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
Paterson Signs Two Traffic Justice Bills Into Law
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On Friday evening, New York Governor David Paterson signed two bills intended to make streets safer by giving law enforcement greater leeway to bring charges against reckless drivers. Diego Martinez and Hayley Ng were killed when a van left idling and unattended careened backwards into a group of pre-schoolers on a Chinatown sidewalk. The driver […]
Envisioning a New York Where Cycling Isn’t Just for Cyclists
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At a panel sponsored by the American Institute of Architects last night, two of the city’s top transportation planners joined one of its hardest-working bike advocates to discuss how to make cycling a mainstream mode in New York. The director of the Department of City Planning’s Transportation Division, Jack Schmidt, DOT Senior Policy Advisor Jon […]
Delaware Gov Signs Bill to Protect Cyclists and Pedestrians
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Delaware governor Jack Markell signs the state’s vulnerable users law yesterday. Photo: WHYY Yesterday brought a big victory for street safety and traffic justice in Delaware, as Governor Jack Markell signed SB 269, the state’s vulnerable users law. Jeff Peel, writing on the League of American Bicyclists blog, explains: The bill, modeled after an Oregon […]
DOT Unveils New “Pop Up Café” in Financial District
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Nicole LaRusso of the Downtown Alliance, David Byrne, and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan enjoy coffee and mango lassis at Pearl Street’s new pop-up café. Photo: Noah Kazis The narrow streets of Lower Manhattan date back centuries and pose a set of challenges nearly unique in New York City. With the city’s first "pop-up café," DOT […]
Advocates on Both Coasts Call Bragdon a Smart Choice to Lead PlaNYC
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David Bragdon, the new head of New York City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, announcing a set of regional trails in the Portland area. Photo: BikePortland/Flickr In appointing David Bragdon, the president of the Portland-area Metro Council, to run the Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, Mayor Bloomberg turned to an established elected figure […]
Portland Metro President David Bragdon to Head NYC Sustainability Office
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David Bragdon, the new head of the mayor’s sustainability office. Photo: Metro Portland-area Metro Council president David Bragdon will be the next head of New York City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. The founding director of the office, Rohit Aggarwala, announced his departure in April after a three-year tenure in which he led the […]
DCP Report Adds Another Wrinkle to Measurements of NYC Cycling
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The number of cyclists on the Second Avenue bike lane, at 7th Street, has been on the rise. Image: DCP More New Yorkers are riding bikes than ever, but a new report from the Department of City Planning further complicates the effort to precisely determine how much cycling has taken off. The report, which looks […]
Chicago Commuter Rail Spends Big on Trucking
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Chicago’s commuter rail agency will be raising this bridge to help trucks pass underneath, relying exclusively on transit funding. Photo: The Urbanophile Transit funding these days is, needless to say, scarce. Across the country, transit agencies are slashing services to cope with the gaping fiscal holes left by the recession. More than ever, every dollar […]
Fordham Plaza Overhaul Promises Big Improvements for Pedestrians
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Plans for a re-designed Fordham Plaza would add 15,750 square feet of public space. Image: NYCEDC/DOT Fordham Plaza, one of the city’s busiest transit and retail hubs, but also one of its most dangerous, is slated for a major redesign [PDF] by NYCDOT and the Economic Development Corporation. Highlights of the badly-needed overhaul include a […]
House Approves Transpo Spending Bill After Stripping Out $ for Livability
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Congressmen Oberstar and Blumenauer, here speaking together at the 2007 Bike Summit, were on opposite sides of a dispute about increased funding for livability programs yesterday. Photo: Bike Portland The House of Representatives passed its 2011 appropriations bill for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development yesterday, significantly increasing the amount going to both highways and […]
500 Square Miles Lost to New Jersey Sprawl Over 20 Years
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New development in New Jersey’s Warren County. Image: John Hasse via Planners Web. The last decade has often been heralded as a "back to the cities" moment, a time when Americans have been excited to return to the walkable lifestyle many abandoned two generations before. A new report from New Jersey’s Rutgers and Rowan Universities […]
Council, EDC Spend $3 Million to Keep Parking Cheap at Flushing Commons
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The now-defunct Q14 bus didn’t get a reprieve from the City Council, which decided money was better spent on encouraging people to drive. Photo: dj.surf.lfs/Flickr The Flushing Commons development sailed to a 44-2 vote of approval in the City Council yesterday after the city arranged a set of concessions to local merchants who had opposed […]