Is the tourist sidewalk line that suddenly showed up earlier this week actually a work of Banksy? A tipster pointed us to Banksy's book Wall and Piece, which has several examples of his text work, which bear some resemblance to the sidewalk lane (you can see some of those examples above). Banksy pieces have been popping up all over the city during the past week since his arrival in NY, and the sidewalk line has simultaneously become the "talk of the internet." more ›

Author Robert Sullivan, who writes provocative bicycling op-ed pieces for the Times when he's not writing about rats and the American Revolution, has a suggestion to solve the ongoing tension between cyclists and pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. He proposes that the city ban bicycles entirely from the walkway, and shift them down to the motor vehicle roadways by creating physically protected bike lanes. more ›

The DOT's $700,000 transformation of a seven block stretch of Broadway into a pedestrian esplanade with tables, chairs and planters is complete, and the Times has taken the anxious pulse of local workers lounging on their lunchbreaks. The consensus? A nice gesture, but it's only a matter of time before a cab swerves into the tables and turns the urban oasis into a scene of unspeakable carnage. Some choice observations from the men and women on the street:
• Robert Stribley, information architect: “You look around and expect a truck to veer off and plow into you at any moment. It’s not Bryant Park. You’ve got exhaust coming at you. But it’s kind of cool.”
• Vicki Lee, clothing designer: “You hear so many accidents of the cars going out of control and all they have here is plastic pots,” she said. But she dug into her salad and added, “We’re going to roll the dice and eat lunch here today.”
• Karis Durmer, Condé Nast employee: “It’s amazing how a few plants can make you feel removed from all that [noise and traffic].” At one point her conversation was interrupted when the siren of a passing fire truck drowned out her words. “They transport you to a calmer place.”

Surprise! Without a formal public announcement, the city has been moving ahead with a $700,000 plan to shrink part of Broadway in midtown from a four-lane to a two-lane street and use the rest of the space for a public esplanade, which the DOT is calling “Broadway Boulevard.” The change will be complete on August 15th, when the east side of Broadway between 42nd Street and Herald Square is turned over to a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway, teeming with cafe tables, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters. more ›

Elmer Rice's 1923 play The Adding Machine is an expressionist parable about a miserable bean counter named Mr. Zero who, after twenty five years at the same desk, is replaced by the titular technological marvel. For Rice, the roar of the twenties was the sound of capitalism crushing workers' souls; his play would go onto inspire Tennessee Williams and presage Death of a Salesman. more ›