Skip to content

The 96th Street Sidewalk Nibblers

Enjoy the new Clarence Eckerson film, "The Sidewalk Nibblers."

Enjoy the new Clarence Eckerson film, “The Sidewalk Nibblers.”

“Erosion of cities by automobiles entails so familiar a series of events that they hardly need describing. The erosion proceeds as a kind of nibbling.”  –Jane Jacobs

bway96.jpg

The New York City Department of Transportation and MTA recently announced plans for a big, new subway station with elevators in the middle of Broadway at 96th Street.

While the new station is a great improvement, the plan subtracts 9 feet of sidewalk space on both sides of Broadway. Not an inch of space, however, is taken away from motorists.

The plans were drawn up and have, essentially, been finalized before the community had even had a chance to look at them or discuss them. The DOT and MTA continue to refuse to make the details of their plans public.

“It seems like every time there’s a conflict between cars and pedestrians, the pedestrians lose.” — Ken Coughlin

Photo of Aaron Naparstek
Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's 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. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Rate Evaders’: Auto Insurance Address Fraud Soars Under Hochul’s Watch

April 21, 2026

MTA Workers Park All Over Sidewalks Outside Astoria Facility

April 21, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines: Cops Are Doing It Wrong Edition

April 21, 2026

Non-Profits, City Officials Put Pressure On Lawmakers To OK Gov. Hochul’s ‘Stop Super Speeders’ Effort

April 20, 2026

‘A Solution, But To What Problem?’ Experts Say AVs Are The Elephant In The Room, But There’s Still Time To Figure Out Their Role

April 20, 2026
See all posts