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
1,100 Space Parking Lot at Issue in Latest Atlantic Yards Fight
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The latest round of the knock-down drag-out fight over the Atlantic Yards project is underway, and it’s all about parking. At issue is a potential 1,100-space surface parking lot that would be located between Pacific and Dean Streets, just west of Vanderbilt Avenue. That lot has been portrayed as temporary, “interim” parking by the Empire […]
New East River Ferry Service to Launch in May
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Big news from today’s Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance conference: a new city-subsidized ferry service will begin crossing the East River in May. City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden announced that the new service will run for at least two years, departing at least every fifteen minutes during rush hour. Making the ferry service possible, said Burden, were […]
Theft and Vandalism Just Not a Problem For American Bike-Sharing
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Even as bike-sharing spreads across the United States, it remains dogged by one persistent doubt. Critics, and even some boosters, fear that the bikes will be routinely stolen and vandalized. It’s time to stop worrying about crime, however. In America’s new bike-sharing systems, there have been essentially no such problems. Fears that public bikes will […]
With Truck Mirror Law, Albany Can Save Children’s Lives Next Week
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Governor Paterson has called a special session for the legislature next week, and it’s full of big, tough bills. For example, both David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo are urging legislators to close a $315 million deficit, an action which could again steal dedicated funds from the MTA. Education funding is also on the docket. But […]
Some Hints of What to Expect From NYC Bike-Sharing
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In just the first year after introducing Vélib, Parisian bike traffic jumped 70 percent. Montreal’s Bixi system saw 1 million rides in its first four months. And New York City’s Department of City Planning estimates that a bike-share program would be used by as many as 554,000 residents, 33,000 commuters and 4 million tourists annually, […]
Busway Opponents Pump Up the Volume at CB 5 Meeting on 34th Street
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Manhattan CB 5, which is shaping up to be the “swing district” along the route of the 34th Street Transitway, is only at the earliest stages of formulating a stance on plans to build physically separated bus lanes and pedestrian improvements as part of a river-to-river redesign. Even so, two things were clear at a […]
Speeding Cams Effective and Popular, But No Sure Thing in Albany
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As valuable as 20 mph speed limits would be, for some New Yorkers they’d be dead letter law. Take, for example, the scofflaw motorists whom a team of fourth graders caught speeding 50 mph down Atlantic Avenue last week. Safer streets will require not only a lower speed limit, but an effectively enforced speed limit. […]
Kavanagh and Squadron Kick Off Bus Lane Camera Enforcement
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Camera enforcement of the First and Second Avenue bus lanes began today. To mark the occasion, State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh held a press conference gathering together community leaders and taxi drivers to get the message out to drivers: Block the lane and face the fine. As Squadron and Kavanagh explained, […]
Vacca Endorses Life-Saving 20 MPH Speed Limit
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Speed kills, even when traffic is moving at New York’s citywide limit of 30 miles per hour. According to the UK Department for Transport, if a driver hits a pedestrian at 30 miles per hour, the victim only has a 55 percent chance of surviving. At 20 mph, the pedestrian has a 95 percent chance […]
Slow Down Traffic: It’s Doctor’s Orders
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Last Friday, Transportation Alternatives kicked off a new phase of its campaign for safer streets with the Stop Speeding Summit, bringing together doctors, elected officials, transportation advocates and engineers to outline the high costs of high vehicle speeds and plot a course toward slower traffic. We’ll be bringing you a series of posts from Friday’s […]
Ravitch: Tolls on Every Major Road Needed, Just to Keep Transpo Afloat
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Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch opens his new report on transportation funding in his characteristically blunt fashion: “New York State currently lacks the revenues necessary to maintain its transportation system in a state of good repair, and the State has no credible strategy for meeting future needs.” It doesn’t get any cheerier from there. Faced with […]
Cities Learn From Chicago Parking Meter Debacle. Did Goldsmith?
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When Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced that he was striking a deal to privatize his city’s 36,000 parking meters, it was a golden opportunity for transportation reform. If all went well, the deal could have cleared a political path for higher peak-hour meter rates, curbing double-parking and congestion-causing cruising. But Chicago managed to completely bungle […]