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
Astorino and Vanderhoef Can Block Transit-Less Tappan Zee. Will They?
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County Executives Rob Astorino and C. Scott Vanderhoef have been two of the most consistent and vocal advocates of restoring transit to the plans for a new Tappan Zee Bridge. They have understood that Westchester and Rockland County commuters need a way to travel east-west without a car and need congestion relief on crowded I-287. […]
Greetings From Walkable, Bikeable, Transit-Oriented Asbury Park, N.J.
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Think of a place that you can reach by train, that is densely developed and easy to get around by walking or biking. You’re probably thinking of a center city, or perhaps an inner-ring suburb. But in older regions of the country, there’s another place that has the fundamentals for living car-free: the beach. Built […]
Brooklyn Community Board 10 Tells DOT It’s Finally Ready for Bike Lanes
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Thirteen months ago, Brooklyn Community Board 10 voted against painting a bike lane on Bay Ridge Parkway. The lane would have removed neither a travel lane nor parking from the road, but was still voted down by an overwhelming margin: 32 to 8. Council Members Dominic Recchia, Vincent Gentile, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio […]
Despite Media Posturing, Liu’s Bike-Share Report Mostly Calls for Safer Streets
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When bike-share launches next month, eventually adding 10,000 public bicycles to the streets of New York City, it won’t bring new chaos and peril to city streets, contrary to recent statements from Comptroller John Liu. Even so, with the number of cyclists set to increase dramatically, the launch of bike-share is a good opportunity for […]
This Time, Lockbox Bill Falls Short in Legislature, Leaving Riders at Risk
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A bill that would protect dedicated transit funds from being stolen by Albany failed to pass the legislature this year, leaving riders upstate and downstate at continued risk of further service cuts at the hands of the state budget process. Since 2009, Albany has taken away $260 million in funds promised to the MTA, and […]
Stringer Sides With UN Bike-Share Terror Fearmongers
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Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer seems to have joined up with the NIMBYs of Turtle Bay in their fight to keep the United Nations — and more relevantly, those who live near it — free from bike-share stations. Echoing the rhetoric of a rogues’ gallery of East Midtown’s most committed opponents of livable streets, Stringer […]
Developers, CB 2: Let’s Repurpose Downtown Brooklyn’s Empty Parking
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Parking reform in Downtown Brooklyn doesn’t go far enough, said developers at a public hearing last night, and the land use committee of Brooklyn Community Board 2 agreed. They want reduced parking requirements to apply not only to new buildings, as proposed by the Department of City Planning, but also to existing buildings and developments […]
Albany Unlikely to OK Speed Cameras This Year
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The state legislature will not allow New York City to enforce its speed limit using automated cameras this session, say street safety advocates. Though the New York Times touted the legislation’s forward momentum in an article yesterday, the bill is unlikely to pass the Assembly before the legislative session closes this week. “For all intents […]
CB 10 Scales Back Adam Clayton Powell Safety Improvements [Updated]
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Responding to the local community board, NYC DOT has shrunk its proposal for safety improvements on Harlem’s deadly Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. The revised plan only covers half the distance initially proposed. And even with that concession, the board has yet to approve the plan to expand the road’s medians and slow speeding traffic. In […]
At Transpo Hearing, Council Members Ask for More Select Bus Service
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The New York City Council has learned to stop worrying and love the bus lane. In a transportation hearing held this morning on the topic of outer borough transit, not a single person, whether on the council or testifying before it, had a bad word to say about NYC’s Select Bus Service program, which has […]
With Support From Local Businesses, Corona Ped Plaza Will Debut in July
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The crowded streets of Corona, Queens will receive a welcome infusion of public space this July, thanks to the New York City Department of Transportation’s plaza program. With wide-ranging community support, DOT will close a block of service road between National Street and 104th Street to traffic and fill it with plants, tables, chairs and […]
If DCP Won’t Scrap Downtown BK Minimums, Is Broader Parking Reform Dead?
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The proposed reduction of parking minimums in Downtown Brooklyn, though seriously insufficient, is good news for housing affordability and environmental sustainability in New York City. But it’s terrible news for those hoping to see broader reforms of New York City’s parking requirements. If the Department of City Planning felt so politically constrained that it could […]