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
Overhaul of NYC Livery Cab System Now Awaits Cuomo’s Signature
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Legislation passed by the State Senate last Friday night could clear the way for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to completely revamp taxi service in large swaths of the city through the introduction of a new class of vehicle authorized to pick up street hails only outside the Manhattan core. The improved service should make it easier […]
Will Cuomo Protect Transit Riders and Sign the Transit Lockbox Bill?
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Led by Assembly Member James Brennan, the State Assembly joined the Senate and took a strong stand in support of transit riders this afternoon, passing the transit lockbox bill by a unanimous vote of 98-0. Speaker Sheldon Silver came out in support of the legislation last night, putting it on a smooth path through the […]
Assembly Passes Transit Lockbox, Moves on to Governor
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The transit lockbox bill, designed to prevent future raids on dedicated transit funds, has passed the State Assembly, according to the Assembly’s website. Having already passed the Senate, the legislation now only needs the signature of Governor Andrew Cuomo to become law. We’ll have more on the legislation once Cuomo has either signed or vetoed […]
As Local Governments Innovate, State DOT Still Focused on Roads
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This map shows many of the projects in the region’s transportation improvement program, revealing the priorities of the area’s transportation agencies for the next five years. The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) has released a draft of its transportation improvement program, or TIP [PDF], providing a window into the investment priorities of the region’s […]
Transit Lockbox Still Alive, Under Threat From GOP Assembly Members
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Though the state legislature was expected to work well into the morning last night, dealing with major priorities like rent regulation and gay marriage in addition to lower-profile but still-important bills like the transit funding lockbox, the negotiated deals fell apart and the legislature put off all its business until this morning. The path to […]
Silver Supports Transit Lockbox, Assembly Vote Likely Tonight
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Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver supports the transit lockbox bill, said spokesperson Mike Whyland this evening. According to Whyland, the bill will be voted out of the Rules Committee tonight and head to the floor. Whyland said that the only thing standing in the way of the Assembly passing the measure could be time constraints, as […]
Transit Lockbox Passes Senate Unanimously, Needs Final Push In Assembly
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This afternoon, the transit lockbox bill passed the State Senate, where it was sponsored by Brooklyn Republican Marty Golden, and according to the Senate’s twitter feed, the vote was unanimous. The legislation, which would bar the governor from raiding transit funds while raising the political cost of legislative raids through a series of disclosure requirements, […]
NYPD Opposes Bill to Curb Placard Abuse as Total Soars to 118,000
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At a City Council Transportation Committee hearing today, the New York Police Department announced its opposition to legislation that would curb parking placard abuse by requiring barcodes on official placards. NYPD claimed that it has placard abuse under control and that only Police Commissioner Ray Kelly should have the power to determine what tools are […]
Rezoning to Encourage Street Life on Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue
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When the Department of City Planning put forward its rezoning of Park Slope in 2003, one of the earliest of the now 111 rezonings under Mayor Bloomberg and City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden, it was intended to help turn Fourth Avenue into “a grand boulevard of the 21st Century.” The sought-after residential development has started […]
For Nearly Two Years, Ex-NYC DOT Chief Has Undercut the Signature Street Safety and Sustainable Transportation Agenda of Her Successor
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Tomorrow, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Bert Bunyan is expected to weigh in for the first time on the core arguments brought by opponents of the Prospect Park West redesign against the City of New York. Ostensibly, the dispute is between the anti-bike lane groups known as “Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes” (NBBL) and “Seniors for […]
This Week: Eastern Parkway and City Council Parking Hearing
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We left two important events off our calendar at the beginning of the week, but both are worth knowing about. Tonight, the Department of Design and Construction is holding a public meeting on the scheduled reconstruction of Eastern Parkway. The first phase of that project, which will add new crosswalks, traffic signals, and a bike […]
Complete Streets Passes Legislature Unanimously, Cuomo Expected To Sign
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Complete streets legislation passed both houses of the state legislature unanimously yesterday. With Governor Andrew Cuomo expected to sign the legislation, safer and more inclusive road design should be coming soon to streets across the state. “Everyone knew that something had to be done,” said AARP New York legislative director Bill Ferris, “so the political […]