As many of you know, my office and I have been hard at work for the past couple months planning our "#CarFreeNYC" initiative, aimed at reducing car usage in New York City on Earth Day this year. This initiative, announced last month at NYU is about promoting forms of transportation that are more environmentally friendly and efficient that single occupancy vehicles. This means active transportation like cycling and walking; public transportation like subways, buses and ferries; and carpooling options such as Uber and Lyft (who is offering discounts on its carpool service Lyft Line on Earth Day).
Ultimately, we want to further a conversation about how our choices impact our environment this Earth Day. We live in a time where rising temperatures are having real impacts on our city, our country and our world. The past five years have been seen the highest temperatures on record and from droughts in California to devastating hurricanes in New Orleans and hear at home, we are fast realizing that our actions have severe consequences.
Vehicles and transportation account for nearly a quarter of all city emissions, with that number expected to rise in the coming years. 1.4 million New Yorkers own over 1.8 million cars in a city that is fortunate enough to have a great public transportation eco-system. I hope you will join me in pledging not to drive on Friday, something you can sign up to do at our website, www.carfreeday.nyc.
With this Friday fast approaching, I wanted to let you know of some great opportunities to get involved with the initiative!
Academic Panel Thursday:
Some of our stellar partners in this endeavor have organized a panel discussion featuring some big names in the environmental and transportation sectors. This includes professors from Columbia University's Earth Institute, NYU, CUNY and the officials from the Regional Plan Association. These experts will address key issues pertaining to transportation, urban planning, sustainability, equity and public health in an urban environment. They will highlight the importance of the #CarFreeNYC initiative and supporting more sustainable transportation options.
The flyer for the event can be found here. It will be held on Thursdaymorning, April 21st. in the Auditorium of the New York Institute for Technology: 1871 Broadway, just north of Columbus Circle. Doors open at8:30 and the discussion will take place from 9:00-10:30.
Street Closures Friday:
We are so fortunate to have the support of the NYC Department of Transportation behind this major initiative and are pleased to announce the closure of several streets throughout the borough of Manhattan. The time and location of these closures are as follows:
Broadway, from 23rd Street to 17th Street (Flatiron Building to Union Square)
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
The centerpiece of #CarFreeNYC will feature programming including helmet giveaways, live music, yoga and workout classes, life size board games and more!
Washington Square Park, surrounding streets
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
NYU will be supporting their local park, once the site of a planned highway, but saved thanks to the first #CarFreeNYC advocate, Jane Jacobs. NYU will host activities on the streets surrounding the park.
Wadsworth Avenue, 173-177th, Washington Heights
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
At home in Washington Heights we'll be partnering with NY Presbyterian and local community organizations such as NMIC to support a health fair and Earth Day celebration Uptown!
Promotions (For Friday):
In addition to the above mentioned Lyft Line discounts this week and on Earth Day, other fun opportunities include free rides with Citi Bike, 2 for 1 deals at Bike and Roll, a free All-Day Access Pass with NY Water Taxi if you show a NYC ID card, Hornblower Cruises is offering 2 for 1 on their "Alive After Five" cruise, using the code: CarFreeNYC.
Other Earth Day Events:
CUNY will be hosting numerous Earth Day events throughout the week, all of which can be found here
The Earth Day Initiative will host a Earth Day 5k, where running is less of a focus than checking out some great sites around downtown and lower Manhattan with an environmental bent. More info for this event can be foundhere.
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Through our many partners, we are working to make NYC a more transportation and environmentally friendly city. I hope you can help to support, show up at some of our great events, but most of all, leave your cars at home on Earth Day!
Help us spread the message on social media by following our twitter account: @CarFreeNYC; visiting our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/carfreenyc, using the #CarFreeNYC hashtag and more! Also, if you're a driver who wants to pledge not to drive, another way is through the SpotPog app, where you can pledge your spot, meaning you'll leave it there throughout the day. Many drivers have already pledged and we expect many more as well! You can also pledge through the website:www.carfreeday.nyc where there are other ways to get involved as well.
For any additional info, please call my office at 212-788-7053 or by emailing my Deputy Chief of Staff, Russell Murphy at rmurphy2@council.nyc.gov.
Thank you so much for your participation in this great event that we hope will spark a movement. This is just the first year but we want to have some great results to announce on the following day!
Sincerely,
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Sincerely, Ydanis Rodriguez
Council District 10
Washington Heights and Inwood
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