January 19, 2006
Things You Can Do With a Parking Space
In San Francisco, the Rebar collective took over a parking space on a San Francisco street and created a teeny little park, complete with park bench, for a spell! This is such a great idea, Gothamist would love to see it in NYC, but we wonder if it would work with alternate side of the street parking. Maybe some NYC artists need to build some sort of plexiglass shell of a car with some bench-like seating inside. If artists can create a mini-Gate on a mini-Island, we think this would be possible.
Update: Our friends at Transportation Alternatives reminded us they actually did a similar park-in in Williamsburg - free bike parking and places for kids to color! Now our only request is that this happen more often.
The NYC Alternate Side of the Street Parking Calendar for all of you drivers. And have you seen the snazzy pre-paid parking cards you can get for all municipal lots and muni-meters? Plus, Ask Gothamist on no parking signage.
[Via Inhabitat]
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What a brilliant, creative protest against the monopolization of urban space by the automobile.
Too bad that in NYC, it would last about six minutes before the NYPD Critical Mass Beatdown Squad got together to haul them off. Cause if you don't have four wheels and belch exhaust, you don't belong on the street...
It happened in NYC- Transportation ALternatives held a Parking Spot Squat on Bedford Avenue.
http://www.transalt.org/e-bulletin/2005/Nov/bedford_photoessay.html
I can see NYPD claiming that this was protesting without a permit.
Actually, no authorities bothered the squat at all. It went on for 4 or 5 hours.
Who cares? If I wanted to read about SF I'd read SFist. Gothamist is beginning to lose it's focus. It seems that nearly half the posts have nothing to do with NYC lately.