Time's Up!

This article is about the environmental organisation. For other uses, see Time's Up (disambiguation).

Time’s Up! Environmental Organization was founded in 1987 to help educate New Yorkers about environmental awareness. One of its main focuses is to promote non-polluting transportation, by advocating biking. Among other activities, Time's Up! helped found New York City's Pedi cab industry, and takes an active role in maintaining community gardens. Recent initiatives include supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. Time’s Up! is run completely by volunteers, currently with over 150. Time's Up! also has a video documentary team. The media coverage of issues and events involving Time's Up! has been rapidly increasing over the years. Dr. Michael Nash the director of Tamiment Library wrote, adding: “Time’s Up has been at the center of a new generation of activist politics in New York."

1987

Time's Up! Environmental Group is founded in New York City. The group is created based on their commitment to "improving the environment by empowering individuals to become active participants in their communities."

1991

Beginning in 1991, Time’s Up! initiated a campaign to promote non-polluting transportation, focusing on hybrid-electrics, pedal assist technologies, and advocacy of biking. This campaign is still being continued today through their events.

Central Park Moonlight Ride

Time's Up! holds a monthly year-round Central Park Moonlight ride to raise environmental awareness. These group bike rides create a safe place for people to cycle together because it is an "auto-free ride." This helps establish everyday commuters and has helped continuously increase cycling every year.

1992

Time’s Up! assisted with Green Apple Map pinpointed 145 sites in New York City that have made an environmental impact and have sparked a local-global movement. Following this, Time's Up! launched a campaign to reclaim public space from automobiles, Including the Central Park Moonlight Ride, a "traffic calming ride" in Central Park, advocating auto-free streets, and encouraging sustainable infrastructure.

1994

In 1994, Time’s Up! volunteers, working with the Hub Station, founded the Pedi cab industry in New York City. Pedicabs operate similar to a taxi in that they pick up passengers, though without the pollution associated with motorized taxis. In 1994, mostly in pieces, 12 pedicabs were brought into NYC with the idea of test marketing them. George Bliss, from the Hub Station, was one of the early pioneers of this project, working with Time's Up! volunteers and a donated space by Light Wheels on Crosby Street, NYC. At the Crosby Street space, Time's Up! began to put together the pedicabs, and started introducing them to the streets. Pedicabs have struggled building up their presence in New York, especially when the city installed roadblocks and tried to put a cap on them. However, thanks to the support of many Time's Up! volunteers, pedicabs prevailed, and they are all over New York, replacing toxic carbon combustion with clean human powered energy.

1996

In the 1996, Time's Up! worked with the Wetlands Activism Collective, launching a campaign to raise awareness about animal rights and the preservation of both virgin forest and rain forest ecosystems.

1999

In 1999, Time's Up! teamed up with a coalition to cultivate some community gardens and protect endangered ones. This project also created dozens of new gardens with Time’s Up! volunteers and community support. They have also teamed up with the Lower East Side Collective's public space division, to protect and celebrate use of public space. Time’s Up! is a part of many other community garden cleanups as well.

2004

Bike National Convention

In collaboration with many organizations, Time's Up! has rallied public support for the building of greenways to increase non-polluting transportation and public waterfront access. In 2004, Time's Up! hosted the Bike National Convention (BNC). The BNC consists of a month-long calendar of free educational events to draw attention to environmental issues that came to New York with the Republican National Convention.

Houston Space

In 2004, Time's Up! supporter, Steve Stollman, donated full-time use of a storefront space, centrally located at 49th East Houston Street, just east of Broadway, in downtown Manhattan. This permitted the launching of a bicycle co-op, allowing workshops 5 nights a week showing them how to repair their bicycles in a skilled share format. This indoor space had also housed a video-editing studio, puppet/prop making, offices, weekly educational movie nights, and eco-seminars.

2005

Time's Up! started the Street Memorial Project beginning in 1996. This project commemorated cyclists and pedestrians killed by motorists while simultaneously bringing awareness to how unsafe local infrastructure in the city actually is. Also in 2005, Time's Up teamed up with Visual Resistance to begin the white Ghost Bike Project. "Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel."

2006

Time's Up! campaigned in defence of New Yorker's First Amendment Rights. Part of these rights are the freedom of speech and public assembly. Included in that are the rights to protect bicyclists riding together in a group and the growth of the Pedi-cab movement. Time’s Up's first amendment lawyer, Norman Siegel, the NYC Bar association, and the National Lawyers Guild helped out with this campaign. In 2006, Time’s Up! released an extensive study, prepared by economist, Charles Komanoff, to inform New York taxpayers of the money spent by the city and state to suppress the monthly Critical Mass ride. Time's Up! has also teamed up with New York University's Sustainability Taskforce to promote non-polluting transportation and environmental education among the NYU student body.

2007

Time's Up's monthly group bike rides helped to increase cycling in New York City by over 100% from 2000 to late 2007. The increase in riders put more pressure on the city to create a safer infrastructure that, in turn, produced even more riders. The increase in ridership and direct action pushed the city to alter the city’s urban design and appoint a new Department of Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, who implemented bike lanes, auto-free zones and sustainable infrastructure in 2008.

2008

In 2008, Time’s Up! opened its Manhattan space. It is located at ABC NoRio community center on 156 Rivington Street.

2009

In 2009, Times Up! introduced themed public space awareness events . The purpose of these rides are to show that public spaces belong to the public and can be used as a gathering place, meeting place and a place for people to enjoy themselves without the danger of the automobile.

2010

In 2010, Times Up! opened its Brooklyn space on 99 South 6th Street. The Williamsburg Bridge has the highest number of new riders crossing it and new ridership continues to flourish in Williamsburg. By opening this location right under the bridge, along with the Manhattan location, Time's Up! is able to support riders on both sides of the bridge. The Brooklyn location offers bike classes and workshops, thousands of low-cost recycled parts, a recycle-a-bike program, and many other campaigns to help non-polluting transportation flourish.

2011

Viridian Energy

In 2011, Times Up! stepped up their efforts on education and direct action towards renewable energy by pointing out the harmful effects of fossil fuels and nonrenewable energy sources. They began a partnership with Viridian Energy, a wind power company. Due to deregulation, people have the freedom to obtain renewable energy for their own homes.

Indian Power Plant

Also in 2011, several campaigns focusing on the harmful effects of nuclear power were created. One of these campaigns was focused on shutting down the Indian Point power plant. Time's Up! teamed up with Clearwater Environmental Organization to do this by sailing up to Indian Point.

Energy Bike

Later in the year, Times Up! at the Brooklyn location created its own mechanical energy using energy bikes. Volunteers designed these bikes to produce energy through the power of pedaling alone.

Occupy Wall Street

In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street Movement went global. This campaign was born in New York City with the help of Times Up! volunteers, who assisted in organizing this movement. Times Up! helped with the sustainability and environmental education portions of the movement.

As the movement continued, people living in Zuccotti Park needed their bikes to be repaired. Time’s Up! brought tools and parts to hold free fix-your-bike workshops.

One of Time's Up's events is the annual Occupy Fountain Ride. In the upcoming summer of 2012 they will be holding their 4th annual Fountain Ride. Time's Up! utilizes privately owned public spaces, such as Zuccotti Park, that contain fountains by swimming in them.

Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS)

Currently in 2012, Time’s Up! is helping launch an innovative museum in New York City’s Lower East Side called the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS). MoRUS is a living archive of the Lower East Side’s squats and community gardens. It will display photographs, posters, underground newspapers etc. to show how local residents cleaned up vacant lots and buildings and created organized spaces for the community. The museum’s tentative opening date is late July 2012. Time’s Up! is helping fund raise for the museum by spreading the word through documenting the construction process.

2012

Time's Up introduced the 1000 Dutch-Style Bike Program, refurbishing used city-friendly bicycles to promote environmentally friendly transportation.

External links

• Official website