Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Economics

If Mayors Ran America …

By Brad Aaron | Jan 15, 2008 | 7 Comments

In 2004, after John Kerry and John Edwards conceded a second term in the White House to George W. Bush, the editors of Seattle’s liberal-tarian weekly The Stranger published an essay entitled "The Urban Archipelago," calling on urban Democrats and their political candidates to unite on issues relevant to cities, where the majority of Americans […]

Times Square: Too Many People, or Just Too Many Cars?

By Brad Aaron | Jan 10, 2008 | 14 Comments

Why is Times Square so crowded? An article in yesterday’s New York Times considered that question, asking real estate brokers if businesses might be shying away from the area due to packed streets and sidewalks. According to a survey cited in the article, 68 percent of Times Square office workers say congestion is the top […]

Weiner and Wylde Square Off in Pricing Forum

By Ben Fried | Jan 10, 2008 | 26 Comments

Four veterans of the congestion pricing wars went toe-to-toe at the Museum of the City of New York Wednesday night — the last showdown before the Congestion Mitigation Commission releases its draft proposals today. Taking the stump for pricing were Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for NYC and Michael O’Loughlin of the Campaign for New […]

Kheel Plan: Double the Congestion Charge & Make Transit Free

By Brad Aaron | Dec 18, 2007 | 35 Comments

"If you were to design the ultimate system, you would have mass transit be free and charge an enormous amount for cars." So said Mayor Michael Bloomberg last April, right about the time he unveiled his plan to charge motorists a fee to drive into Manhattan’s central business district. Eight months later, as the mayor’s […]

This Holiday Season London’s Streets Are “Absolutely Jammed”

By Aaron Naparstek | Dec 10, 2007 | 26 Comments

London retailers enjoyed a £100 million spending spree as Oxford, Bond and Regents Streets were closed to motor vehicle traffic for a day As New York City government issues its usual series of futile Holiday Season "Gridlock Alerts" (Warning to people stuck in traffic: You are stuck in traffic) while Manhattan shoppers have the life […]

Fact Check: Congestion Pricing is Not a “Regressive Tax”

By Aaron Naparstek | Nov 2, 2007 | 14 Comments

One of the most oft-repeated slams against congestion pricing we heard at this week’s Congestion Mitigation Committee hearings is that congestion pricing would be a "regressive tax," an unfair burden to poorer New Yorkers. Is congestion pricing regressive? The data suggests otherwise. As the chart above shows, even in Brooklyn Council member Lew Fidler’s heavily […]

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