Urban Residue - leftover thoughts from the day

When the police remove graffiti, it is not about beautifying the neighborhood. It is not even really about crime, either. It is about contro...

Last night, the @placardabuse Twitter account posted an observation  that a burning police van was parked on the sidewalk. It got me thinkin...

During the current global pandemic, there has been a precipitous drop in driving. Traffic has all but evaporated on New York City's stre...

This is a designated pedestrian street in Lower Manhattan The quality of our public spaces in New York City is so much worse than they ...

On one side of the road, you have tourists reading plaques about trees. On the other, gay men circle the woods looking for potential hookups...

After closing the Privately-Owned Public Space for months of reconstruction to fix subsurface problems, the Millennium Hilton is now ...

The car was set ablaze by some arsonist for reasons that aren't generally known. Then it just sat there. The windshield was cracked. Por...

This is the second in a series of posts about the failures of city agencies to protect New York City's public spaces, using the example ...

This is the first in a series of posts about the failures of city agencies to protect New York City's public spaces, using the example o...

When the City allows a developer to construct a larger building in exchange for public space, you expect there to be a real benefit to the p...

This week, the Pope came to New York City, and the NYPD worked hard to keep him safe, along with all those who came to see him. They planned...

This weekend, I walked by a home in a residential district that has been illegally converted into a security system business. The side yard ...

A passenger waits for the bus at a stop where the sign has been wiped out by an out-of-control vehicle. Apparently crashes are so common...

When cars park too close to the corner, drivers and pedestrians often cannot see each other well enough to make safe decisions. To correct t...

Space becomes public, and can really only remain public, through the practice of collective power. The government can exercise its power on ...

Creating a dedicated bus lane requires the displacement/destruction of the pre-existing uses within that right-of-way. Those uses almost alw...

The first question on anybody's mind is surely: What kind of jerk parks in the crosswalk? The more important question is: Why ...

You know it's bad when they put up the You're-gonna-die signage. Getting across the Grand Concourse in one piece can be a chal...

Recent news has been worrisome: "Three off-duty NYPD cops busted for DWI in span of 27 hours" "NYPD detectives reported...

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has been negligent in its responses to complaints for a long time. This can be critical whe...