{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/707wm14j4g/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Juan Restrepo Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJuan Restrepo is a Community Organizer for Transportation Alternatives, an organization that works toward safe equitable streets in New York City. In this interview, Juan talks about climate change and infrustructure challenges as well as solutions, such as bike lanes and open streets. He also discusses grassroots organizing, community advocacy and environmental community activism in Queens and broader New York City. \u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/45834"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2021-12-09 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Juan Restrepo (Interviewee)","Daniela Trapani (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview recorded as part of the Changing Landscape of Hunters Point project at Hunters Point Library."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["2015-2021 (temporal)","Jackson Heights, Astoria and  Jamaica, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJuan Restrepo is a Community Organizer for Transportation Alternatives, an organization that works toward safe equitable streets in New York City. In this interview, Juan talks about climate change and infrustructure challenges as well as solutions, such as bike lanes and open streets. He also discusses grassroots organizing, community advocacy and environmental community activism in Queens and broader New York City.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/153/849/small/20210918_122552-01.jpeg?1646130744","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - restrepo-aviary.mp4"]},"duration":3294.01598,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/153/849/small/20210918_122552-01.jpeg?1646130744","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/153/849/original/restrepo-aviary.mp4?1646130627","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":3294.01598,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queens Memory informed consent and copyright permission form that I shared with you over email?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2.0,10.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: I do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=10.0,14.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: This is Daniela Trapani with Juan Restrepo. We are recording on December 9th, 2021 for the Queens Memory Project. Juan, could you say your full name and spell please?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=14.0,26.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Sure. My name is Juan Restrepo. It's spelled J U a N. And my last name is R E S T R E P O.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=26.0,35.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Thank you. Okay, so for my first question, I wanted to ask you, what got you interested in environmental efforts?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=35.0,43.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Well, I think, it's kind of funny, but, I, I think a lot about the, the movie, 22 Jump Street, with Channing Tatum and, one of the plot points in that movie is that they go back to high school and they're so surprised because in high school, to be a cool kid, you have to be like super into protesting and into climate change. And I think that's, that's sort of like a, a cultural difference now between my generation and, and previous generations where like a lot of people are paying attention to what's happening in the world because they understand that like their future and, and the future of like their progeny depends on it. So, you know, in college it was like a big discussion point. I was business major, but there was a sustainability, um, or like specialization that you could get in that class.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=43.0,106.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: But that was always like a side interest for me, but I was more into like marketing, but it was like always just kind of like lingering as like something you could pay attention to something you could think about something that's important. And it wasn't really, until I started working for Transportation Alternatives, the organization that I work at now where, I joined primarily to think about transportation issues, but I saw the intersection of transportation and environmentalism as like so direct. And so clear you know, now, especially in the wake of Hurricane Ida, which hit Queens pretty hard, we're starting to talk about what is it that contributes to climate change. And, we know that in the United States as a country, transportation's the number one emitter of pollutants that are, that is, hastening, the effects of climate change and in New York City, it's number two after buildings. So you know, it to, to answer your question, like it was always kind of in the back of my mind as something that was important and it wasn't until I actually started doing this work that I thought about it as an issue to pay a lot of attention to.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=106.0,187.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Great. Could you describe Transportation Alternatives and their work?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=187.0,191.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Sure. Transportation Alternatives is a nonprofit organization based out of New York City predominantly. We've been in New York City for more than 40 years, and we've been leaders in terms of discussing climate change, but also transportation because the two are so interlinked and, you know, primarily we used to talk more about like carbon and, and we had like a few campaigns that were centered around like areas where we had the most people cared about our mission. So we started a campaign decades ago for Central Park to become car free and that was centered mostly around creating a, a park that was truly a park. You know, it's hard to enjoy a park if you constantly have cars whizzing by as you're using the big loop. And that, you know, transcended to also talk about Prospect Park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=191.0,255.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: We helped put in the first protected bike lane in the city on Sixth Avenue, that was ripped out by Mayor Koch. So there's like a lot of storied history there and more present. We have a five borough organizing footprint, which I am the manager of that organizing team. And we have many campaigns in each borough that is organized by hyperlocal volunteers to make streets safer and to promote greener and more sustainable forms of transportation. The way that actually looks out in the world is you might notice more of pedestrian plazas that encourage people to walk in their communities and to maybe reduce the amount of car trips because they feel they can safely walk to a place. They have to go instead of taking their car. Same thing with biking. We've, we've helped implement a lot of separated, safer, protected bike lanes that are often green in color.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=255.0,318.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: These are more politically difficult to get, and it requires a lot of, of grassroots organizing to put these in. And, we've also advocated for streets to be much faster for bus riders, so that you might see a theme here. The idea is like, how do we give people incentives to get out of their car and to use greener more sustainable, more affordable forms of transportation to, to commute through their communities, the boroughs, New York City as a whole. There are like a lot of memes about this, but one that I laugh about a lot is that it was like a joke on Twitter that was like, you know, relationships are basically just figuring out the logistics of how to get from point a to point B with your partner, and then you break up or your stay together. Because New York City's like a really tough place to get around. And, you know, for all being honest here for a lot of places, especially in the outer boroughs, a car is a much easier way for you to get from point a to point B. And our goal is to reshape that calculus and make it a lot easier for you to use other ways of, of, of getting to your partner if we're using that example, but just to like get around and, and do things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=318.0,396.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Absolutely. \u003caffirmative\u003e Thank you for explaining all of that. As someone who also doesn't drive a car, I love the work that Transportation Alternatives is doing. I think it's really important. Next question. Could you talk a little bit about how you came to join Transportation Alternatives?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=396.0,416.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Sure. I graduated from college in Long Island and around that time, bikes were like really permeating into the media sphere. And more people were talking about them as less like this thing you bring to the park and more of just like this crazy new thing that people are using to get around. And that kind of permeated, even in Long Island where I was just like, man, I really hate our bus. I'm gonna get, I asked my dad to get me a bike. And he found like a friend who had like a random, random bike. And he tried to charge $500. I'm like, I'm not paying 500 for that. He just gave it away a dumb story, but like, that's how I got my first bike. I brought that to college in Stony Brook, Long Island, which is in Suffolk County.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=416.0,459.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And it's absolutely horrible to ride a bike in that area unless you're like on a designated Greenway, but I would take it to my job at the mall. And I swore to myself after I'm, if I managed to like live through these years biking in Long Island and getting places like I'm gonna do it in the city too. Cuz like, why wouldn't I like, I've seen the worst of the worst. So when I started my post graduate internship at a digital marketing agency, I would take my bike to get there every day. And one day when I was biking down Midtown, some guy on the sidewalk just stopped me. I was like, Hey, Hey, you know, like try put out his hands. He was like, stop. I had like a headphones in, so it was hard to reach. It's like, Hey, sign this petition.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=459.0,503.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: We're trying to get a bike lane right here. And I'm like, are you kidding me? This is like a thing. I was surprised because I'm like, there are people who like petition for this stuff and B like you have to petition for it. Isn't there like a, like a, some guy in an office it's got like a little checkpad and he's like, oh, well, bike lane here. Makes sense. After signing that petition, I got into TA's email list. I was sent an email that was like, get involved in your borough. Like there were like literally meetings in Queens where people were talking about how to get more bike lanes in Queens. I'm like, this is so cool. I didn't know that any organization was doing this. So that kind of answers your question. It's like I was, solicited off the street by someone who was really passionate about bike lanes and they helped me to like start that process of evangelizing me to like the process of, of becoming like them a little bit.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=503.0,561.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: That's fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. Next question. How has the environment in Queens and, or New York City changed over the years do you think?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=561.0,573.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: When you say environment like could you just specify what you, what you mean by that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=573.0,578.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: That's a good question. I guess the physical landscape, I guess as it, as it pertains to Transportation Alternatives, however you think, it pertains to the work that you guys are doing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=578.0,596.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Sure. You know, like a big focus of our organization is if you look at vision zero, you can break it down into three subcategories. You can either do it based on how you can accomplish vision zero, which is reducing traffic fatalities to 2025, which is like a big goal for us. And, you can do it through enforcement. You can have the NYPD and other organizations that have like some status. Basically tell drivers, pedestrians, bikers, like rules of the road. This is how you should behave and hopefully reduce bad behavior so that less crashes happen. Absolutely. You can do education where you're like teaching people, like how to do rules of the road, like in schools, in other spaces where people learn like at the DMV, and our main focus is engineering. How do you take the road and literally reshape it in a way so that behavior is forced a specific way.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=596.0,657.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: All the statistics have shown that when you re-engineer streets, it has a longer lasting appeal and a, a, a stronger correlation with actually reducing traffic fatalities because, you know, our NYPD are overburdened with so many different quality of life issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis. So, so if a crash happens in a specific place, they may send a, a traffic monitoring agent for maybe two weeks before literally a crash happens somewhere else. And they're like, well, we gotta reshift personnel. So for us, the focus has always been, how are we gonna literally re-engineer our streets so that you don't need that person to come in, cuz the crash didn't happen and everyone's going slower. And more people are, you know, kind of taking different forms of transportation. So we're all like having to learn to live with each other a little better.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=657.0,709.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And over the course of my time at TA, which is like six years, the, the environment like the literal physical environment of Queens in New York City has changed dramatically. You can actually like hold up various bike maps that the New York City Department of Transportation releases on a yearly basis and just see the bike network grow year over year. And the expansion of that network has increased in, in terms of, of scale year over year. Whereas before they used to maybe install a few protected bike lane projects in the entire city over the course of a year now they install multiple projects, in each borough each year. And through our political organizing at Transportation Alternatives, we have passed a landmark piece of legislation and city council called the streets master plan bill that was sponsored by the city council speaker.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=709.0,770.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And the idea behind this bill is to push the Department of Transportation to not only, you know, think about increasing the number of bike lane miles that go in each year, but to also think holistically about the city as a whole and the various priorities that we have to like increase the amount of alternatives people have. So in this plan, there is stipulations to increase the amount of pedestrian space available. And that could be like plazas. That can be like open streets where, you know, there it's a car free space and people can walk around, you see this in Jackson Heights and it's very popular increase the amount of you know, more pedestrian friendly infrastructure. It has stipulations about crew reading bus ways, which are streets that prioritize buses over all other forms of vehicles. And that's been shown to dramatically improve bus speeds, especially in areas that maybe don't have MTA train access anymore.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=770.0,828.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And it has stipulations about like increasing the amount of bike lanes put in each year. So, on an typical year, the department of transportation puts in somewhere between 20 to around 28 miles of protected bike lanes a year and the streets master plan stipulates to put in 250 miles over the course of five years. So that's about 50 miles per year over the course of five years, which would be transformational. So, so to answer your question, like we're not only like constantly pushing the city to install more and more changes to our streets, but we're also putting in the legislation, that's going to codify these changes and make them even quicker and make them more a part of how the city operates than just like an advocacy push from our organization and from like neighbors, if that makes sense.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=828.0,877.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yes. Yeah. That's a wonderful explanation of trying to implement permanent change rather than, you know, personnel addressing one-on-one incidents. Mm-hmm \u003caffirmative\u003e Do you think that there's other transportation alternatives that would benefit New Yorkers besides walking, biking, or public transit? Or would those be the big three?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=877.0,903.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: You know, like you can kind of break down those big three into like other subcategories too. So like a lot of people these days are talking about electric bikes, electric scooters, mopeds, and like people in New York City are like working in many different spheres and like, based on where they, what sphere they're working in, like they potentially get more out of certain types of vehicles. So, you know, it's important to maintain some degree of like space on our streets for, for cars, especially, if, if you're maybe like a handyman who like has like a truck, and you need to carry your tools with you from job to job. And like each job is hard to get to. So, you know, it's like a hard situation to do without a car. And then maybe you have like trucks that are doing like, big deliveries.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=903.0,958.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Like those are like some of the important considerations for like how we keep our road space used for cars. But we think that there are large, large, large populations of people who can move from like personal car use to potentially an electric bike, which has been shown to be like something that fits a lot more body types than current bicycles that don't have an electric component. They're much easier on your knees. They're much easier on your back. You're able to go farther faster. So if you're like in the outer boroughs and the farther parts, like you could definitely do like a trip more easily to, you know, the city center, if you're like in Manhattan on that in a much quicker capacity, maybe even faster than a car. If you're doing like a short trip, an electric scooter can oftentimes replace a car trip, it can even replace a walking trip.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=958.0,1013.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: We're just seeing that like, there are so many different options that are popping up, and everyone's the ideal is for everyone to have easier access to it. So you can kind of see that in the form of, both Citi bike, which is providing rentable bikes that you can take for trip. And in the Bronx, there is a pilot for electric scooter share, which has already been done in multiple cities throughout the world and in the US. And it's been shown to also reduce a lot of car trips, especially if you put it in transit deserts where you come out of the last stop of a train station. So that could be like Main Street on the 7 that could be Jamaica on the E/F. And from there you could maybe put some electric scooters that people could like go from that train to the electric scooter and scoot home.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1013.0,1067.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And oftentimes the missing piece there is that these areas have very few safe, protected bike lanes that are adequate for most users. They just have like streets that cater to automobiles. So that's like a, a big issue where we're not able to move as many people off of car use because the infrastructure predominantly fits locations where they are seen as politically feasible. So that's like the closer you get in Manhattan, the more oftentimes wealthy a community is the more likely you're gonna get that kind of infrastructure because you have a base of people who have the free time to advocate for it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1067.0,1110.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: \u003caffirmative\u003e right. So the infrastructure needs to come first or needs to help facilitate the use of more transportation alternatives.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1110.0,1122.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: For sure. Like in infrastructure, if you build it, they will come. There are a lot of times that areas that didn't have big bicycling populations sort of like created one just by putting in infrastructure, like the most notable example would probably be Queens Boulevard, which is a very dangerous street known as the Boulevard of death. And with the comprehensive street redesign of it, fatalities have gone down, but the amount of people biking and using it as like almost a bike super highway has gone up a lot since prior to its installation. And this is for a bike lane that literally has very few connections into neighborhoods. It's just like a bike lane through the street itself. So it's hard for people to get to it, but just with that first piece of infrastructure, you're seeing the riding numbers like dramatically increasing with every time that it's expanded and we can see that same kind of increase when we do projects, just like that. Even if the bike ridership isn't there, when you put it in, once you put it in and hopefully create policies to, to encourage bike riding in the area, like naturally people who felt they had to have a car are like, wow, I finally have another option for getting around. And it's pretty great.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1122.0,1204.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. That's a great example of showing, you know, these alternatives work. Yeah.To pivot a little bit, my next question was, in your work with TA and I think you might have touched on this a little bit, but are there intersection or effects from climate change and if so, what are they?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1204.0,1225.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Yeah, that's a good question. You know, it's interesting when I, when I started at TA I found all these bag, these random like tote bags, and they said something like Bike Sandy. And this was like a little before my time, but when Hurricane Sandy happened, there were, there were a lot of people who didn't have access to the train anymore. Because literally, they were overrun with like salt water and like, you know, trains were like down for a bit and people were like, how am I supposed to get around? And like, the bike for TA became like a, a signal. Like how, how can we like shift? How can we take, it's kind of a bad way of putting it, but like, how can we take advantage of this moment where people are like, definitely are open to like new things because like their world has just been shaken so dramatically.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1225.0,1271.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Yeah. And a lot of people picked up bikes as a secondary solution for getting around. It's much easier. Just find a bike than it is to like get a car if you're mostly dependent on transit. So a lot of people picked up bikes from Hurricane Sandy. We're seeing a secondary, a moment where you know, the, the pandemic, not totally climate change related, but Hurricane Ida has also like kind of opened moments where people are like, how, again, how do I get around when like my normal form of getting around is messed up by a the effects of climate change. So that's sort of like the worst case example where it's like bad things happen from climate change and people need immediate solutions. You can kind of say the same thing with public transit.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1271.0,1325.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: A lot of people like if there are won't take and where they need to go, buses come in and they can really replicate a lot of car trips, and kind of going more into like the preventative parts of climate change. Again, transportation is the number two polluter in New York City. And every car that we get off of our streets results in much less emissions going into, into the sky and contributing to climate change. So there, there's just like a lot of synergy between transportation and climate change and, and you get a direct benefit for every person that you convert off of using a car into using one of these other forms of transportation.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1325.0,1377.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right. It's a cycle of, I guess, less emissions, you know, greener forms of transportation, and then we don't, we're into, you know, it would help that we, when their climate change events happen. Yeah, it's a cycle of sorts. Yeah. Um, okay. And the next question I had was, what is the most pressing environmental concern that cars bring to urban areas, which you kind of already touched on, but if you wanna elaborate further on that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1377.0,1413.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: You know, it's interesting, like maybe one of the things that I haven't touched on as much that really, I don't know if it's the most pressing, but I think it's just one of those other considerations that most people don't realize. And this is definitely something we see a lot in Queens. When we build neighborhoods and communities that are dependent on cars, we literally reshape all of our streets. I mean, prior to us having roads and buildings and everything, New York City was just like a bunch of trees and hills and mountains. And there is a degree that you have to like destroy nature to, to allow for cars. And even in like the limited nature that you get from like, the single family home zones that we have, especially like in Eastern Queens, farther out and Flushing. A lot of people literally pave over their lawns to build additional parking spaces for their cars.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1413.0,1475.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And what we've been seeing, especially with like a lot of the basements that have been flooded is that we're not creating natural porous surfaces for our streets that allow, you know, big rains, especially hurricanes to naturally like siphon into the ground and, and, and, and, naturally sort of find their space where they can like get tucked away and not affect everything else. Instead like we're, we're, we're becoming more and more dependent on our \u003caffirmative\u003e our sewer system to like, handle all that rainfall. And we've literally seen in this so-called once in a lifetime, bad hurricane that, like, it just can't handle it. When there's too much water going through our sewer system, it gets spit out somewhere else, whether it's the flushing creek smelling like horrible do-do or basements becoming a space to store water because there aren't other porous green spaces to put it in. Like all of our different ways of life are in incre are increasingly becoming affected by us building our infrastructure more and more with less porous surfaces that are more adequate for cars. So when we can create ways for people to, you know, free their lawns put in bioswells, all these things require space from our street and, and the percentage of our street that we allocate towards cars means that they're going to be less and less ready for climate change each time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1475.0,1579.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Wow. I hadn't even thought of that connection of the, the, I didn't know about the porous services and, the climate change events and how those most make it even worse. So I think that's, that's an interesting point. Um, okay. And you, and just, pivoting off of what you kind of just said, what are some things that people can do now to create a better environment in their communities?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1579.0,1607.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: I mean, like I always come at it from, you know, the aspect of like the, the strongest message I could bring someone is that if there is something that they care about, and if there's maybe like, even a lens to that issue, whether like climate change or transportation, or like all these different other things, like there is an organization that's probably speaking directly to what you're talking about. And what we've seen is that a lot of things that should happen in the city, like people are constantly asking why isn't, why is, why are things this way? Or why are things not the way that they should be? And we need more people who are out there, like, literally talking about these issues and ensuring that they become prioritized. Cause, we can't make our streets more climate change friendly, or, you know, less bad for the environment if we don't have people advocating to their elected officials at civic meetings for the policies that actually do that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1607.0,1671.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: I think most people, especially elected officials like to talk about what we need to do, but they won't give you like the specific things that they'll do in their district that they know will annoy some people. Because unfortunately our political system is based on popular representation versus like enacting the policy we all need. And more often than not I, as an organizer and like volunteers, I organize, like we've been caught up in very intense, oftentimes like violent with words, fights over, over what the public realm should look like. This has happened in person in town halls. This happens on Facebook. This happens on Twitter and it's not pretty. And oftentimes it like shoots your cortisol levels up to like deal with so much like, animosity over what you're talking about. But that is at the very moment, unfortunately, the process we have to like instill change.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1671.0,1737.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: So again, like the best way people can get involved is to find an organization that is already, literally doing this work and find ways that you can help them. And then maybe like, see like where their progress is limited and how, if you have a special skillset, you can either contribute independently or you can form like a, a different coalition or, you know, you can at least get a general sense of the landscape of what you care about. And then kind of see, like where are the gaps that you can fill in to help if, if they can provide you a way of doing that great. If you feel they can't, then how can I directly do it? At Transportation Alternatives to give an example, we provide volunteer committees in each borough where people can come in and they can weigh in on like hyperlocal campaigns that are meant to encourage sustainable forms of transportation.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1737.0,1791.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And we're not always gonna have the capacity to like, do every little thing, but at least we can form like a network of people. You can like bounce ideas off of reliably reach out to, for like help and stuff. And like there are other organizations doing the same thing, like Riders Alliance does it for transit and like improving like bus speeds and, and making transit more affordable, which can oftentimes be a barrier for people. There are universities doing research on these issues, so on and so forth, you know, there, there are just so many people already doing, probably the work you're thinking about. So just kind of reach out to them and get a, get a better sense of how you can help or, or, or what, whatever else.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1791.0,1835.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: \u003caffirmative\u003e. Are there specific, you can mention off the top of your head, are there specific programs or research that are going on at universities based in New York City?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1835.0,1848.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Sure. Yeah. I mean, like, there are like so many different ways of looking at it. I love the, the work that Do Lee did, for the biking public project, which was based out of the CUNY system and it helped to elevate the issues that delivery workers were having, doing their work. And a lot of these people are on bikes instead of in cars, oftentimes contributing to less congestion in our streets, but many people sort of hate them because they, they sort of represent like this, this evil of New York City, the, the sort of externalities, nobody likes to admit are necessary, but like people want the convenience of like getting their food quickly. And in most places we have like the space for cars to like, do all that stuff. You know, cause we have like suburbs and like cities that don't have people walking, you know, you see more people delivering via car, but here in New York City, most deliveries are done by bike.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1848.0,1916.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Um, and for a while there was having those who, were like helping to create this more sustain way of deliveries being done. Which is, you know, it's just messed up in so many different dimensions. We just sort of scapegoat our, our simple issues to like people that are doing the things that we need done, but we're not happy to do the way that they are. Like, there's a big backlash on people, ride eBikes for regular bikes anyway, Do's research on like eBikes and his advocacy helped to legalize those tools for the people who use it. And again, they're providing like a sustainable way for deliveries to be done, cuz you have like tons and tons of people who are delivering food via bike. And then you have like tons of companies that use big trucks to make our package deliveries. And oftentimes they don't go through the same scrutiny as these individuals who are making deliveries by bike riders. So that kind of research and advocacy literally changed policy. And I have no doubt that there are other people who are doing that same kind of research, whether it's through a climate change lens and there are tons of colleges that are looking at climate change more directly. And you know, I'm sure all the folks in the CUNY system are cooking up some cool stuff.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=1916.0,2005.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right. Thank you for bringing up that example. Cause that's something that I think all New Yorkers encounter with the delivery workers and, and truck drivers and things like that, to, to move another direction. My next question is, how has COVID 19 affected environmental efforts like cycling and, or walking alternatives, positively or negatively?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2005.0,2031.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: That's a really good question. It it's a little bit of a mixed bag, right? So you have a lot of people who have purchased cars, especially during the beginning of COVID 19 cause they were scared of shared forms of transportation and, and how they could potentially catch COVID-19 if they took the bus or they took train. It honestly became like COVID 19 was, is this weird reset where a lot of things were like challenged and changed and you could really just see like crazy policies being implemented as a result. Many of them are still here. An impressive thing was, at one point the MTA made all of the buses free and we saw an incredible growth of people riding the bus that unfortunately doesn't exist anymore. People have to pay to use the bus, but like you can literally look at a graph and see like the moment they made buses free and how like ridership shot up probably high.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2031.0,2097.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And then the day after when they made people pay again in like the sharp dip, and that was like a cool moment where you could be like, whoa, this is what free transit does to ridership. And, and it's incredible to think like how many more people would like rethink their entire way of transporting themselves if they had more access to free transportation in like, in one of these like more sustainable ways. Secondly, as a city we've clearly like rethought the role of public streets. You know, if you look at photos of New York City prior to the pandemic, you would see almost every street lined with cars as parking for the curb. And now you see that small business footprints have increased into the roadway, which has provided, especially in like more like, you know, like divey neighborhoods like this new life to nightlife.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2097.0,2151.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: It's provided bigger footprints for a lot of stores that you go in there and like you're packed in can of sardines. And it's nice to like have oftentimes they provide now this cute outdoor seating that you can like hang out with your friends and enjoy like a meal with them. This oftentimes didn't happen because it was so hard to get space on the sidewalk. But the curb re the road has dramatically in terms of how people are thinking, like, how does the road get used? So at Transportation Alternatives, our big proposal, you know, looking at COVID, but also looking towards the future is that we're hoping for Mayor Adams to take 25% of our street space and reallocate it towards commuting. So the reason that so much of our parking existed, cause people thought that is the best use of our road space.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2151.0,2211.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And I think more people's eyes are open to the idea that, well, maybe like a bike lane would be more useful than a row of parked cars, like, taking some parking and instead transitioning it to like repositories for like our, our street trash as they do in Barcelona can help produce rat populations and like make our streets clean. So, so, you know, there are so many different options for how we can think about our street now, since the political will has changed with COVID and we welcome people to like reimagine their streets. Like this is the most amazing opportunity where everyone's eyes and ears are open to the fact that, yeah, this is possible. I mean, look at what they did on 34th avenue, literally a mile and a half of predominantly car free streets.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2211.0,2265.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: And every single day, even to the winter, you just see like throes of people, just walking, running, socializing on a street. And, and if you take in mind, the broader picture, Jackson Heights has these really dense buildings with tons of family packed in there and very few outdoor space for them. We as a city have prioritized the need to park cars and build businesses, but not to like let people live. And when you build these kinds of streets, you just see so many people who didn't have outlets to do this kind of stuff. Take advantage of it, cuz they're like, oh, finally, they're, they're thinking about things that they weren't thinking about before.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2265.0,2311.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Right. Do you think initiatives like open streets will, will continue and become more permanent or, or have you already seen initiatives like that become more permanent because of COVID?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2311.0,2325.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: So, it's only gonna accelerate, cities around the world have, have all adopted the idea of reclaiming the city from the automobile. You know, COVID being like the impetus, unfortunately, America, as usual is falling behind a lot of European cities in terms of like how intensely we're doing it. You're seeing so many European cities that are making their centers car free, and they're creating the playbook that were unfortunately. But you know, at TA we're hoping to restart the conversation with, with 25 by 25 and, and show New York City can be a leader in terms of setting the standards for what a more human centered city can look like.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2325.0,2373.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah, so we, we talked about open streets and bike, designated bike lanes. Are there other spatial initiatives that you think would benefit New Yorkers and the urban environment that you'd like to see implemented?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2373.0,2389.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Yeah. With the regional plan association, we created a document called the rider bike plan and in it, we created essentially like a, an entire map of protected bike lanes in the same way that you look on Google maps and you see a map of highways that interconnect with each other. We kind of want to create the same thing with bikes. And one thing we found is a big stopping point to the connectivity of our boroughs are the bridges, so it, it's interesting and very bureaucratic, but some the city owns some bridges. The state owns other bridges, some city agencies own some bridges, some state agencies own bridges. It's like so confusing unnecessarily. But the, the hindrance there is that we need a full scale look at how this all intersects and the bridges oftentimes are the biggest deterrents for people being able to like do, to think about their bike as their main mode of transportation, to get from point a to point B from borough to borough.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2389.0,2454.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: If you want to get from east Queens to the east Bronx while you have this, very accessible bridge right there, that you could take, there's absolutely no space for a person to ride a bike or even walk on that bridge. And we're, we're basically saying, if you want to use this piece of infrastructure, you need to own a car or you need to take a bus. And more and more cities are saying that that isn't the only people should have options. So we're definitely trying to make a stronger push that bridges are just as important as roads, in terms of infrastructure conversations and our big first success, well, two big victories recently are that the Brooklyn Bridge got a bike lane and that, that bike lane came from reapportioning road space that used to be for cars.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2454.0,2513.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: The world has not burned as a result of us doing that. And in fact, we were able to make that bridge an amazing amenity for people biking and for people who are visiting New York for tourism reasons. And, you know, tourism is the backbone of New York City in many different ways. So the better we can make that experience for people who are not only in the city, but also coming from out the city, the, the more opportunities we're gonna provide for our small business owners, because more people are gonna wanna come to visit. And anyone who's walked on the Brooklyn Bridge it's night and day, you know, just like the, we can do that same kind of treatment on Verrazzano Bridge, which infamously has no access between Staten Island and south Brooklyn on various MTA bridges that have no access for people walking and biking there, there's just so much more we can do with our bridge infrastructure. And it ties directly into everything we're doing on our roads. \u003caffirmative\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2513.0,2574.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Mm-hmm \u003caffirmative\u003eI was just thinking about other transportation alternatives. And I was thinking about the ferry and I was wondering what your thoughts were on the ferry system and how that benefits New Yorkers.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2574.0,2589.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: It's cool. You know, there are a lot of studies that have shown that um for the most part as a transportation system. It, it suits richer people who live along waterfronts and people who are visiting New York as tourists. And I mean, like those things are important. I, I just think that, like, I, you know, if we are gonna subsidize the ferry service, let's also look at literally what's moving the vast majority of new Yorkers through sustainable modes, and we could do so much to subsidize Citi bike, which is much more popular in terms of how people use it to commute and to get around. And it's more equitably distributed. We could build the ferry service out so that it hits more neighborhoods that would benefit from it thinking like, could we get it to Flushing in Queens? Could we get it to more parts of the Bronx, east Bronx? You know, like there are just so many other spaces where we could expand the service that really would benefit from it more than others where it can feel redundant. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2589.0,2664.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Okay. Thank you for your thoughts on, on, on the ferry. Let's see. I think you already mentioned some organizations, but are there other ones that you would recommend learning about for New York residents for creating positive and environmental efforts? And as a fellow, Astoria resident, are there any Astoria based organizations?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2664.0,2689.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: That's a good question. So for the city, there are a lot of organizations that are releasing really good policy papers, or like speaking at this from like a grass tops level. So you can look at the League of Conservation Voters who often, who I think yearly, or at least when big elections are happening release report cards for how city council members have voted on issues. It's a good way of like, getting a sense of how your city council member who's often the biggest change maker for local policy is doing on climate change, on transportation. You could look at Los Deliveristas Unidos who are working to organize delivery cyclists throughout the city. They got like a really big policy win just a few months ago where a suite of, of legislation was approved to improve the lives of everyday delivery cyclists who literally keep our city running.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2689.0,2756.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: You can look at Bike New York who is, who provide free adult and children classes on how to ride a bike. They taught my girlfriend how to ride a bike as an adult. And, you know, a lot of people don't realize it's a free service. That's primarily funded by all the money they get from the annual bike tour and other things like that. And it's just while we provide so much of the advocacy work, so people feel safe riding a bike. If you don't know how to ride one, you know, the conversation kind of ends there. There's a re really cool organization called Oonee. Um, they're a for profit, uh, company that is helping to provide bike share. I mean, excuse me, um, safe and closed bike parking in all of New York City, they just landed their first, like citywide scaled bike parking contract in Jersey City, which is unfortunate. Like why, why are we getting beaten out by Jersey? But they can literally provide modular bike parking that is enclosed and locked and safe in literally city streets. Like you could take like the space where like a car or two cars or something like that, or are parked and replace that with a little bike parking hub. So a lot of people say they can't get a bike because they just can't bring it up to their apartment. If we can start putting more of these on our streets, like you're opening the conversation for a lot of, a lot more people to be able to own a bike or an e-bike or, you know, these tools that people can use to get around. And again, they're for profit, but they have like a fundraiser for their OPO mini thing. So if you want to contribute to them, you're welcome to, and I mentioned Buyers Alliance, they're looking at transit, in terms of other resources, I would say for like people to just like, think about this mm-hmm \u003caffirmative\u003e, I highly recommend two YouTube channels.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2756.0,2884.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: The first one is called Not Just Bikes. And it's about like this guy who move to Amsterdam and like his perspective on like how to make biking better throughout the world. And he uses Amsterdam as like this ideal place for transportation, literally voted the best place to drive a car and to ride a bike in many places. And, and a lot of times people think about those two things as being incongruous, but, you know, it, it's so interesting to just watch those videos and see how he talks through these issues. And another one's called City Beautiful, which focuses more on cities as a whole. And it's, it's, it's giving me a lot of perspective on how to think about New York City in the wake of how other cities develop themselves and develop transportation options, but also housing and all these, our conversations that everyone's having.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2884.0,2931.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: It's all intersectional. For Astoria specifically, let me see. There's like, there's some like cool organizations. I mean, obviously like Queens' DSA has like a really big footprint in Astoria. They help to elect a lot of elected officials who are really pro transit and pro like climate sustainability. They help to fight against the, the building of the new peaker plant up in Northern Astoria, which is also known as Asthma Alley from all the people who have asthma from all the, the, the power plants that we have in that area. Transportation Alternatives Queens volunteer committee, obviously, you know, we help to put in the Crescent Street, protected bike lane, Shore Boulevard, open street, the Shore Boulevard, two-way protected bike lane. We are, we secured, the Queensborough bridge pedestrian path that's going in next year.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=2931.0,3005.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: We're doing a lot of really hyperlocal work in Astoria and other boroughs to also improve the waterfront and make it more, why does Brooklyn get to have everything that's nice. There's like some civic organizations you can kind of look into, if, if I'm being honest, most of the organizations tend to be on the conservative end, that includes community board one at times, that includes, like democratic clubs, but the more people who like see these issues this way I join the, like, it is that they will change and they'll become better on these issues.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3005.0,3052.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Wow. Those are a lot of great resources. Yeah, I, I passed the, the Crescent street bike lane all the time. I didn't know that TA did that. So that's amazing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3052.0,3064.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Took four years.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3064.0,3065.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. Like, like a lot of things that move slowly. Right. \u003claugh\u003e Let's see, I guess, to wrap up my last question would be, what are your hopes for the future regarding our environment?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3065.0,3081.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: You know, barring like some of the, like crazier like doomsday style stuff, like people, people are talking about how, like Amazon's looking into, if they can like dim the sun, which is like, you know, that's like, that's like the top level, like science-y, like out there ideas. There are a lot of things we can do here now that, you know, we can like set a standard for the rest of the country on how to think about these issues. Like, we're definitely in a breeding ground for like top level ideas on sustainability. And that, that hyperlocal work at the end of the day, it reverberates outward could be because we're showing people it can be done. People said putting a bike lane on Brooklyn Bridge, couldn't be done. It's been done. We're, we're thinking about like a renewable Rikers island, which will help to like, promote sustainability.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3081.0,3147.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: Like all these ideas are like groundbreaking and like New York City can really set the standard for what can be done. And we in Queens for sure do that all the time. So there's no reason why that degree of ingenuity and innovation won't continue and hopefully we can meet a lot of, a lot of the, the metrics necessary to prevent like catastrophic climate change that's unstoppable. So it, it, it's all about like looking locally, but also like understanding the bigger picture, which can be depressing, but at least we can kind of do the local work in the meantime and, and know that we're at least having some impact and it, it makes climate change better, but it also just improves the quality of life for so many people who live in the community. So don't get like too bummed by the fact that like climate change is like very serious.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3147.0,3215.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Yeah. Absolutely. New York is, it can definitely, and it should be the center for growth innovation here. So, and yeah, and quality proving the quality of life for the millions of people that live here. So I think TA is doing amazing work. Are there any final thoughts you'd like to share? As we near the end of this interview.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3215.0,3240.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: I feel, I feel pretty good. I think we had a nice long conversation. I probably said too much. Uh, no","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3240.0,3246.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: \u003claugh\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3246.0,3248.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Juan Restrepo: But if anybody ever wants to contact us, we have a website it's trans alt.org, T R a NS alt.org. You can follow us on Twitter, transportation alternatives, follow us on Instagram transportation alternatives. And we have staff who work on a hyper local basis to look at these things. So if you're looking at this from Queens, like always feel free to hit us up, we have a Queens organizer who's our, our first, first in line to like talk with you about these issues.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3248.0,3286.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849/transcript/39925/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Daniela Trapani: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Juan. And I'll end the interview here. Thank you. Of course.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2074/collection_resources/68502/file/153849#t=3286.0,3294.01598"}]}]}]}