By: Joel Epstein The goal of this piece is to spark a greater commitment to car-free cities by sharing some observations about what two countries facing existential challenges are doing in the transit and micromobility space. At this difficult period in history, it is easy to forget the many ways…

By: Joel Epstein It is sad when I miss something big. That is certainly the case with covid and the rise of remote work. Back in 2017 I wrote a glowing endorsement of SL Green and its One Vanderbilt office tower on East 42nd Street. Writing in One Vanderbilt is…

By: Joel Epstein According to the New York Post, back in September 2021, a youngster named Eric Finkelstein, age 33, of Manhattan was the first person to visit every Citi Bike station in New York City and Jersey City — all 1,577 of them. Congratulations Eric! I am happy to…

By: Joel Epstein Paved nirvana. That is what a childhood friend would have called them. I am talking about the protected bike lanes or ciclovias that San Juan has created for bike and scooter riders in Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan), Puerto Rico’s Spanish Colonial gem. …

By: Joel Epstein You know those glossy throw away magazines you find on the nightstand in your San Juan hotel room? You know the ones; with the puff piece about the local casinos and ads for Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Fogo de Chão. Well this piece isn’t about those…

By: Joel Epstein In this installment, I look at what lessons Europe holds for the U.S. when it comes to urban transit, inter-city rail and the first last kilometer conundrum. For starters, to better serve passengers. old metro stations and trains don’t need to be dirty and gross.

By: Joel Epstein “$7 lattes and I got a job.” — Dalton School graduate with a job on Wall Street “Fifty dollar sneakers and I got no job. Tell me how to do it when times is hard.” — Mars Blackmon in Spike Lee’s classic, She’s Gotta Have It A…

By: Joel Epstein With all that is wrong in the world and US politics at the moment it is easy to forget what has been achieved active transportation wise in New York since 1980. That was the year Mayor Ed Koch installed Manhattan’s first protected bike lane, only to rip…

By: Joel Epstein This one is for you Pop. I wrote it this morning on a standing room only BART train from Rockridge to SFO. San Francisco, where I was born and you and Mom discovered the beauty of the natural world. With war raging in Ukraine and economic ruin…