This Week: “Street Design” Book Talk, Car-Free Streets

This week’s calendar is chockablock with car-free streets events in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. There are two items of immediate interest: John Massengale talks about his new book tonight, and there’s a midnight deadline for Park(ing) Day 2014. Not to mention the debut of TA’s Bicyclists’ Ball. Let’s get to it.

• Today: Architect and urban designer John Massengale will give a talk on “Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns,” a book described as “ideal reading for any person who wants to create memorable streets that are not just routes to someplace else, but great places that are destinations in themselves.” Today’s event starts at 6 p.m. at the AIA-NY Center for Architecture in the West Village. RSVP requested. General admission $10, free for AIA members and students.
• Today: The deadline to submit your application for Park(ing) Day 2014 is midnight tonight. This year’s international street space reclamation event comes on Friday, September 19. Complete this form to have Transportation Alternatives submit your permit app to the city.
• Thursday: Join TA in Downtown Brooklyn for the first-ever Bicyclists’ Ball (and Pedestrian Prom). On tap will be unlimited beer and wine, dancing, a silent auction, and first-come first-served valet bike parking. RSVP required. $25 general admission, $15 for TA members. 7 to 10 p.m.
• Friday: North Slope Weekend Walks returns for two weeks to the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID, between Sterling and Dean Streets, near the Barclays Center. 5 to 9 p.m. Performance of “Romeo and Juliet” at 7:30.
• Friday: Summer Stroll is coming to Third Avenue between Bay Ridge Avenue and 90th Street in Brooklyn. 6 to 10 p.m.
• Saturday: It’s the final Summer Streets of the year. 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Saturday: Join the Pelham Bay Merchants Association for Weekend Walks, featuring a rock climbing wall, karate and dance classes hosted by local merchants, and back to school packs. Buhre Avenue between Crosby and Jarvis Avenues. Noon to 5 p.m.
• Sunday: Boogie on the Boulevard will celebrate 100 years of the Bronx on Grand Concourse between 165th and 167th Streets. The center lanes of the Concourse will be open to pedestrians, with music and other activities. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Sunday: The Astoria Park Alliance hosts Shore Fest, featuring a variety of activities along a car-free Shore Boulevard between Astoria Park South and Ditmars Boulevard. 1 to 6:30 p.m.

Keep an eye on the calendar for updated listings. Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.