Rules of the NYC sidewalk

For NYC, a few rules of the sidewalk  - NY Daily News

New York City has the nation’s highest rate of commuters who walk or use public transit. A whopping 56% of households in the five boroughs don’t own a car, tops in the country.

In the East Villiage, where I live, It’s tempting to envision the city as a symphony, with millions of people weaving around each other in choreographed harmony. But then some guy with a yoga mat cuts in front of me, stopping me short and sending coffee down the front of my coat.

In this city, where battle lines have increasingly been drawn between walkers, bicyclists and cars, we take it for granted that cars don’t respect pedestrians. Should we also take it for granted that pedestrians don’t respect each other? I grew up driving my grandfather’s Ford LTD upstate and, ironically, I’ve noticed a few big things we pedestrians can learn from car culture.

Stay on the right. The most basic rule of the road applies to sidewalks as well. Whenever I see someone strolling down the left side of a sidewalk, I can’t help thinking, “I hope to God that maniac is British.”

Don’t drift out of your lane. Walking diagonally is inconsiderate. Straight lines and 90-degree turns mean fewer hassles for you and everyone else. Definitely don’t veer to one side, then overcorrect and veer to the other. Your unpredictability makes you difficult to maneuver around.

Don’t pop out into the middle of a busy street. It’s amazing how often people coming out of stores walk straight into the middle of the sidewalk, as if they take precedence over everyone else on the street. Would you exit a parking lot that way — zooming into the middle of the road without regard for oncoming traffic?

Opening weekend at Coney Island

Getting beach ready for perfect weather.

Five second rule

I don't think the five - second rule could be applied to the floor of a subway car...ever.

Brooklyn Half Marathon coming May 17th.

Brooklyn Half Marathon, Saturday, May 17th. Down Ocean Parkway where the rubber hits the road.

Coney Island's Cyclone will boost speeds on two major drops to 60mph

Coney Island's iconic Cyclone roller coaster adds 950 feet of newly laid wooden tracks which will boost speed on two major drops - NY Daily News

(Excerpt)

Coney Island’s legendary 87-year-old Cyclone roller coaster will keep thrillseekers screaming this summer with 950 feet of newly laid wooden tracks, the Daily News has learned.

The tracks, repaired several months ago in time for the park’s opening on Sunday, promise to boost speeds on two of the coaster’s biggest drops to more than 60 miles per hour.

Vision Zero program launches with slow zones for New York City drivers-the new 25.

Vision Zero program launches with slow zones for New York City drivers | 7online.com

When Polly Trottenberg, NYC DOT commissioner, was asked to identify the 25 new "slow zone (25mph) roads" she said this: “A lot of the big roads that you've been hearing about, I think you know they will be part of future announcements,” she said. “You’ll have to stay tuned.”

Eyewitness News
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Drivers in New York City are being urged to slow down, and the message is being enforced with 25 newly designated slow zones.
The city's transportation commissioner announced the first of the zones Wednesday.
The speed limit on a nearly eight mile stretch of Atlantic Avenue from Brooklyn Heights to Woodhaven, Queens will be reduced from 30 to 25 miles per hour, in an effort to prevent accidents like the one that injured pedestrian John Longo.
"I'm very lucky to be alive, very lucky to be alive," said Longo.
He was walking home on the night of December 6th when a driver turned onto Atlantic and badly injured him. He loves the new speed limit.
"I think it's a great idea," said Longo. "It's long overdue but we have a new administration. They are actually doing things, taking action."
The mayor calls his plan Vision Zero, a new slower speed limit and timed lighting on major roadways.
So far his vision seems to be working. Traffic deaths this year are down 26 percent. Last winter there were 69 fatalities in the city, this year 51.
Among those killed last year was a 12-year old boy on his way to soccer practice.
"Please remember Sammy and this is his photo and do everything in your power to make our streets safer," said the boy's mother, Amy Cohen.
Most drivers say they support the mayor's vision. But a few admit, it'll lead to much worse traffic.
"I don't see why it should go to 25," said driver Tony Ayar. ('It'll make you slow down I guess?") "it really is, there's a lot more traffic. Everybody's just going to get from A to B slower."
The new signs will go up and enforcement begins later this month. The mayor says it'll mean lives saved.

J&R shutting down New York City electronics store

EXCLUSIVE: J&R shutting down New York City electronics store - NY Daily News

Wednesday is the last day for the lower Manhattan store, which had been struggling amid a difficult environment for consumer electronics retailers. ‘J&R will close its doors so that we can rebuild this location into what we hope will be an unprecedented retailing concept and social mecca,’ says a letter from the owners that will be made public

South Brooklyn’s Time to Shine

South Brooklyn’s Time to Shine | Commercial Observer

South Brooklyn’s waterfront neighborhoods have long fostered considerable charm and affluence despite being overshadowed by the explosion of “brownstone Brooklyn,” Williamsburg and Bushwick.

A few isolated incidents—take the 2011 Brighton Beach boardwalk shooting—and Superstorm Sandy didn’t help with image improvement, but recent developments point to South Brooklyn’s waterfront communities as the next Kings County neighborhoods to catch fire.

South Brooklyn neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay and Gravesend established themselves as valuable real estate strongholds years ago, and Manhattan Beach has ranked among New York City’s most expensive enclaves. South Brooklyn in recent years has also witnessed significant spikes in investment and development, as young families and affluent working professionals look to its shores as a happy medium between city life and suburbia.“The demand is certainly there, and the supply is getting there,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Alex Svetlakou, who focuses on South Brooklyn.

The number of development site and investment sales in Brighton Beach doubled to 12 between 2009 and 2013; in Gravesend, the number jumped from 16 to 25; and in Sheepshead Bay, the number soared from eight to a staggering 43, according to data from Massey Knakal.