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
This Sunday: Help Close the East River Greenway’s Midtown Gap
| | 25 Comments
If you want to close the Midtown greenway gap, make your voice heard this Sunday. For 33 blocks in Midtown, Manhattan’s East River Greenway disappears, forcing cyclists to detour onto some of the most traffic-choked and dangerous streets in the city. That’s a major deterrent to cycling on the East Side. While bike lanes planned […]
Vote on UWS’s “No-Brainer” Bike Lane Shouldn’t Have Been a Squeaker
| | 35 Comments
DOT’s plan for a protected bike lane on Columbus won’t take away a travel lane or a parking lane. So why the hesitation? Image: NYCDOT Last night’s Community Board 7 vote to support a protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue was very close — closer than it should have been. The fact that the resolution […]
In Close Vote, CB 7 Supports Safe Cycling for Upper West Side
| | 7 Comments
Cheers erupted from the audience after the vote supporting protected bike lanes. Photo: Noah Kazis In a nailbiter, Manhattan Community Board 7 voted last night to support protected bike lanes on Columbus Avenue. The result was in doubt until the final minutes, despite a truly overwhelming demonstration of community support for safer cycling on the […]
What’s Good for Green Transport Is Good for Business in the East Village
| | 6 Comments
Second Avenue shoppers are far more likely to arrive via bus, bike, or foot than private car. Photo: akuban/Flickr Wherever parking spaces are replaced with infrastructure for sustainable transportation, you can usually find a local merchant yelling about how it will destroy his livelihood. With the redesign of First and Second Avenue bringing safer biking […]
NYCDOT Prioritizes Sustainable Modes at Queens Approach to Triborough
| | 15 Comments
Plans for a new pedestrian area between Hoyt Avenue South and Astoria Boulevard. Pedestrians already crowd this space, which is only set off from traffic by striping (visible under the simulated sidewalk). Rendering: NYCDOT NYCDOT has proposed a significant street redesign for the base of the RFK Bridge (a.k.a. the Triborough) in Astoria [PDF], a […]
Jackson Heights Groups Unveil Bottom-Up Plan for Green Neighborhood
| | 2 Comments
Last week, Jackson Heights residents won a summer-long car-free street, and it turns out that local activists have many more initiatives for a greener, more livable neighborhood in their sights. The Jackson Heights Green Agenda [PDF] — the product of a community planning process that drew on the expertise of hundreds of residents — sets […]
If Bus Stops Disappear, What Will Happen to All That Space?
| | 7 Comments
Photo: cyclosity/Flickr Starting June 27, 570 bus stops across New York City could disappear. Unless Congress delivers an 11th hour reprieve — still a distinct possibility — service cuts will axe or reroute dozens of bus lines, raising the question of what to do with all the curbside real estate at these potentially defunct stops. […]
South Bronx Greenway Construction Gets Underway This Summer
| | 19 Comments
A rendering of plans for Lafayette Avenue, with a planted median, standard painted bike lanes, and amenities along an expanded sidewalk. Image: NYCEDC Construction is set to begin on the first stages of the South Bronx Greenway this summer, marking the first tangible results of a community-based, bottom-up campaign for more livable streets. The project […]
How Portland Sold Its Banks on Walkable Development
| | 8 Comments
Gresham, Oregon used to look like your typical suburb. Lots of lawns and lots of parking. When Portland’s MAX light-rail line expanded to Gresham, developers saw an opportunity to bring something different: walkable development. But a downturn in the local real estate market interceded. One developer trying to build a four-story condo project decided that […]
At First Riverside Center Hearing, Planning Commission Quiet on Parking
| | No Comments
On the west side of Manhattan, Extell Development is proposing to build two levels of below-ground parking, each covering most of the two-block footprint of the Riverside Center site. Image: Extell Development [PDF] The City Planning Commission certified Extell Development’s parking-filled Riverside Center proposal yesterday afternoon, setting in motion the city’s land use review process. […]
Jackson Heights Neighbors Band Together to Win Car-Free Street Expansion
| | 11 Comments
Jackson Heights residents and Council Member Daniel Dromm (bottom left) marched to Queens Community Board 3 to call for expanding the car-free 78th Street Play Street. Photo via Jackson Heights Green Alliance Nearly 200 Jackson Heights residents marched on their community board last Thursday night to support the expansion of car-free public space in their […]
D.C. Rings in Bike to Work Day With Big Bike-Sharing Announcement
| | 9 Comments
A big expansion of bike-sharing in D.C. will make public bikes a real transportation option for many more people. Image: Pedal_Power_Pete/Flickr Washington D.C. is making the biggest splash (policy-wise) on Bike to Work Day this year, with officials announcing a major expansion of the city’s bike-sharing system. According to Greater Greater Washington, the new system […]