela and I live. We walk down it each week; we have friends who live there and the subway is nearby. The off-grid path provides a backroad to all points east, but its angular configuration fills it with blind spots. It also doesn’t help that it’s perfectly legal to park passed the stop line. (See above.) This is a state-sanctioned design that makes someone like Dolma—or anyone, for that matter—difficult to see.
But what hurts the most is that its danger is no secret. Browse the NYCDOT ticketing system, and you’ll see repeated requests for stop signs, stop lights, speed bumps, and other traffic calming measures up and down the block. (I wrote about my own efforts nearby for Streetsblog about a year ago—issues which, to my knowledge, still haven’t been addressed.) But they went unheard, and responses half-baked: a crosswalk unfinished because of a parked car (also above); a pedestrian priority sign covered by a bush.
Federal regulations, which pit traffic efficiency against pedestrian safety, hinder what the city can install, no matter the public outcry. This might explain why a stoplight—the most basic of requests being pushed by Dolma’s family, school and elected officials—is a no-go. Instead, the city is opting for ‘No Standing’ signs, which will remove parked cars close to the crossing. But the rest of Newtown, which has the same setup, remains untouched—and just as vulnerable to a repeat offense. And it shouldn’t take a kid’s death to learn our lesson.
A walk in the Park
This month, I wrapped up my year-long residency at the Central Park Conservancy’s Institute for Urban Parks. The Institute was created a decade ago to share the Conservancy’s wealth of best practices and resources with other park groups city- and nation-wide. I was brought on to help put some of that work into writing, and expand the scope into different spheres of open space.
And we did a lot together! We formalized recommendations for how to redefine, re-strategize and rethink public space in the city after its most seismic event in generations. (One of which was creating a new office for public space, which we’ll talk about later.) We found out about the biggest challenges facing groups we worked with as they came out of the pandemic. We traveled to St. Louis to talk about equitable parks development, and L.A. for community engagement. And we talked about the climate crisis.
The last bit—as part of the Central Park Climate Lab—feels astute right now, as New York City comes to the end of one of the warmest winters on record. (Some snow, finally, dropped this week.) Over the course of a few months, my colleague Michelle Mueller-Gámez and I spoke with scores of operations staff about what they’re seeing firsthand, which will hopefully inform the decisions the Park makes in the future. In one of my last works for the Conservancy, they expanded upon what they’re seeing as a new normal of unpredictability.
To the amazing Institute team: this isn’t a goodbye, but a ‘see you later.’ Keep doing the good work.
The Oscars for the outdoors
Okay, a bit dramatic. But I’m thrilled that I was invited to be on the host committee for the first-ever Public Space Awards, organized by Open Plans, a livable streets organization. Held this Thursday night (March 2nd), it’ll be a night of recognition for some of New York’s most ambitious projects right now, like Paseo Park in Queens, Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, and even Hoboken (technically not in New York), which, like Jersey City, has achieved the mythic Vision Zero of pedestrian fatalities on its streets.
If this seems of interest to you, reader, tickets are still available. See you there!
OSA: Building community wealth
As the off-season continues for the 31st Ave Open Street, one thing we continue to think through is what we tangibly offer neighbors. First, of course, is space: two centrally located blocks, free of parked cars and traffic, for a few hours on weekends—for birthday parties, friend meetups, playdates, workshops, dining, hanging out, or just roaming. Second is visibility, which is intertwined with space: these blocks see people, and if that’s your purpose, then it’s a good place to post up. But that’s just physical visibility; there is also digital visibility: our social media, website and newsletter are read by thousands of people each month. And third is resources, which, again, overlaps: we’ve got gear, some money, and volunteers to make the space and visibility possible.
Recently, we’ve been asking ourselves: how can we leverage that for the betterment of the neighborhood? And, by doing so, even help folks out in the process? This is the idea of community wealth, or this concept of economic development where communities benefit from having more democratic control over their assets. Workers cooperatives are a good example of this. In our case, it’s the streets—a massive chunk of our public portfolio that still largely serves one use, rather than multiple. (I went more into this idea in a previous edition.) Are there ways that we can make the street a place of wealth for more people?
That was a driving force behind our fundraiser for the Astoria Food Pantry, which, as of this month, has reached its goal of $8,000—or a whole month of free food for those in need (visibility). As well as an arts competition for a newly installed bike corral, which has narrowed to three designs (space, visibility). And more will come, along the lines of amenities and access (resources). As the 2023 season approaches, how can we all prosper?
Bright Side: Finally, a ‘chief public realm officer’
Water mains. Bike lanes. Outdoor dining. Road repaving. Power lines. Parked cars. Sidewalks. Plazas. Parks. And, of course, people.
There is an endless scroll of actors and players that touch public space—different agencies, entities, modes, and lines of communication. Our public space is complex and messy; we all use it, and we all want our slice of it. And for years, critics and advocates have said: there must be a better way to manage it all.
The idea of a ‘public realm office’ in New York City has been floating around for some time, but it picked up serious steam as a key plank of the ‘New New York’ report, a comprehensive plan by both the Mayor and Governor to rethink the city’s business corridors for a post-pandemic future, where work might take on a new form. (Read: it already has.) Folks fretted that the report was in name only—a lot of nice suggestions for action. But this month’s appointment of Ya-Ting Liu, a known quantity in the streets advocacy world, to the role has heartened many hopes that the city could be in the midst of a planning renaissance.
New York City is, by no means, the first here. Jersey City has a new ‘director of infrastructure’ (Barkha Patel), who I chatted with last December for their work corralling the powers that be to make streets safer. And Boston has a ‘chief of streets’ (Jascha Franklin-Hodge), who I chatted with last October for their work aligning various options when a major subway line went offline. I’d also say that London’s ‘walking and cycling commissioner’ (Will Norman) has a relatable job.
How, exactly, this office will function above all the other offices that exist is still being hashed out. (On-boarding includes: figuring out outdoor dining; and a redesign of one of the world’s most famous streets.) Smart questions have already been raised around enforcement and coordination. But it does send a clear signal from the top down that the public realm is important—and that seems like something worth celebrating.
(H/t to Streetbeat stan Jackson Chabot for really leading a citywide effort to make this position a reality. Kudos to you.)
On the Radar
Something neat on your radar? Submit it here.
The 99% Invisible City, by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt
We know the world we see.
I think about this a lot with generational divides. When Boomers were Millennials’ age (1970s-1980s), the concept of the city was in free fall as suburbia became the standard, at least in the Global North. But when Millennials became… well, Millennials (2010s), cities were much safer and vibrant than they were for their parents. They (myself included) saw urban areas as something else, because that’s the only thing they knew. This phenomenon plays out when your parents come to visit, yes, but also for matters of social progress—think the changing attitudes around LGBTQ+/trans rights, race relations, or feminism. From the pandemic to Drag Queen Story Hour backlash, any disruption is shocking because it unsettles our status quo—our accepted worldview.
But it’s more granular than that. I often look at photos of my neighborhood from yesteryear—a plus for Instagram and urban archives—and marvel at the small things. The lack of crosswalks, manholes, curb cuts and wires overhead. But can you imagine a world without these? It’s hard. We’ve grown so used to our built environment looking a certain way, that we can forget how it even came about.
That’s a long-winded way to get around to recommending the book component to the popular 99% Invisible podcast. Roman Mars, its host, and Kurt Kohlstedt, its producer, perform magic breaking down all of these fixtures of our known world. Like, those emblazoned stars on brick buildings that everybody loves on like, Etsy and Pinterest. (Turns out they’d collapse without them.) Or all of those weird markings on our streets. (Turns out they’re basically a map of what’s below.) Remarkably, they all tell a story of human ingenuity—quiet progress towards a better world. (Thank disability advocates for your crosswalks, folks.) And the more we recognize that, the better we can see it with both eyes.
Public Space of the Month: February 2023 Edition
Want to shout out a public space? Submit it here!
WHAT: Grand Central Madison
WHERE: Manhattan, N.Y.
FEATURES: When the idea of a new terminal for Long Island Rail Road on Manhattan’s East Side first arose decades ago—the natural lifespan of mega-projects in this city—nobody could’ve imagined what the city looks like today. (Or even at the groundbreaking ceremony, in the late aughts.) The LIRR is missing some 100,000 daily riders compared to just three years ago. Office occupancy in Midtown is hovering below 60%. And hybrid is a household name.
I remember a conversation I had with Jarrett Walker, one of the preeminent voices on transit in the country, in 2021. The topic of priorities post-pandemic came up, as did East Side Access, the name of the project. “Would you build that today, knowing everything we know?” Walker asked me. “Probably not.”
Welcome to Grand Central Madison, the brand-spankin’-new LIRR terminal underneath Grand Central Terminal, which, as of this week, is in full operation. As a Long Island native, I feel obliged to say: the project’s core pitch—historic levels of service on America’s busiest commuter rail system—is a big deal. But how much that’ll matter in this new urban world, where regular routines and destinations mean just a little less, is anyone’s guess… for now.
I toyed around with that concept for The Architect’s Newspaper. They asked me to write a review of the place—my first-ever!—which allowed me to dish for a while (beyond what the headline implies). Here’s what I had to say.
Streetbeat Gig Board
Wanna post a job? Submit it here.
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Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy—which oversees one of the Northeast’s largest bird habitats—is looking for a wetlands fellow.
The UK-based transit advocacy group, Better Transport, is looking to grow their supporter base and business.
The Newtown Creek Alliance, which is pushing to clean up the polluted water body between Queens and Brooklyn, is hiring seasonal stewards.
Kita Monthly
See you in March!