It’s been an amazing beginning to November here at Streetfilms! First off, Clarence Eckerson Jr. (that’s me!) was a guest on The War on Cars podcast speaking with hosts Doug Gordon & Sarah Goodyear discussing at length the history of Streetfilms beginnings to how the three of us have been long-time associates in the fight for safer streets and better cities. But also some of my favorite films & places and specifically looking back at the metamorphosis of New York City, specifically under Mayor Bloomberg & Janette Sadik-Khan (there’s a reason for that coming up!)
Doug Gordon, Clarence Eckerson Jr, Sarah Goodyear
We had a great flow talking over an hour, old friends reminiscing over the last 20+ years of transportation & advocacy in NYC and how our paths intersected.
You can find the podcast HERE: https://thewaroncars.org/2026/11/03/episode-183-streetfilms-with-clarence-eckerson/
But that’s not all! On Friday, November 6th at Hunter College in Manhattan, The War on Cars hosted former NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan in a wide-ranging discussion in front of over 500 attendees and VIPs..
In addition, the show featured special music guest Pondless, the urbanist synth-pop sensation and what we think is the coolest finale ever: a screening of our hour long documentary “Close Encounters of the 34th Avenue Kind” which has already screened a dozen times across the city and the world, but for the first time in Manhattan!
The show was so much fun and those in attendance were enthused by the variety show atmosphere and synergy.
Streetfilms can claim credit for accelerating the ciclovia/open streets movement across the U.S. thanks to our 2007 landmark film documenting the fantastic ciclovia of Bogota, Colombia. The next year over a ½ dozen cities (including NYC, Portland, SF) debuted ciclovias with our film being cited as a major factor in the decision.
The above video is from the final event in Brooklyn this weekend where I got to ride with Bergen Bike Bus on their fun Kidical Mass event. Wiith each event the turnout signaled a clear message: NYC DOT and Mayor Mamdani need to increase the number of events. After 18 years we need Summer Streets to resemble the great ciclovias of the world and make them a weekly event or at the very least run most of the Summer.
The first week I attended Queens’ entry along Vernon Blvd along the East River waterfront. I arrived near the 9am start and was pleasantly surprised to see it already busy - mostly thanks to the clever decision to hold a free NYRR road race that had almost 1,000 participants. It juiced interest right away and it was much busier than in years past. Take a look. On camera universally people said they loved it.
