Noah Kazis
Noah joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter at the start of 2010. When he was a kid, he collected subway paraphernalia in a Vignelli-map shoebox.
Before coming to Streetsblog, he blogged at TheCityFix DC and worked as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Toledo, Ohio. Noah graduated from Yale University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the class politics of transportation reform in New York City. He lives in Morningside Heights.
Recent Posts
On Path to Brooklyn Bridge Park, DOT Plans Safer Way Across BQE On-Ramp
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Just one of the many problems with running an interstate highway through the heart of an urban area is what to do with the on-ramps and off-ramps. Motorists accustomed to freeway speeds, or eager to reach them, can drive more aggressively than normal and without as much regard for pedestrians and cyclists. At one on-ramp to […]
State Troopers on Cuomo Security Detail Injure Two Pedestrians in Two Days
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State troopers driving in Westchester County for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s security detail injured two pedestrians in separate crashes over the last two days, according to a report by the Associated Press. The AP report, via Capitol Tonight: Authorities say a second pedestrian has been injured after being hit by an unmarked car driven by a […]
In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Children Face Extra Risk From Traffic
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Children growing up in Manhattan’s low-income communities are at significantly higher risk of being seriously injured or killed in traffic than their neighbors in wealthier districts, a new study from Transportation Alternatives finds [PDF]. Intersections near public housing appear to be particularly dangerous for children trying to cross the street. In East Harlem and on […]
City Tests Out Parking Sensors, But So Far Just For Space-Finding App
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New York City took a significant step today toward modernizing the way it allocates scarce curbside parking spaces, but it remains to be seen whether the city will embrace the full potential its new parking tech. At a press conference in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx this morning, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and City […]
Cuomo Budget Includes No Transit Raids, Opens the Door to Massive MTA Debt
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Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2012 budget, released this afternoon, offers what now passes for good news for transit: maintenance of the status quo. The budget breaks the three-year streak of raiding dedicated transit funds to patch up the state’s deficit, and it restores the hundreds of millions of dollars that Albany cut from the MTA’s payroll […]
1,400 Signatures Put Lafayette Avenue Bike Lane Back on Agenda
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A Brooklyn bike lane scuttled during last winter’s anti-bike frenzy is back on the agenda thanks to some intrepid citizen activism. More than 1,400 people have signed a petition to paint a bike lane on Lafayette Avenue, reports the New York Times’ The Local blog, and the local community board will be revisiting the issue […]
Ravitch: Big Business, Cuomo Have Failed to Lead on Transportation
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New York’s infrastructure is dangerously underfunded and threatening to cripple the region’s economy, warned former lieutenant governor and MTA chairman Richard Ravitch in a speech on Thursday. Having taken the helm of the transit authority in 1979, at the system’s absolute nadir, Ravitch knows a thing or two about what it takes to bring the […]
Sadik-Khan: Bike-Share GPS Data Will Help Plan NYC Bike Network
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Here’s one more reason to get excited about the launch of bike-share later this year: the reams of data generated by the GPS units located in every public bicycle. The Department of Transportation will use that data to inform their bike lane planning, commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan revealed last night. “It’s going to be amazing to […]
Real-Time Bus Info Launches for All of Staten Island
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Real-time bus information, previously only available on two routes, is now live for every bus in the borough of Staten Island. On an average weekday, that means 127,000 local and express bus riders will be able to find out exactly how far away their bus is. “This means more time at home with your family, […]
For Second Year, MTA Funding Tops NYLCV’s Transpo Agenda
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Between continued raids on dedicated transit funds, a cut to the MTA payroll tax, and the state’s decision to pay for the last three years of the MTA capital plan with debt, 2011 wasn’t a good year for the MTA’s finances. The New York League of Conservation Voters is hoping that 2012 turns out to […]
Thruway Director: Private Financing for Tappan Zee Not a Done Deal
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While predicting that work on the new Tappan Zee Bridge could start as early as this summer, incoming Thruway Authority executive director Tom Madison revealed at confirmation hearings yesterday that financing for the new bridge is still very much a work in progress. “At this moment, as we sit here, the complete financial plan has […]
Lhota Stands For MTA Funding Status Quo in Confirmation Hearings
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This afternoon, Joe Lhota was confirmed as the new chairman of the MTA. Hearings held earlier today provided a glimpse into the kind of leadership New York transit riders can expect from Lhota. The new chairman defended the MTA from the most strident attacks of anti-transit state senators. When it came to the question of […]