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
Unlicensed Drivers of Private Cars a Far Bigger Threat Than Tour Bus Drivers
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Last week’s tragic bus crash in the Bronx, which left 15 dead, has captured the attention of New York’s media and political elite. Since the crash took place nine days ago, the New York Times has published no fewer than seven articles updating its readers on every detail and development. Much of the attention has […]
Waterfront Plan Provides Timeline for Greenway Expansions
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The Randall’s Island Connector, part of the South Bronx Greenway, would run underneath an Amtrak trestle and create a new link to bike or walk between the South Bronx and Manhattan. Image: NYCEDC New York City’s greenway system will see steady growth in the next three years, according to city plans released earlier this week. […]
Private Sanitation Truck Kills Pedestrian in Brooklyn
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The driver of a private sanitation truck hit and killed a pedestrian at the intersection of Broadway and Myrtle Avenue this morning, according to the NYPD. The driver hit the pedestrian, a man in his 60s crossing Myrtle, at 7:12 a.m and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The police, as usual, do […]
Replacement For Yankee Stadium Parking Will Still Have to Pay The Bills
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As the operator of the taxpayer-financed Yankee Stadium parking garages heads toward default, there’s no longer any question that providing so much parking in such a transit-rich location was a mistake on the scale of Carl Pavano’s contract. The decision to give up $2.5 million in city taxes and $5 million in state revenue has […]
Transit, Not Traffic, the Most Important Transpo Issue for New Yorkers
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What’s the most important problem facing New York City? Three times as many registered voters say it’s the quality of transit service compared to the number who say traffic congestion, according to a new poll. While transportation remains a second-tier issue relative to education and the economy, the poll does show the importance of transit […]
The Fulton Street Mall: Retail Success on NYC’s Original Transitway
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As the New York Post continues its increasingly tedious assault on pedestrians and crosstown transit riders, its writers always seem to suggest that giving priority to buses in an important retail area is both radical and self-evidently bad for business. If they bothered to look just one borough away, they’d see that nothing could be […]
New NYS DOT Commish on Smart Growth: “We Need to Go Further”
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Coming two days after her confirmation as the new commissioner of the state DOT, Joan McDonald’s keynote speech at today’s annual meeting of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council offered her the chance to lay out her agenda for statewide transportation policy. McDonald’s remarks should provide cause for optimism among New Yorkers hoping for a […]
Obama’s Transpo Secretary Is a Big Fan of Janette Sadik-Khan
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New York City politicians may have had their feathers ruffled by Janette Sadik-Khan, but on the national stage, New York City’s transportation commissioner is getting nothing but love from the Obama administration for her innovative leadership. Streetsblog Capitol Hill’s Tanya Snyder reports that at the National Bike Summit last night, US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood […]
DOT to Daylight All Left Turns on Lexington Avenue in Midtown
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In last year’s landmark pedestrian safety study, the Department of Transportation found that three times as many crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve left turns as right turns. To respond to the heightened danger of left-turning vehicles, DOT promised in its action plan to “daylight” all left turns on a major Manhattan avenue, […]
Opponents Sue City Over Prospect Park West Bike Lane
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Opponents of the Prospect Park West bike lane have filed a lawsuit against the city in relation to the project, according to the New York City Law Department. The suit, which has been threatened for a month, was filed at the end of the day today in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Download it here. The bulk […]
Cuomo Budget Amendments Claim End to MTA Raids After This Year
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In amendments to the state budget released last week [PDF], the Cuomo administration claims that its $100 million raid on dedicated MTA funds was a one-time deal that won’t be repeated in the next three years. In detailing its plan to close the state’s deficit, the budget document lists the $200 million the state took […]
Public-Private Plan for Goethals Trades Higher Costs for Faster Construction
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Public-private partnerships, or P3s, have been repeatedly held up as a way for New York and other states to replace crumbling infrastructure despite enormous budget deficits. The Port Authority recent announced that it will use a P3 to finance the new Goethals Bridge, an important development that’s sure to be closely watched by the state’s […]