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
Independent Federal Report Confirms: Christie Lied To Kill ARC Tunnel
| | 19 Comments
It was never about cost overruns. It was never about New Jersey’s share of the price tag. Chris Christie’s decision to kill the ARC tunnel under the Hudson River was always about two, and only two, things: the governor’s unwillingness to raise the state’s rock-bottom gas tax and his desire to make a name for […]
Park Slope Cop Brings About Sidewalk Cycling, Then Tickets It
| | 37 Comments
We at Streetsblog aren’t big fans of sidewalk bike riding. As we’ve said before, if the police truly must take time away from targeting the most dangerous traffic crimes, like motorist speeding and failure-to-yield, sidewalk riding is the kind of infraction for them to worry about. Pedestrian space is scarce enough in New York City. […]
Denise Richardson on Highway Tolls, the TZB, and Why Projects Cost So Much
| | 3 Comments
Earlier this week Streetsblog sat down with General Contractors Association Managing Director Denise Richardson for a wide-ranging discussion on the financial state of New York’s transportation systems. In the first installment of the interview, we discussed the MTA’s capital program, which is moving forward with important repair work but saddling transit riders with huge amounts […]
Brennan Proposes $4.5B Transpo Bond for Next MTA Capital Plan
| | 2 Comments
With the next three years of the MTA capital plan officially moving forward — even without dedicated funding from Albany — it’s time to start talking about 2015. That’s when the next MTA capital plan starts. And distant as it may seem, on the political calendar it’s just around the corner. In fact, in Albany, […]
Federal Transpo Policy Entering New Era, Say NYC Officials. Now What?
| | 7 Comments
It’s a new era for federal transportation policy, say the top New York City Department of Transportation officials tracking action on Capitol Hill. We just don’t know what kind of era it’s going to be. “If this was 1996 or 1985 it would be pretty clear where we would go with federal transportation policy, with […]
Talking Transit Funding With Construction Honcho Denise Richardson
| | No Comments
Transportation infrastructure is big business. With tens of billions of dollars at stake, nobody tracks the financial health of the state’s transit and road systems more closely than the construction industry. And right now, the future of transportation funding in New York is hazy indeed. Albany just passed a budget that lets the MTA move forward […]
NYPD Sends Law-Abiding Vietnam Vet Cyclist to the Tombs
| | 18 Comments
What is it about riding a bike that makes someone such a tempting target for police harassment? The scene last Friday night, as reported in Gothamist, was the perfect magnet for NYPD misconduct: a Critical Mass ride headed to Union Square to participate in an Occupy Wall Street action. The department’s public safety priorities were […]
Livery Cab Driver Kills Cyclist at LIE Overpass, No Charges Filed
| | 7 Comments
A livery cab driver struck and killed a cyclist in Long Island City early this morning, as first reported by DNAinfo. The motorist was not charged with any crime, said an NYPD spokesperson. According to police, the cyclist, a man in his 30s, was riding south on Greenpoint Avenue at the time of the crash, […]
Two-Way Bike Lane Back on Table For Plaza Street, But Will It Be Protected?
| | 10 Comments
Is the NBBL era finally behind us? First, Senator Chuck Schumer himself was spotted riding in the Prospect Park West bike lane. Now, the Department of Transportation is reviving a plan, shelved at the height of the NBBL-aided media circus about cycling, to build a two-way bike lane on Plaza Street. DOT first proposed the […]
Advocates: Tappan Zee Plans Violate State, Federal Environmental Laws
| | 5 Comments
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s rushed plans for a transit-free Tappan Zee Bridge are shortsighted and increasingly unpopular. They may also be illegal. Under federal and state law, the construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge can’t proceed without going through environmental review. The state must analyze and then disclose the impact the project will have on […]
CB 4 Wins Sidewalk Expansions, Bike Corrals For West Side Bike Lanes
| | 6 Comments
One of the year’s most exciting street safety projects is on track to get better. Thanks to a recent set of recommendations from Community Board 4, the extension of the protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues will include additional sidewalk expansions and on-street bike parking. Though DOT didn’t adopt all of the board’s ideas — most […]
American Planning Association Chapter Demolishes Cuomo Tappan Zee Claims
| | 5 Comments
The New York area’s urban planning community issued a striking rebuke to the Cuomo administration over its plans for a new Tappan Zee Bridge last week. In a letter to the state Department of Transportation [PDF], the regional chapter of the American Planning Association, which represents 1,200 professional planners, challenged the Cuomo administration’s claims about […]