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
What If There Were Tolls on the BQE?
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The state Department of Transportation announced yesterday the cancellation of plans to rebuild 5.3 miles of the BQE and the Gowanus Expressway. It wasn’t a new round of freeway revolts that killed these projects but the state’s busted transportation budget. “The economic downturn has affected all areas of government and Transportation is not an exception; […]
Eyes on the Street: At Knickerbocker Ave. Station, No Such Thing as TOD
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This isn’t what transit-oriented development is supposed to look like. Reader Christopher Taylor Edwards sent us these photos from two blocks of Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick. Immediately adjacent to the M train, suburban-style development — complete with single-story buildings, drive-throughs and underutilized parking lots — marks the end of a vibrant commercial corridor. One block down […]
City Council Bill Would Weaken Bikes in Garages Law, Keep Number of Spaces
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Two years after the City Council passed the Bicycle Access to Garages law, which set aside space for bike parking in commercial garages, legislators are turning their attention back to the issue. In response to low demand for the garage spaces, a bill sponsored by Queens rep Karen Koslowitz would loosen up some of the […]
On Jay Street, Police Break Traffic Laws More Than They Enforce Them
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Walk out on any New York City street and you’re likely to find rampant disregard for traffic laws. Pinpointing exactly who’s speeding requires special equipment, but for many offenses, you can track the level of lawlessness with the naked eye. A team of Transportation Alternatives volunteers did just that over the course of October on […]
Vacca Committee Passes DOT Public Review Bills With Friendly Amendments
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Amended versions of two bills adding requirements to the Department of Transportation’s public review process passed the City Council’s transportation committee unanimously this afternoon. The bills, which mainly codify current practices, would require DOT to consult with other city agencies and compile data on safety and traffic patterns for all major projects. “It is crucial […]
Eyes on the Street: Washington Heights Gets Safe Greenway Connection
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Two months after winning support from Manhattan Community Board 12, a safer connection to the Hudson River Greenway is now in place at 181st Street. Before, Riverside Drive north of 181st Street served as a one-way highway on-ramp, forcing cyclists exiting the greenway to either ride against traffic or dismount. Cars, too, drove the wrong […]
“The Best Is Yet To Come” at Newly Car-Free New Lots Triangle
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More than 70 people packed into the New Lots Triangle in East New York this morning for the official ribbon cutting of a new public space, but perhaps the most important sign of the plaza’s popularity wasn’t the big crowd but the senior citizens who had simply stopped there to sit down and drink a […]
Pedestrian Burdens: Sidewalk Atrocities in Bensonhurst, LIC, and Vinegar Hill
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Here they are: the first set of reader-submitted “pedestrian burdens,” courtesy of Michael Kodransky, co-author of ITDP’s recent report on European parking policy innovations. In this photo series, Streetsblog is cataloging the parking lots and garages that erode New York’s pedestrian realm, whether through blank walls, repeated curb cuts or unsightly structures. City Planning Commissioner […]
Manhattan CB 2 Votes Unanimously for Hudson Street Bike Lane Upgrade
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The full board of Manhattan Community Board 2 voted unanimously last Thursday night to endorse a community-generated plan to convert the buffered bike lane on Hudson Street to a parking-protected lane. The new protected lane would extend the protected Eighth Avenue bike lane down to Canal Street and the Ninth Avenue bike lane to Bleecker […]
Neighborhood Slow Zone Opens in Claremont, Perhaps the First of Many
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The city’s first “neighborhood slow zone” officially opened this morning, bringing a 20 mph speed limit and new traffic calming treatments to the residential Claremont neighborhood in the Bronx. Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, joined by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., City Council Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca and local District Manager John Dudley, announced […]
Mark-Viverito: Misinformation Won’t Stop East Harlem Bike Lanes
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After a misinformation campaign by two local business owners, East Harlem’s Community Board 11 rescinded its vote in support of plans for protected bike lanes along First and Second Avenue Tuesday night. The board will soon vote again on the project, which has the backing of local Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito. Community Board 11 has […]
DOT Chief Claims Cuomo “Not Slowing Down Transit” on Tappan Zee
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State transportation commissioner Joan McDonald deserves an award for chutzpah. In the face of overwhelming opposition from local elected officials to the state’s decision to build the new Tappan Zee Bridge without transit, McDonald has, incredibly, taken the stance that the state did no such thing. Here’s McDonald, quoted twice by Transportation Nation’s Kate Hinds: […]