I just read a fantastic article in New York Magazine about loneliness in NYC.

Did you know that one of every two apartments in New York City is occupied by just one person living alone? Of all 3,141 counties in the United States, New York County has the most single-individual households, at 50.6 percent. More than three-quarters of the people in them are below the age of 65. Fifty-seven percent are female.

I wasn’t totally surprised by this fact. Just in my own social circle I know countless solo dwellers. I suppose the only surprise to me is how in the hell all these folks can afford rent on their own when I can barely make rent as a duo. (Then again, some New Yorkers have actual fulltime jobs.)

Makes you think New Yorkers are all sobbing themselves to sleep at night with this ditty blasting their depressed heads (forgive the poor video quality)

Sure, there are some sad solo souls sobbing in the city, but if you have ever lived in New York you know that it actually is one of the best places to live alone since you are rarely ever actually alone.

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The New York City Department of Transportation has released a plan to make the streets of the Big Apple more walkable. The plan, World Class Streets: Remaking New York City’s Public Realm by Gehl Architects/Urban Planning Consultants studies the issues surrounding pedestrian traffic and outlines new city policies regarding the function and design of public spaces to better accommodate that traffic in NYC.

The main finding of Gehl, a Danish firm credited with turning Copenhagen into one of the most walkable and bikeable cities on earth, was that - surprise, surprise! - New York City sidewalks are too crowded. The solution? Devote more public space to pedestrian traffic and less to automobile traffic. Given that tearing down privately owned buildings or converting already scarce public park space weren’t viable there wasn’t really anywhere else to turn.

The report and policies fall directly in line with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s vision for a cleaner, greener with less cars. After seeing his Congestion Pricing initiative stonewalled in the New York State legislature, Bloomberg has consistently moved toward cutting down the access of automobile traffic in Manhattan on his own, using measures that do not require State approval such as mandating more bus lanes on Broadway in Lower Manhattan and creating a Pedestrian promenade on the Great White Way south of Times Square. This report represents the further evolution of the Mayor’s vision for a cleaner, greener city that uses less fossil fuels and relies more on people power and public transit.

You can takepart in learning more about this green vision of the future of NYC by checking out the Sustainable Streets Plan.

LINKS:

NY Times: Green Inc.: Taking the Woe Out of Walking in New York City

NY Daily News: International Urban Whiz would ban cars in Times Square

Crains New York: NYC will close two lanes to cars on Broadway

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to levy a tax on plastic bags within New York City. “The most beautiful thing” that kinda creepy, kinda deep guy next door from American Beauty ever filmed (watch the clip below) is not going to come for free anymore in the Big Apple, if Hizzona has his way, with Bloomberg proposing adding a 5 cent tax for each bag.

The Mayor says the plan could raise $16 Million in revenue each year while encouraging shoppers to cut down on the number of the plastic bags they use from retail stores and move toward using their own reusable bags for their shopping needs.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

Should Drive-Thrus Be Banned?

Eco-Moms Mad About “Greenwash” Barbie

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Andy Kondrat:

Home Depot Will Recycle Your CLF Bulbs for Free

Department of Energy Predicts 50% Energy Increase By 2030

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Jon Popham:

NYC Waterfalls Installation Starts This Week

Capt. John Smith Is Back…and Running for President

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Giulia Rozzi:

Yoga Across the Border

Emile Norman: By His Own Design

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Gina Telaroli:

Silverdocs 08: A Post-Fest Wrap-Up

Human Rights Watch 08: Letter to Anna

The New York City Waterfalls, a new public art installation by Olafur Eliasson, starts in the Big Apple tomorrow. The installation features four waterfalls in the East River and New York Harbor in the following locations:

• Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage - Brooklyn side (seen left)
• Governors Island
• Between Piers 4 and 5 in Brooklyn
• Pier 35 in Manhattan

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, best known for “The Weather Project” at the Tate Modern where he made made realistic representations of the Sun, sky, mist and wind, had this to say about “The New York City Waterfalls” in his artist’s statement for the exhibition:

“When water flows down the East River, we tend to see it as a simple surface, framed by a neutral urban waterfront. By elevating it into waterfalls, I wish to amplify its physical and tangible presence while exposing the dynamics of natural forces such as gravity, wind and daylight. My idea is to encourage people to identify more with the waterfront of New York City; this is a call for the revitalization of areas that until recently have been under-utilized as creative and recreational spaces because people have focused primarily on the interior grid of the City. There is a huge unrealized potential waiting to be explored and this is located right at our feet.”

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Tatum O’Neal was arrested on drug charges in her Manhattan apartment Sunday night. New York City Police said they had found bags of cocaine and crack cocaine in the 44 year old actress’s possession at the time of the arrest. Police Reports indicate O’Neal initiallly told NYPD Officers that she was doing research for an upcoming film part. Also arrested was 33 year old Allen Garcia who is believed possibly to be O’Neal’s dealer.

Tatum O’Neal was the youngest actress in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Oscar, having taken home the prize for Best Supporting Actress for “Paper Moon” in which she co-starred with her father Ryan O’Neal when she was 10 years old. Since then she has appeared in such films as “The Bad News Bears”, “International Velvet” and “Basquiat” along with numerous television appearances including “Sex and the City”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Rescue Me”.

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Bon Jovi will be performing in New York City’s Central Park this summer. Word of the concert slipped out in a recent interview Jon Bon Jovi gave with SI.com. When asked if he’ll be playing Giant Stadium this summer, Bon Jovi replied:

“…We always end every tour at Giants Stadium, but we’re going to do Central Park this year. That hasn’t been announced yet, there you go, we’re doing Central Park. “

Fans will get to hear to such Bon Jovi classics as “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Wanted: Dead or Alive” and “You Give Love a Bad Name” in the center of Manhattan on Central Park’s Great Lawn. Hopefully things will be kept a little more under control than when Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, hooked up with the band at Giants Stadium in New Jersey (in case you’re not familiar with Triumph, this is probably NSFW, unless you work in a cool office):

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It isn’t enough that schools are more focused on test results than actual education these days (not necessarily the teachers fault) but now there are schools that want to test kids to see how well they will test?

A testing company wants to add 10 diagnostic tests to some Manhattan public schools to predict how well the students will do on the tests that actually count. It may be harder than they think though, as many parents are speaking out against the testing for tests:

At a news conference in front of City Hall on Tuesday, the parents said they were organizing a boycott of the field tests to be given at their children’s schools ”

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by Kerry Trueman

Do lavish holiday light displays bring out the eco-grinch in you, making you wince at the sight of all that wasted energy? This year, you can feast your eyes on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree without flinching, because the massive tree’s five miles of LED lights will be powered by 363 solar panels on Rockefeller Plaza’s rooftop.

But the greening of Rockefeller Center won’t end with the holidays; Tishman Speyer, co-owner of Rockefeller Center, also announced plans yesterday to cover the roof of Radio City Music Hall with desert plants, which could recycle over a half-million gallons of wastewater annually. For a concrete jungle, mid-town Manhattan’s getting greener all the time.