This is kind of blowing my mind. A building I assume survived the Jackson Street Regrade and had floors added underneath it when it moved to Jackson/Maynard. Still there today!

And they'll also be reintroducing Hoboken-WTC service on weekends, doubling weekend service at the Newport and Exchange Pl stations.

That is just restoring service to pre-2020 levels. But later in 2027 the Journal Sq-33rd St trains will start skipping Hoboken, which will shave 8 minutes off the trip to Midtown. Restores a pattern which was lost after the WTC attacks.

Coming soon!

corpinfo.panynj.gov/port-authori...

"Katie Wilson does not own a car and primarily rides the bus (public transit) to get around Seattle with her daughter." -Wikipedia

She walks the walk (literally) and is calling out the grifters. 🥳

These groups are a minority in JC but have much higher turnout than working-class black residents and especially working class Hispanic residents and outvote them. We're likely to have a council with no Hispanic representation here next year despite 25% of JC being Hispanic.

Mostly no because most aren't eligible to vote, but when they do, they vote for the progs who will the throttle development. Residents of the shorter new infill have very high turnout and vote the same way. As do the white-collar homeowners.

Development politics in JC are now dominated by progressive upper middle class transplants who are taking things radically in a SF/Boston direction and will unintentionally hollow out the working class.

I honestly think lenders and developers would be foolish to invest in any big project in JC.

And the site has sat empty for 20 years with its 830-unit zoned capacity and no IZ requirements.

These tax credits and abatements are discretionary, and the tax credits are competitive and limited. And the mayoral frontrunner is pushing a universal 20% IZO that would pit every project in the city in competition for these limited funds.

It's going to need tens of millions of dollars in subsidies in the form of tax credits and abatements. Probably well north of a $100M financing gap.

It also needs a rezoning. The site is only zoned for 830 units. I am not sure it will happen.

This scene captures the quiet magic of Tokyo’s unplanned, human-scaled backstreets—where cars are welcome only as guests, weaving their way gently through pedestrians and cyclists. Streets like these remind us that vibrancy and human connection are at the heart of every truly liveable, lovable city.

Jersey Ave at Van Vorst Park

Coles St (closed off to traffic!) 👍

York St between Jersey Ave and Varick St

Eighth St at Coles St

Halloween photos.

Eighth St and Hamilton Park West

A longtime street safety advocate posted this; I agree.
Solomon's has always had it on easy street as councilman of the most walkable ward with the most receptive constituency. Says little about what he'll do when push comes to shove citywide, like it did this summer on bus & bike lanes.

A protoype anti-subway-surfing barrier.

The MTA is installing experimental anti-subway surfing barriers on the 7 train.

While this is a good interim step, the real solution is to ensure that all new subway cars are walk-through (known as open gangway), as has been common practice across the world for years.

pix11.com/news/transit...

SUPERFLUOUS TRANSIT FACILITIES (Published 1909)

www.nytimes.com/1909/01/23/a...

Interesting new paper compares divergent outcomes of California's ADU reforms, legislation enabling lot-splitting, & San Diego ADU policy.

ADUs successfully attracted investment thanks to ease of use by homeowners; opposite was true for lot-splitting: too complicated for homeowners to undertake.

This guy is a racist with a huge platform on Instagram. Interviews JC mayoral candidates and helped sink the bus lane plan.

part of what gets me is the particular double-think involved in left-nimbyism. left nimbyism has been the dominant mode of thinking in urban governance for like fifty years, they won the war and achieved total control of policy, and they *still* think they're the plucky upstarts fighting The Man

The Crisis of Democratic Governance State Democrats have failed to deliver what the American people want.

i have watched cities across this country get destroyed neither by capitalism nor greed but by well-meaning progressives convinced at every step of the way they're making their world better

www.liberalcurrents.com/the-crisis-o...

"no one should make a profit building necessary housing" is one of those things that sounds based and radical... for like half a second, before you finish thinking it through

This will be trouble for JC, especially buildings required to include numerous low-income 3-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments due to the IZO.

The project is only 5% affordable, so it violates the IZO in exactly the same way that Solomon attacked the original 2021 IZO for having "loopholes." That provision of the IZO, which allowed as little as 5% affordable in exchange for parks and infra, was written with the Embankment in mind.

Why are we seeing City of Yes protests in Staten Island?

It's because of how transit-oriented development (TOD) was handled, requiring a 5,000 sq ft lot. Common in SI, rare elsewhere.

The map shows % of lots that qualify for TOD

Thanks @3underscores.bsky.social for the lead!

If Solomon wants to say something that could be possibly grounded in reality, he could say they gave McGreevey money hoping to get an upzoning from him in the future in exchange for keeping the hospital open. That's speculative, but at least not a lie.

What Christ Hospital asked for in their letter to Planning is an upzoning that would *avoid* the demolition+senior housing plan that was presented.