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
Broad Coalition Urges Cuomo to Enact Transit Lockbox
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If not for Albany’s theft of $260 million in dedicated transit tax revenues over the past two years, the sweeping service cuts enacted by the MTA in 2010 might have been avoided. Transit riders can’t afford a repeat. With the MTA on track to take on even more debt, squeezing its operating budget for years […]
At St. George, EDC Wants Suburban-Style Parking for Its “Vibrant Downtown”
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St. George Staten Island could become the region’s next great downtown. That’s the plan over at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which is about to redevelop two waterfront sites immediately adjacent to the ferry terminal. Yet even though EDC touts the unparalleled transit access at the sites, which are currently surface parking lots, […]
Q-Poll: NYC Residents Want More Funds For MTA By Nearly 2-1 Margin
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The idea of increasing state funding for the MTA is popular in New York City, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released yesterday. Looking at the MTA service region — NYC plus its suburbs — more people want to see additional funding going to transit. Statewide, support for increased MTA funding is slightly lower than […]
Saturday: Tish James Gets the Word Out on Bike-Ped Unity
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Brooklyn Council Member Letitia James wants cyclists and pedestrians to get along. This Saturday, she’s hosting what she hopes will be the first annual “Building Bridges Bike Day” at Grand Army Plaza. Council members James, Steve Levin and Brad Lander will all be on hand Saturday, along with representatives from Transportation Alternatives and Recycle-A-Bicycle, to […]
Hudson Square BID Puts Pedestrians First Near Entrance to Holland Tunnel
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Every afternoon, all four lanes of Varick Street are packed solid with traffic heading to the Holland Tunnel. Drivers block crosswalks and cross-streets as they press forward, hoping the traffic would continue to move ahead and guessing wrong. On Friday afternoons, you can hear the honking from Streetsblog HQ, ten blocks over and twelve stories […]
Protected Bike Lanes Coming to East Harlem, Tweets Mark-Viverito
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Could complete streets finally be coming to East Harlem? The neighborhood has been calling out for the city to keep its promise and build protected bike lanes along First and Second Avenues, bringing safer cycling and traffic calming to an area badly in need of both. Even at the peak of the bikelash last year, […]
Cutting “Waste and Inefficiency” Won’t Eliminate the MTA’s Budget Problems
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Last week, the city’s Independent Budget Office released a report on the MTA’s revenue structure [PDF] which has been getting a bit of play. At Second Avenue Sagas, Ben Kabak focused on the report’s main thesis: that the volatility of dedicated taxes and fees threatens the financial stability of the transit agency. Steven Higashide of […]
Study: Vancouver Merchants Badly Misjudge Effect of Protected Bike Lanes
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Few groups speak more loudly in debates over the reallocation of street space than local businesses. In New York, there are merchants who vocally favor a better environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit, but all it takes are a few firm believers in easy car access to dictate the terms of the public debate. Case […]
Remembering Hugh Carey, the Man Who Saved New York’s Transit System
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Hugh Carey, governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, died yesterday at the age of 92. Even in an office held by the likes of Al Smith, Franklin Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller and Mario Cuomo, Carey was a giant; Mayor Ed Koch, who served at the same time as Carey, called him the greatest governor […]
Amid Christie and Cuomo Raids, Port Authority Plans Huge Fare and Toll Hike
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Crossing the Hudson River will get much more expensive under a proposed Port Authority plan to sharply increase tolls and fares on its four bridges, two tunnels and the PATH train. The increases are a result of the poor economy, the costs of rebuilding after the attacks of September 11, and the expensive repairs needed […]
Summer Streets, When Park Avenue Earns Its Name, Starts Tomorrow
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Get ready to stretch out your legs, New York City. The fourth annual Summer Streets starts tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. — the first of three car-free Saturdays on Park Avenue. Last year’s dumpster pools are gone, replaced with a climbing wall, sand sculptures and New York City sports legends. Sure to remain are crowds […]
Who Will Be the Next MTA Chief?
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Who’s up for the challenge of managing the nation’s biggest transit system at a time when state government has left it with a pile of debt and two already-scheduled fare hikes? The person who takes over the MTA from Jay Walder after his resignation takes effect October 21 will have the marquee transit job in […]