Ben Wetzler
@bd_wetz
Followers
1,511
Following
580
Media
14
Statuses
464
2025 candidate for NYC Council. Fmr East Side Democratic District Leader. Public servant. Geek. Views do not reflect those of my employer.
New York, USA
Joined October 2011
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Celtics
• 259945 Tweets
Luka
• 159215 Tweets
#วอลเลย์บอลหญิง
• 133169 Tweets
イーロン
• 122002 Tweets
Boston
• 117601 Tweets
コロンブス
• 112222 Tweets
Dallas
• 99955 Tweets
Mavs
• 97066 Tweets
自分のポスト
• 92365 Tweets
Tatum
• 90614 Tweets
MARTIN AL 9009
• 89500 Tweets
jaemin
• 86545 Tweets
自分のツイート
• 78153 Tweets
Kyrie
• 65815 Tweets
HUGS WITH JIN
• 55329 Tweets
生存確認
• 38393 Tweets
自分の投稿
• 35235 Tweets
Mrs. GREEN APPLE
• 33859 Tweets
#RejectFinanceBill2024
• 32672 Tweets
ブックマーク
• 31778 Tweets
ミセスのMV
• 25369 Tweets
カブさん
• 23721 Tweets
ミセス炎上
• 21060 Tweets
佐藤弘道
• 20975 Tweets
脊髄梗塞
• 20019 Tweets
#れんれんおかえり
• 16735 Tweets
下半身麻痺
• 16718 Tweets
アオキさん
• 14421 Tweets
公開停止
• 13664 Tweets
LINE Pay
• 12485 Tweets
ポケマス
• 11330 Tweets
規正法改正案
• 10224 Tweets
The "IOU" just means kicking the can and imposing more spending cuts and tax increases on the City to save Nassau County and New Jersey money.
3
18
189
I'm thrilled to announce that I'm running for New York City Council in the 2025 Democratic primary to represent the East Side. New York is facing unprecedented challenges, and will need innovative solutions and bold leadership to tackle them. 1/
10
32
137
This is a terrifying and wholly unacceptable trend, and it will only make the city more dangerous for everyday New Yorkers. The ultimate culprit here is the reactionary Supreme Court, who gutted our best-in-the-nation handgun law and sent us down this literal death spiral.
New: More than 13,300 New Yorkers applied for licenses to carry guns in the city last year, a near-double increase compared to 2022 — and the NYPD’s financial bottom line has been boosted by the permit surge.
w/
@graham_rayman
&
@Tomtracyv
5
14
24
7
8
99
@worsematt
Funny how they don't even bother to anticipate the (extremely obvious) problem of what happens when Walter subscribes to ADT's premium service.
1
0
91
Housing and childcare costs are driving young families away from NYC. The City has no future if we cannot make the basic necessities of raising a family affordable for everyone.
New from FPI: Households with young children are 40% more likely to leave New York State — and 2x as likely to move out of NYC.
@Gothamist
: "The analysis underscores the affordability crisis gripping New Yorkers"
0
19
32
3
26
80
Thank you,
@LizKrueger
. People living in and near the congestion zone rightly had concerns about how it would affect them, but unilaterally replacing congestion pricing with a $15 billion tax increase on workers and businesses is unacceptable and only adds to the confusion.
The Governor's reckless decision to effectively kill congestion pricing in New York City is a staggering error, and single-handedly creates a financial and fiduciary crisis for the MTA Board.
161
495
3K
1
1
52
My partner and I were genuinely worried that we'd have to move if this lawsuit went forward. Can't express the relief/elation at this news
@ST_PCV_Tenants
Very big news for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village:
Blackstone has dropped their appeal of our 2020 lawsuit on rent regulation & J-51.
This means EVERY apartment is now permanently rent stabilized.
A big deal.
38
231
2K
2
3
46
@samraskinz
It took me a second to realize "Jerrold Nadler" is Jerry. Do you have a 12th district specific number?
1
0
3
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our campaign launch! If you couldn't make it but want to stay in touch with the campaign, sign up for our mailing list at
0
1
44
We're never going to solve our housing crisis so long as our "planning" process consists of waiting for developers to show up with pre-written plans and then haggling with their lobbyists over individual apartments. NYC needs a comprehensive, proactive approach.
In case there were any doubt, real estate is by far the biggest industry for political lobbyists in NYC. From the latest City Clerk report:
10
74
183
2
5
41
@sam_d_1995
@ArmandDoma
It's people recognizing the impact of bad city planning on their daily life, but instead of blaming city planning (a totally opaque thing they rightly do not spend much time thinking about) they blame their job (the place they're commuting to). Frustrating but makes sense.
2
2
39
Failure to take action is unacceptable. My partner and i would have had to leave Manhattan had we not found an affordable home in Stuy-Town. We need bold solutions to protect tenants, create homes for the middle class, and services for the homeless. More of the same won't cut it.
NYC rents are rising 7 times faster than wages, report finds
43
374
757
4
2
34
@opinonhaver
Should have gone the British route, made their participation in the legislative process advisory.
1
1
28
This is really great work from
@JulieMenin
and
@MarkLevineNYC
. I've been saying the zoning in the East 90s needs to be changed to allow housing for years now, and they got it done with an increase in the number of homes and the proportion affordable.
🚨 I'm thrilled to announce a historic agreement on the 94th Street rezoning that will achieve 2 major goals that are traditionally at odds—adding increased affordability and lowering building height. We refused to accept that we could not achieve both. 1/5
36
5
43
5
5
29
In the proud tradition of former UES district leader
@AlexBores
, I am serving the public by fixing the terrible directions Google Maps gives you getting around the East Side. Before: sends you to a dead end in Tudor City. Several polite emails later: fixed. H/t
@JeremyBermanNY
7
2
29
Amtrakking to Albany to present a research paper I co-authored on affordable housing at
@RockefellerInst
's Local Finances and Resource Needs panel at the 2024 Local Government Lab. I don't think they're streaming it but trust me it's brilliant :)
Local Government Lab 2024 is next Friday (4/26)! We've got a great line-up of panelists across local government fiscal issues, sustainability, equity, education, immigration, and more.
Learn more and register
→
0
1
1
0
2
20
Looks like there's a new sheriff in town. Good job
@LeilaBozorg
@NYCHousing
Breaking news:
@NYCHousing
has secured an arrest warrant for NYC’s worst landlord. He will be held accountable for negligence and his failure to protect tenants.
29
250
867
1
2
19
Last week I sat down with
@psenza
to talk about my history in this district, the challenges faced by the City, and how I hope to confront them with a combination of forward-thinking solutions and new ideas. 2/
1
1
17
Yeah I mean, he's currently suing to end rent stabilization. I'm surprised it's not more than that.
More than 1/2 the City Council remains opposed to the appointment of Randy Mastro, the latest whip count in the looming faceoff b/w
@NYCMayor
and
@NYCCouncil
, by
@JCColtin
:
1
5
12
1
6
17
@ebottcher
This is devastating. Ronnie was always the most excited person at every County Dem Committee meeting.
1
0
14
I will be kicking off my campaign w. a fundraising celebration Wed. Apr. 24. NY's generous matching program makes it easy for candidates with deep local ties to launch grassroots campaigns. I hope you'll join me and be a part of it. 4/4
1
0
14
@AsadFromNYC
~8 times a week
Yesterday
$2.90, unless you qualify for a discount
Most used these days are 23rd and 51st (to and from work) but FAVORITE is probably Hunter College (will be even better when the elevator is installed)
3
0
26
The East Side is my home - it's where I grew up, where I have built my career in public service and leadership in the Democratic Party, and where my partner and I are building a life together amid skyrocketing cost of living and a hostile housing market 3/
1
0
13
So much great housing work being done on the East Side by
@KeithPowersNYC
&
@MarkLevineNYC
to build more housing and keep tenants protected.
In Manhattan, we’re leading the charge:
✅ Midtown South rezoning to facilitate conversions
✅ Supporting Universal Affordability Preference
✅ Fast tracking good projects (h/t
@MarkLevineNYC
)
5
4
30
0
3
12
New districts that allow more housing along the lines of pre-1960s architecture are great and necessary for solving our housing crisis, but DCP needs to include height caps in existing neighborhoods, not double down on supertalls. Looking forward to seeing the final proposal.
Wonky zoning news alert: deputy mayor
@MTorresSpringer
says the Adams admin will propose 2 new high-density residential districts, R11 and R12, in anticipation of Albany (maybe) lifting the decades-old cap on floor-area ratio.
Upping pressure on Albany as budget deadline nears.
0
5
35
2
0
12
The idea that the only way to be safe from gun crime is to carry your own gun is the most discredited idea in public safety. Meanwhile, city leaders double down on this foolishness while denying their own accountability for the problem.
2
0
11
I think keeping the libraries open would have been a better use of this money, fwiw.
2
0
11
This is exactly the type of ambitious, forward-looking plan we need for NYC's housing and public spaces.
@DanGarodnick
@NYCPlanning
The
@NYCPlanning
midtown south plan has taken its next step forward — with thanks to
@MarkLevineNYC
@ebottcher
&
@KeithPowersNYC
for their strong partnership & leadership.
8
17
59
0
0
11
@grizwald87
@xenocryptsite
Yeah, in one of the early scenes they're talking about a player and a scout goes "his girlfriend isn't pretty, means he's not confident. That'll hurt him on the field." They didn't need to explain the math, the innovation was that they started focusing on stuff that matters.
1
0
10
The lack of urgency around climate change is terrifying. We spend billions building new solar and wind installations and then it takes ~5 years to get permission to plug them in?
Median duration from interconnection request to commercial operations, by region
1
4
22
1
3
10
Back of the envelope calculation: Manhattan is 56% of the GDP of the 12 county area served by the MTA. Only 5.7% of car commuters were projected to come from Manhattan. This is a ~tenold tax increase on Manhattanites compared to what CP would have been.
Raising the MTA payroll tax in NYC isn't dead yet.
Senate Dems expected to discuss it again today. Assembly Dems discussed it last night with mixed results, I'm told.
9
18
154
0
3
9
I don't think that's what they had in mind when they wrote the law...
To meet class size mandate, NYC officials look to virtual learning
16
16
12
0
0
8
Public safety isn't an internet meme. Last month there were two shootings by the same man in the same week in Tompkins Square Park. They didn't catch him the first time because the security cameras weren't turned on. All flash, no substance from city hall.
2
1
8
The only successful "crossover ticket" in American history ended with a member of the Vice President's party murdering the President so that he could sabotage Reconstruction from the top.
Now, more than ever, we need a cross-over ticket.
Give me your best pairing...
228
6
184
0
4
8
You get 12 New Yorkers in a room they'll spot the crook.
Today, a jury found Donald J. Trump GUILTY on ALL 34 felony counts.
24K
10K
59K
0
1
8
The speed with which the politics of this has shifted has been remarkable. State and local Democrats who want to be leaders on housing affordability need to catch up.
1
1
6
This would be an unacceptable loss for the city's school system. Every student is dealing with the academic and mental health impacts of going through school during the COVID pandemic. They need a bigger support structure, not layoffs.
New York City is poised to lose funding for 60 school psychologists and nearly a quarter of the roughly 2,000 social workers embedded in public schools, even as Mayor Adams has warned of an ongoing “youth mental health crisis.”
30
382
612
2
1
7
Live your life so that you end up with a vaguely menacing black and white photo in TRD graphic.
@aaronAcarr
Housing Rights Initiative sued 20 landlords and brokers in Boston for alleged voucher discrimination.
0
2
9
0
1
7
Don't really know how much the changed composition of the Court of Appeals affected this decision by Blackstone, but in any case I'm once again feeling good about this.
@JeremyBermanNY
@EricaForNY
@GabrielPanek
@kimmosc
@RSWinNYC
Proud to say that all of the Democratic Party officials in the 76th Assembly District are speaking with one voice in opposition to Governor Hochul's choice for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.
19
89
380
0
0
6
LI Dems would do well to learn from past redistricting lessons: density brings Democratic voters. Stagnation and sprawl prices them out.
Many Long Island Ds are beginning — with the decline of local crossover — begin to see the political value in the Democratic voters TODs bring over the appeal to high propensity NIMBYs. Ronkonkoma Hub, New Village Patchogue, etc all bringing in many new D registrants.
5
5
34
0
0
6
@bfurnas
@willthomas_usa
Charlemagne never ate a banana. In his whole life, never a single one.
1
0
5
Praying for this woman's recovery. A car that size with that many tickets should not be allowed on our streets.
0
0
6
Great day out petitioning near Stuy-Town (though the rain made my hair look ridiculous...)
Today, we hit the streets to gather signatures for
@JerryNadler
to get on NY's primary ballot. Heard some great feedback on his critical work in Congress.
Join us at our next petitioning session!
0
0
6
0
1
6
Disgraceful resolution by CEC2 this evening. Unbelievable.
The anti-transgender resolution passed by CEC 2 this evening will not stand. We must demand a full review of the actions of this board by the NYS Division of Human Rights and the NYC Human Rights Commission
107
19
88
2
1
4
It seems pretty clear that, like most of Trump's and his kids' investment activity while he was President, this is "business" just a fig leaf to bribe him.
Trump's Truth Social company posted its new financials to the SEC today.
The firm generated just $4.1 million (with an M) revenue for all of 2023, while racking up $58 million in net losses.
Market cap is > $6 billion.
(This isn't an April 1 joke.)
976
3K
9K
0
1
5
The 7A process exists for this exact scenario: both Moinian and the mgmt co have shown they cannot be trusted to manage the building. The City must hand control over to someone else. Kudos to
@AlexBores
and
@KeithPowersNYC
for supporting the tenants here.
0
1
5
Is this the beginning of the Martin Van Buren pop culture renaissance we've all been waiting for? Are mutton chops back?
1
0
5
"Once you come from Europe, you already think this country is insane in this way, but it’s just unbelievably sad." Just absolutely terrible.
1
0
5
Really glad to see
@32BJSEIU
leading on this. There's so much progress we can make and none of it can wait.
Proud to say Labor power is at the forefront of the effort to pass affordable housing policies that will reduce rent and increase housing supply for everyday New Yorkers.
More via
@NY1
⬇️
3
12
48
0
0
5
This is a major win for abortion rights, workers rights, and the rights of mothers. Thank you
@RepJerryNadler
for your leadership in authoring this legislation.
I applaud the
@USEEOC
for issuing a final rule that recognizes the broad scope of the Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act, including that abortion is a covered condition under the bill. These final rules significantly advance women's health, economic security, and equality.
17
26
54
0
0
5
@TheoLandsman
@xenocryptsite
What do you mean? The quote is about how fantasy series never engage with how their heroic kings actually govern and then the entire first book in ASOIAF is about how handsome, heroic Robert Baratheon turned out to be a terrible king.
1
0
5
Rallying with
@ST_PCV_Tenants
and tenants citywide outside Eric Adams' RGB to say no to unreasonable rent increases for the next year. We can't take another year of sky high increases!!
0
0
5
Just FYI when you're arresting a pastor for providing shelter to the homeless in a church during a blizzard, you're the bad guy.
0
0
5
@LindaBRosenthal
@bradhoylman
@GovKathyHochul
@NYC_SafeStreets
@TransAlt
Thank you for your leadership on this, assembly member.
0
0
4
This is, it should go without saying, disgusting.
A prominent conservative writer railed in emails obtained by The New York Times against what she saw as the alarming spread of “nannies of color” on New York City’s wealthy Upper East Side.
43
218
387
1
0
4
0
0
4
DDay anniversary fact: the oldest person (and only general) to land with the first wave at Normandy was Theodore Roosevelt III, who directed troops at Utah Beach with his cane in one hand and a pistol in the other.
0
0
4
@GusChristensen
@richmintz
I'm running in the 4th Council District, running from the Upper East Side down through Midtown and into Stuy-Town/Peter Cooper Village (where I live). It covers a big cool part of CB6 which Rich can tell you more about, but unfortunately not Roosevelt Island.
2
1
3
Absolutely deranged.
Katie Britt introduced a bill to create a national registry of pregnant women. They will then be referred to “crisis pregnancy centers.” The database will not allow any vendor who advocates for abortion rights.
3K
4K
7K
0
0
4
This is a critical step towards ensuring the safety all of New Yorkers, particularly the Jewish community that has seen spiking levels of hate-motivated crime and violence. Now all of these incidents will be properly prosecuted as hate crimes.
This year’s state budget prioritizes public safety in New York by:
⚖️Passing my bill with
@bradhoylman
to modernize New York’s laws to address hate crimes
🌿Strengthening enforcement against illegal cannabis stores
Watch my remarks on the Assembly floor to learn more⬇️
2
2
10
0
0
4
"Gaul" and "Gael" both refer to Celtic peoples on the edge of the Roman Empire, but they're etymologically unrelated. In fact, the English name "Gaul" comes from the Germanic word for "Roman," since to the Germans Gaul was on the Roman side of Europe.
0
0
4
"That is why the goal of building hundreds of thousands of new housing units to meet the projected half a million unit shortfall isn’t aspirational, it’s essential." absolutely correct
@MannyPastreich
@32BJSEIU
@NYHTC
@DC37nyc
0
0
4
@kimmosc
😃
I'm thrilled to announce that I'm running for New York City Council in the 2025 Democratic primary to represent the East Side. New York is facing unprecedented challenges, and will need innovative solutions and bold leadership to tackle them. 1/
10
32
137
0
0
4
@mnolangray
The incoherent timeline is an underrated part of the appeal. You really get the sense that these are *legends* - story elements repeat, the same characters take part in events hundreds of years apart, etc. Link, Zelda, etc feel more like folk heroes than characters in a narrative
0
0
4
@UrbaneUrban
@SpaceshipJo
Exactly! R2 units, too. Blaster shots just fly by them until you need something fixed, then suddenly sparks are flying.
1
0
3
May her memory be a blessing.
Sad news about the passing of our friend Louise Dankberg.
Louise supported so many of us when we first ran for office and cared deeply about local politics and our community.
Her loss will be felt deeply and she will be missed so many.
4
5
34
0
0
3
@TweetBenMax
It's all extra. A 10 market rate units as of right lot becomes 10 market rate units + 2 affordable as of right. So long as the affordable rent covers operating costs it's free.
1
0
3
@UrbaneUrban
@SpaceshipJo
Yeah. So much of the prequel trilogy just doesn't fit with any other part of the story. Vader betraying the Jedi is presented in ANH as this world-historically unforgiveable act but then ~every subsequent installment adds new Jedi that were just too important to be killed.
1
0
3
@UrbaneUrban
@SpaceshipJo
And, like, it robs the other characters of what made them special! Yoda survived out in the wilderness and went kinda bonkers because that was what took to survive but apparently not he could have become a bounty hunter or whatever Ray Stevenson did.
0
0
3
@lizdenys
Yoshi is a Yoshi. Boo is a Boo. Bob-omb is a Bob-omb. The only conclusion is that by law and custom, people there are categorized by the first member of their species to arrive in the Mushroom Kingdom, and the "Mario Brothers" refers to their species (Mario) not their surname.
2
1
2
@TheoLandsman
@xenocryptsite
I'm kind of anticipating a better-written version of how the HBO series ended, where they form a Westerosi Parliament and the message is that an individual monarch's morality isn't the driving force behind a kingdom's success, but who knows.
0
0
1
@JarekFA
@ibathedaily
A hypothetical R12A w a height cap would be a huge improvement on current policy and would be in keeping with the city's historic architecture/built environment, so we should do that. That's the beauty of density, right: big things (metaphorical and literal) in small increments.
1
0
3
@Sharon_Kuruvila
After the Soviet Union collapsed Russia became dominated by white supremacists and billionaire oligarchs and then the Republican Party did too? I don't think many people would be surprised.
0
0
3
Absolutely disgusting.
The Arizona State Supreme Court just issued a horrific ruling reinstating an abortion ban from 1864 (before Arizona became a state). The law imposes criminal penalties like up to five years in prison on anyone who provides or aids in providing an abortion.
2
52
80
0
1
3
CEC2 has dueling resolutions being debated tonight on LGBTQ+ students, one motivated by inclusivity and compassion, the other by bigotry. I hope the Council will make the correct decision.
"The point of this resolution is to show that CEC2 supports our LGBTQ+ students and families and help bring additional resources to schools to help these families," CEC2 member Jessica Savage says as she introduces the resolution.
1
1
7
1
0
2
@SpaceshipJo
@UrbaneUrban
Order 66 really shows how the main Jedi power is plot armor. In the last Mandalorian season there's a flashback where a Jedi's friends are all killed instantly, he kills like 20 clone troopers, lives exactly long enough to deliver Grogu to the next scene, then dies.
1
0
3
0
0
3