Rule #1: Always Yield to Pedestrians

Transportation Alternatives, the city’s biggest bicycle advocacy group, has been promoting a new “street code” for cyclists, encouraging them to heed by certain rules in order to make biking a better experience for everyone. Here’s their motivation:
We know – and studies show – that more bicyclists make for safer cycling, and safer cycling will encourage [...]

News Roundup: Sikh Students, Homeless Families, etc.

News from the past week:

Sikh Students Speak Out: “We Want Safe Schools Now!” (RaceWire)
Talking Trees on the Concourse (Mount Hope Monitor)
Push to Close Schools on Muslim Holy Days Gains Momentum (Mount Hope Monitor)
When ‘Slumming’ Was the Thing to Do (City Room)
Summer Brings a Wave of Homeless Families (New York Times)
Tour galore for 1,000-plus bicyclists (Daily [...]

News Roundup: The Bronx River, Muslim Holidays, etc.

Recent news:

Bette Midler Whacks Weeds, Taps 50 Cent to Turn New York Green (Bloomberg.com)
‘Meet the Bronx River,’ oarsmen say (Hunts Point Express)
Local Man Works to Improve Police-Community Relations (Tremont Tribune)
Lessons Learned at Kids’ ‘African’ Market (Norwood News)
Council Votes for Two Muslim School Holidays (New York Times)
AIDS coalition launches “Test Me for HIV” campaign (The Indian [...]

What’s in a Name? All Day Buffet

In the “What’s in a Name?” feature, we highlight New York-based organizations and programs that have clever, quirky, mysterious, revealing, or non-traditional names.
All Day Buffet isn’t a restaurant or catering service, and The Feast is not even a food-centric affair. All Day Buffet is actually a company that promotes and invests in creative projects and [...]

Play in the Streets This Summer

To enjoy the summer weather (finally!), you’ll have plenty of opportunities to wander, bike, and play in the streets without having to worry about those pesky automobiles:

Summer Streets is happening again this year, connecting Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge for three Saturdays in August.
Weekend Walks is an expansion of the Summer Streets program into [...]

News Roundup: Beekeeping, HIV Testing, etc.

News from the past week:

Standing Up for Bees (supereco)
Progress Is Reported in Bronx H.I.V. Testing Campaign (City Room)
Voices of Iranian-Americans Are Heard (City Room)
On Governors I., an Organic Farm With a View (City Room)
Answers About Urban Wildlife (City Room)
ELL parents conference held in New York City (The Indian Express via Voices That Must Be Heard)
Education [...]

Helping Residents of 493 Myrtle Avenue and Vicinity

Since the building at 493 Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, collapsed with little warning on Sunday, various businesses, politicians, community members, and friends have been organizing to help put their neighbors’ lives back together.
No one suffered major injuries in the incident, but the residents of the collapsed building have been displaced from their homes [...]

Be Proud, New York

If you’ve ever watched NYC’s five-hour, 60-block Pride parade, you’ve probably been blown away by the number and variety of groups marching. Just how many organizations are there in New York that specifically work with the LGBT community? Idealist currently lists 148 organizations that match the criteria, but I’m sure there many others that aren’t [...]

A Series of Summer Feasts

Last year’s Feast conference left me full of creative, inspiring, mind-opening ideas. So I’m happy to announce that All Day Buffet is bringing the Feast back this fall, but this time they’re preceding it with a series of smaller events—dinners, salons, and workshops—all summer long!
Idealist’s executive director, Ami Dar, will be speaking at the salon [...]

News Roundup: Local Microlending, Backseat Art Studio, etc.

News from the past week:

Cabbie Turns Backseat into Art Studio (Gothamist)
Jamaica church is home to New York’s first hydroponic rooftop farm (Daily News)
Fallen Pedestrians Memorialized in Hell’s Kitchen (Streetsblog)
Asthma Act Will Help Tenants Breathe Easier (The Brooklyn Rail)
Domestic Workers Push for Bill of Rights (The Wonkster)
Kiva, Microlending Site, Expands to New York (City Room)
Dozens Protest [...]