Events

Come voice your support for pedestrian safety improvements on the Upper East Side! This is an issue Streetsblog's own Glenn McAnanama has pushed to the forefront (as seen here on Streetsblog and in The New York Times).

5BBC members Ken Coughlin and Brian Hoberman will warm up the evening with a travelogue and photo album from their trip to Sweden and Denmark this past summer. They will provide practical information on self-contained bicycle touring, shipping bikes by air, and rail transportation in a foreign land. 5BBC hopes to serve authentic Scandinavian refreshments.

Brooklyn is distinctly different and yet such an important part of New York City. The name itself brings to mind tree-lined streets, finely carved rowhouses and beautiful churches and diverse communities, rich in cultural life and ethnic heritage. On the upswing, vibrant and rebuilding itself, Brooklyn faces a new challenge-an uncommon development, designed by world famous architect Frank Gehry, that threatens to redirect Brooklyn's future and reshape its identity. Brooklyn Matters reveals the fuller truth about the Atlantic Yards proposal and highlights how a few powerful men are circumventing community participation and planning principles to try to push their own interests forward.

Celebrate the rich waterfront history and the cultural attractions floating to the surface in Lower Manhattan. Sites along the way include the Winter Garden, historic pier A, the Battery, Castle Clinton, the Battery Maritime Building (the gateway to Governor's Island), South St. Seaport and more. Leader: Carter Craft, Director of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a project of the MAS.

Not since the 1960s has there been so much focus on developing Downtown. Then, as now, the challenge is preserving its historic fabric. The tour will focus on landmarking and redevelopment in the area around the transportation center of the Fulton/Nassau Street corridor, including recent losses and compromises. The tour will include the Corbin Building, early works of DeLemos and Cordes, plus some interesting cast-iron buildings. Bring a MetroCard. Leader: Joe Svehlak, urban preservationist.

The East River is home to a rich mix of flora and fauna despite the effects of runoff from city streets and tons of treated sewage. A panel will discuss what needs to be done to make the river safe for boating, swimming, and eventually, fish consumption.

How can the distinctive urban identities of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfronts be preserved as the implemention of the 2005 rezoning transforms the area forever? Illustrating the character of these vibrant communities with snapshots of daily life, this exhibit of photographs and maps urges city officials and the public to insist that these features are incorporated into plans for the future. Maps and text prepared by the Municipal Art Society complement images by urban photographer Giles Ashford urging city officials and developers to incorporate these features into plans for the future.

A social get-together to celebrate the new year and to look forward to Upper Green Side getting its 501(c)(3) status.

An afternoon dedicated to organizing the Times Up! space and material -- everything from silk-screening T-shirts to repairing bikes for fundraising sales. Help keep the space orderly and usable for all the group's various environmental endeavors. Come down and join the fun!