Category Archives: –

Spoke Up at the Hotel Pennsylvania

by John Massengale Posted on May 13, 2021

CNU NYC is part of the Empire Station Coalition that Governor Andrew “Demo Dan” Cuomo’s plan to declare the blocks around Pennsylvania Station “blighted,” as part of an urban removal scheme for the area. Yesterday, several members of the Coalition … Continue reading →

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Crain’s New York: Change the Streets & Change the City

by John Massengale Posted on June 8, 2020

My op-ed in Crain’s New York is in the magazine this week and has been online for more than a week. The online version is longer than the print version but is behind a paywall. You can buy access to both … Continue reading →

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“I feel like it’s 1968,” says every reporter on CNN and MSNBC watching the protest marches.

by John Massengale Posted on June 7, 2020

In another, less grave context, I wrote about one of my favorite Harvard professors, who back in the 1980s talked about what he thought were connections between the 1960s and the 21st century (see below). Today, like the reporters on … Continue reading →

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#OpenBrooklynBridge

by John Massengale Posted on May 29, 2020

#OpenStreets + #CarFreeBroolynBridge = #OpenBrooklynBridge Simple back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that within one year motor vehicle traffic would decrease by 100%, bicycle traffic would increase more than 1100%, and there would be twice as many pedestrians as on the High Line. … Continue reading →

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My Streetsblog Op-Ed: If Not Now, When? Changing the Car Culture

by John Massengale Posted on May 5, 2020

“We worked for years to reduce car use. If everybody drives a car, there is no space for people, there is no space to move, there is no space for commercial activities outside the shops.” ~ Milan deputy mayor Marco … Continue reading →

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My New York Times Op-Ed: “There Are Better Ways to Get Around Town”

by John Massengale Posted on May 29, 2018

New York City Streets for People After the Congestion Zone May 15, 2018 (link) The debate continues over how to make New York City’s streets less crowded, safer and better for people as well as cars. Some, like Gov. Andrew … Continue reading →

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“John Massengale — the man who taught me everything I know about architecture” — Tom Wolfe

by John Massengale Posted on May 25, 2018

TOM WOLFE died last week. Here’s a story about a kind thing he did for me over 25 years ago. I was in the lobby at the Newington-Cropsey Foundation, where I had been invited to speak at an architecture conference. … Continue reading →

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Occupy Main Street

by John Massengale Posted on September 10, 2016

Great Barrington’s Main Street should be a place where place people want to get out of their cars to shop, eat, and socialize—under a majestic canopy made with tall trees. That’s not what State DOTs build, however. This story originally … Continue reading →

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