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
HUD Grant Will Lay the Groundwork for TOD in New York and Connecticut
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From Suffolk County to New Haven, the communities of New York and Connecticut are planting the seeds for a serious investment in transit-oriented development in the years ahead. Funded by a $3.5 million grant from HUD’s Sustainable Communities program, nine cities, two counties and six regional planning organizations have come together to develop regional plans […]
Construction Industry Objections to Sheridan Teardown Don’t Stand Up
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The fight over the future of the Sheridan Expressway, a stub of a highway that Robert Moses built but never finished, heated up this week. The construction industry announced its opposition to any Sheridan teardown in a Crain’s op-ed this Sunday, days before experts at a Municipal Art Society panel forcefully made the case for […]
Without New MTA Funds, Transit Riders May Face Return of 70s-Era Disrepair
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Last week we wrote about how the looming $10 billion deficit in the MTA’s capital plan could lead to a $3.00 fare and $137 monthly pass within three years. That’s not the only way the transit authority could decide to respond to a lack of funding, however. At the other end of the spectrum from […]
Brooklyn Pop-Up Café Wins Community Board 2 Endorsement
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Brooklyn’s only proposed pop-up café won the approval of Community Board 2 last night in an 18-10-1 vote, allowing the city to replace on-street parking with public seating. This pop-up is sponsored by the Ecopolis Café on Smith Street, which will pay the cost of building the temporary public space. The Ecopolis pop-up had received […]
Efforts to Close East River Greenway Gap Advance With Feasibility Study
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New York took a step forward today in attempts to close the 22 block gap in the East River Esplanade, which forces cyclists into traffic in the ultra-congested heart of Midtown and deprives East Side communities of valuable riverfront open space. Thanks to state and federal funding, including an earmark from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the […]
IBO: Ending the Free Ride Over NYC Bridges Could Raise $1B+ Each Year
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The absence of any price on New York City’s free bridges is costing the city dearly, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office. In the IBO’s annual report listing options for raising revenue or cutting costs [PDF], tolling the East River and Harlem River bridges ranks as the second largest revenue raiser, only after reinstituting […]
Eyes on the Street: Two Lanes of Ped Space Coming to Chelsea Subway Stop
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Construction is underway at the intersection of 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, where DOT is building new pedestrian refuge islands and a sidewalk extension to provide some extra space around a busy subway station. The intersection, currently in the 99th percentile for severity-weighted traffic injuries in the city, will also have its signals […]
The Efficient Past and Wasteful Present of the Brooklyn Bridge
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In the headlines this morning, we linked to a great historical photo of the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge on Brownstoner, and it’s taking a closer look at the full implications of the shot. Not for nostalgia’s sake, but to make a cool, calculated appraisal of the efficiency of this piece of transportation infrastructure, as […]
NYPD Traffic Cop: “My Objective Is The Cars, Not The People”
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The NYPD’s decision to crack down on cyclists committing even the most minor infractions — while an epidemic of deadly driving continues unabated — should make it clear that the police department is no friend to those on two wheels right now. A report we received today from Christine Berthet, the co-founder of the Clinton/Hell’s […]
Two Drunk-Driving Cops Crash Cars In Two Nights
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Drunk off-duty New York City police officers have crashed their vehicles each of the last two nights. On Wednesday evening at around 6:20 p.m., the Daily News reported, officer Christine Mazarakes smashed her car at the corner of 81st Street and West End Avenue. Mazarakes, who is stationed at the Upper West Side’s 24th precinct, […]
Cuomo to Cut 10 Percent of State Parking Placards
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In response to some high-profile abuses of state-issued parking placards and a report by the state’s Inspector General, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he will be reforming the way placards are issued and releasing ten percent fewer total placards. The new state placard regime will be only modestly more strict than before, but creates […]
Fare Hike 2014: Without New MTA Revenue, $137 Monthly Pass Could Happen
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With each passing month, the MTA comes closer to the day of reckoning on its unfunded capital plan — the maintenance work that keeps trains and buses running and the expansion projects that provide more access to the system. While the first two years of the 2010-2014 capital budget were funded, there is a $10 […]