Ben Furnas
@bfurnas
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Climate @Cornell . Former: NYC Director of Climate & Sustainability; Policy & Planning @nycmayor . Build every city up, cheer every kiddie up. Views mine. ⚡️🗽
NYC (& Ithaca)
Joined May 2007
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So, so excited.
We're mobilizing the minds, labs & fields of the university of Carl Sagan to support climate action in this decisive decade.
Big things are happening
@cornell
, in Ithaca, in NYC, in New York State, and around the world. Let's go!
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New Yorkers have been trained to be nonchalant even when a mega celebrity goes by.
Watching this cargo ship pass under the Verrazzano was very fun
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both homeowners oppose the new apartment building going up down the block 🥲
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The miraculous innovations of hyper-advanced society. NYC is in the lead again.
DSNY collects its first bags of residential garbage from curbside containers as part of a pilot program that kicks off today on W45th between 9th and 10th
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“Traditional buttons, knobs, and switches have a tactility that allow drivers to intuitively find and adjust them while keeping their eyes on the road. A slippery touchscreen does not.”
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Turns out I’m raising a real New Yorker.
My 3.5 year old daughter just looked up while eating a plain white slice of American cheese and said, “I’m glad we live in Brooklyn, daddy, no other city has cheese like this.”
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Everywhere your dog can pee my toddler can pee.
"'You’re writing me a ticket for what? You cannot have a playground and not have bathrooms.’”
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“You expect [Tokyo] to feel messy. What I experienced, however, was a city that felt like a futuristic village. It is utterly calm, in a way that is actually rather strange.
And it took me a little while to realize why. There is simply no traffic noise.”
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It’s sort of funny the tree just comes from some guys yard in central New York?
Meet the 2023 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 🌲
This year’s Tree is from Vestal, New York, weighs in at about 12 tons, and stands 80 feet tall. The Tree will arrive on Center Plaza Saturday, November 11. Follow along for more updates right here.
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People keep pointing this out as a gotcha, but it’s actually an incredible illustration of how relatively efficient and low-emission electric conveyance is?
A huge electric vehicle has the same emissions as a tiny fuel-efficient gas car!
Large electric vehicles produce just as much emissions as smaller gasoline-powered cars (plus they kill more people).
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When NYC installed speed cameras on roads around schools, speeding on those roads dropped 80-90%.
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Handsome new multi-unit the width of a brownstone in South Slope.
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Sometimes the job is policy memos, sometimes it's doing the electric slide with
@DOEChancellor
in front of an all-new electric school bus.
Excited for kids to be riding in this bus next week, with 75 more buses on the way!
Happy Earth Day, everyone!!
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The moment when the bill ending gas in new buildings in America’s largest city became law.
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“Hey parents - want to keep your kids safe when they’re crossing the street? Sorry to say you’re going to have to come to some meetings around bedtime to advocate for your view - hope that helps!”
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“Greenpoint Crash Kills Cyclist At a Former Open Street that Opponents Dismantled”
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Striking evidence that New Yorkers really came together yesterday to avoid a much worse set of outages.
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Since 2019, the electricity supplying New York City and Long Island has become dirtier and more emission intensive than the electricity system in Texas and the U.S. as a whole.
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You can’t hand a “courtesy card” to a speed camera.
Staten Island cop’s explosive lawsuit pulls back the curtain on an open secret— courtesy cards police give to family & friends so they can get out of a jam when they end up on the wrong side of the law.
@rparascandola
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So so excited to get to work!
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Neighborhood homeowner uses “housing should be a basic right” to oppose new apartments steps from park and subway.
It would be useful if progressive politicians pushed back on this type of thing instead of letting folks put old exclusionary wine in new left-sounding bottles.
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A dark irony of the New Jersey driver opposition to congestion pricing is people driving into Manhattan will feel the benefits of congestion pricing far sooner than subway riders will.
UPDATE: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy hires lawyers to explore legal options against New York's congestion pricing plan. The feds approved the plan on Monday, setting off heated reactions.
@DBrennanTV
reports.
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I’m sympathetic to David Simon. We should probably change the name of the “school zone” automated enforcement program and have the tickets be the full $90-$600 and include points on the license rather than the special “$50, no points” school zone rate.
Jesus. Thank you! And what's more, I would argue that misusing a school speed-zone ordinance that way demeans and trivializes the statute itself, which has a very meaningful purpose. Thanks for growing up to not be another internet moron.
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“Vienna and Manhattan have similar populations, but Vienna adds private housing units at 10 times the rate of Manhattan over and above its social housing.”
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“Beloved public pools, when they receive good investment, attract Americans of many backgrounds, creating a space for people to swim and play together who may not otherwise interact…they are an essential piece of social infrastructure in a democracy.”
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The future is now: “…the 44-story structure will yield 441 rental units, with 45 reserved for affordable housing, and will be fully powered by electricity.”
The Alloy Block’s 505 State Street Approaches Completion in Downtown Brooklyn
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“12.7% of current childhood asthma nationwide is attributed to gas stove use, which is similar to the childhood asthma burden attributed to secondhand smoke exposure.”
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The NYC alternate side parking calendar is one of the world’s most moving homages to pluralism and peaceful co-existence.
Today,
@NYCCouncil
passed legislation I sponsored to suspend Alternate-Side-Parking regulations on Tisha B’Av. Tisha B’Av is one of the holiest and most mournful days of the Jewish calendar. Now, the burden of moving cars on such a meaningful day has been removed.
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Taking my favorite electric vehicle to an announcement about some other kinds of electric vehicles. ⚡️🚗👀
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“…by 2030, the US will probably produce around 20 per cent of the world’s most advanced chips, up from zero today.”
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“Every rich newcomer who can afford this new building, when it does get built, is someone who will not come to my landlord and offer double my rent because they don’t have another option for a building to live in, and I’m conveniently located.”
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"New York City’s biggest buildings are complying with a landmark emissions law at a much faster rate than the city expected, undermining the real estate sector’s claims that the rules will be too hard to meet..."
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“TVA’s nuclear fleet of 7 reactors has generated more since 2016 than the 34.2 GW California wind & solar industry…all that TVA nuclear power is publicly-owned, producing energy at cost, not for profit—and not for Wall Street.”
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Most New Yorkers already use an electric vehicle to get around (subway car).
Manhattan is probably going to lag behind suburban Charlotte/Atlanta/Dallas/Phoenix in EV adoption over the next few years, which is going to be a bit weird when thinking about the political ideology of NYC vs Sun Belt metros.
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“New York shut down its Indian Point nuclear power plant in 2021, taking 2,000 megawatts of carbon-free power off the grid, with the promise that offshore wind would soon replace it. It hasn’t yet.
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In a shortage, money finds a way: “A rent-stabilized 1 bedroom apartment for $1,100? In NYC? The broker's fee is $15K.”
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The underlying block technology has real value.
Watch: Collectible Lego sets are attracting investors looking for a safe and profitable alternative to the recent volatility and unpredictability of stocks and bonds. Here’s how Lego investing works.
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After 8 years, today was my last day in the Mayor’s Office.
Thank you to the incredible colleagues across City government, the inspiring and ambitious team at
@nyclimate
, and to Mayor de Blasio for the opportunity of a lifetime to serve this remarkable city.
More soon!
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“We’re a national leader in blocking housing…New York is essentially in a league of its own when it comes to constricting housing development. Virtually no new housing has been created in large swathes of the New York City metro area for years…” 🔥
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“The project includes new 17- and 19-story buildings that would wrap around the subway covering where the F and G trains go below ground. The project adds 305 new apartments, 162 of which will be income-restricted…”
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“Over 80% of Americans support building more homes in their local neighborhood…”
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“The typical family that moves out of New York State saves 15 times more from lower housing costs than they do from lower taxes.”
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“In the past half century, by investing in transit & allowing development, Tokyo added more housing units than the total number in NYC. It remained affordable by becoming the world’s largest city. It has become the largest city by remaining affordable.”
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In 2009, NYC downzoned Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street. In the wake of the rezoning, housing production stalled, and the neighborhood became richer, whiter, and more expensive.
Great look-back report from
@NYCPlanning
.
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To be clear - I’m a big fan of this program, know a lot of fine folks are working hard putting it together - just having a little fun! 💕
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“The evidence indicates that adding more housing of any kind [market-rate or subsidized] helps slow rent growth. And the Pew analysis of these four places is consistent with that finding.”
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@RachelBarkow
It’s not easy being at the cutting edge, but our civilization was forged by the risk-takers, the innovators, the pioneers.
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“Shouldn’t suburbanites want their kids and elderly parents to be able to afford homes nearby? Shouldn’t construction workers want more construction, tenants want more apartments, and legislative leaders want legislation?”
Price of failure: “New York will not add [enough] homes, the values of existing homes will be higher because of tight supply. That will mean more homelessness, higher rent burdens and more population (and political power) shifting to other states.”
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@mattyglesias
@ramez
When we were pushing for electric buildings the emotional salience of gas stoves was a key way industry would attack electrification laws (“they’re trying to take away your gas stove”) - making it clear induction is fine/even better makes overall electrification more palatable.
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Another view: the outdoor dining next to my apartment is within range of my baby monitor and it is *amazing*
Outdoor dining is Very appealing unless it is under your window & you & your kids have to live with the explosion of rats- trash & noise.
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NYS Assembly Housing Chair: “I’m really not worried about the supply of market-rate housing.” [24:58]
NEW podcast:
State Assembly Housing Chair
@LindaBRosenthal
Previews the 2024 Legislative Session
Listen at Max Politics wherever you get podcasts, or here:
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"No license shall be granted for a sidewalk cafe or roadway cafe located in a historic district, on a landmark site or attached or adjacent to a landmark or an improvement containing an interior landmark without...the approval of the landmarks preservation commission"
Ladies and gentlemen, after months of waiting, we finally have a revised Open Restaurants bill (31B)
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“The Department of Transportation is moving forward with new rules that would allow the use of wider, pedal-assist electric cargo bikes — a move that could get thousands of trucks off the road ... including some of DOT's own.”
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Tammany Hall still in the business of making sure every dog gets a treat.
every day i am shocked they built this and then it became a petco
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From
@A_W_Gordon
: "Miracle On 14th Street"
"...this shift from a miserable, traffic-clogged thoroughfare to a pleasant urban street with speedy, efficient bus service feels like a miracle."
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“How could a city with more than 8 million residents, more than 3 million of whom are foreign-born, find itself overwhelmed by a much smaller number of newcomers?”
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ICYMI: "The New York City Council has approved the use of mass timber for the construction of buildings of up to 85 feet tall."
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@julietlapidos
Needless to say LPC does not need to approve non-historic vehicles parking in those parking spots.
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“US median rents dropped for an eighth straight month in December as a surge in new units provided some relief on asking prices and suggested further declines in 2024.”
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For
@DataProgress
, I write that the ascendent generation of progressive state and local leaders have an opportunity to correct inequities and save lives by putting safe streets for walking, biking, and transit at the center of their agendas. 💖
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@chrislhayes
Chris! We’re pushing for a local law that would get almost every worker in NYC at least two weeks paid vacation right now! Vacation is great.
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It’s amazing how much mass transit New York City has been able to build since the mid-70s once we got that pesky Robert Moses out of the way.
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A bus stop shelter would be nice but the best bus stop shelter is a bus that comes every 5 minutes.
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Unfortunately, NYC missed an opportunity to do this on a mass scale when updating all the pedestrian ramps for the latest ADA compliance.
I've been impressed by Mexico City's street design
One detail I particularly like: their streets narrow at many intersections, shortening the distance that pedestrians need to cross and encouraging cars to slow down:
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“…the U.S. needs to build transmission lines at twice its current rate to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century. Yet over the past decade, America’s rate of transmission construction has actually slowed.”
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I love all electric vehicles! But my *favorite* electric vehicle is the subway car.
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Implicit in most criticisms of NYC’s transformative outdoor dining program is an unspoken “…and therefore I would prefer this to be a parking spot.”
Here's a thread of some of the lovely outdoor dining sheds in NYC that
@NYCCouncil
's proposed legislation would require the restaurants to destroy.
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Does anyone actually buy stuff like this anymore?
"...we wanted to ensure the development did not cast a shadow or loom over JJ Walker Park, or the historic district. We called for keeping the building as low as possible, minimizing height while maximizing affordable housing."
Opinion: City’s plan for 388 Hudson tower is too tall, slippery on affordability
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“It’s not complicated: we have more people than homes. This shortage gives landlords the power to charge any price they want and leaves too many New Yorkers with no place to go."
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“This single innovation may, all by itself, perceptibly accelerate productivity growth over the coming decades.”
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This is an incredible site for a lot of housing in a very desirable neighborhood. Folks mobilizing to block it should feel ashamed, and elected officials who play footsie with this exclusionary impulse should not be considered “progressive.”
I got invited to a join a NIMBY group to oppose housing in my
@BkCB7
neighborhood. Seems so crazy w/ so few options for renters, empty PPW storefronts & extra seats at all the local D15 schools. I support housing on huge parking lot of Arrow Linen Supply!
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What If Ozempic Is Just a Good Thing?
“Right now, the most urgent concern about Ozempic is the fact that everyone who needs and wants it cannot get it.”
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“Across the country, a lot of good white liberals, people who purchase copies of White Fragility and decry the U.S. Supreme Court for ending affirmative action, sleep every night in exclusive suburbs that socially engineer segregation by government edict.”
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In cities that have adopted paid sick leave laws, flu "infection rates are as much as 40 percent lower relative to cities without paid leave policies."
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In 1934, Keynes wrote to FDR imploring him to reject austerity and embrace relief payments to the unemployed and massive investments in housing, public utilities and transportation - in particular: “busier train schedules.” (From the terrific
@zachdcarter
).
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Just imagine if landlords had to compete for tenants instead of the other way around.
Anyone who wants to come up with better ideas for multifamily … go visit a bunch of boutique hotels
The design, product, attention to detail and in hospitality is night and day compare to apartments.
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Studio apartments are pro-family.
When developers strip them out of projects at the behest of council members, “the result is fewer units than proposed — and roommates with two, three or four incomes outbidding families for the housing.”
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This is terrific, but a sad sign of the times that NYC needs folks from Minnesota to remind us that “build high quality transit and let people build apartment buildings near it” is a good model for development. We basically invented that!
By removing parking mandates, prioritizing transit-oriented development & more, Minneapolis built more housing & kept rents flat. We can do the same in NYC with
#CityofYes
for Housing Opportunity. Thanks to
@ebottcher
for advancing this conversation on tackling our housing crisis
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Big news: DOT rule will clarify that pedal-assist bicycles are street legal in NYC, creating a low-cost and sustainable transportation option for delivery workers and commuters alike.
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“Revenue from [NYC Ferry] fares came to $19.8m in FY2023, up from $13.7m in FY22 and higher than the FY2019 peak of $13.9m.
The uptick in revenue comes as operation expenses remain relatively stable, leading to the lowest subsidy to date — $8.55/ride.”
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“Fully 22% of today’s housing [in NYC] was built during the 1920s alone. That’s 50% more than exists from any other decade, and more than the total amount built since 1980!”
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@AlecStapp
“Eric Phillips, a spokesperson for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, said on Twitter, "This is news to City Hall," adding that "The entirety of what we know about this proposal is what's in Mr. Musk's Tweet. That is not how we evaluate projects of any scale."”
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Good video that makes a critical point: a protected bike lane network is only as good as its weakest link.
A decision on a single block disrupts an entire system and makes a whole swathe of bike-curious people forgo biking all together.
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“New York issued just 2 new housing permits for every 1,000 residents in 2021, the fourth lowest rate in the country and well below the national average of 5.1. The lack of housing pushes people to look for places with lower cost of living.”
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I live above a pizzeria, it’s amazing.
Oh no, not four-story dwellings on top of my favorite single-story pizzeria.
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In 2018 after a crash killed two children, mayor de Blasio asked the state legislature for a graduated penalty schedule for dangerous violations, culminating in a vehicle registration suspension after the 6th offense.
It never became law.
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The number of bus riders who will benefit every day from the 181st street busway is greater than the entire population of the City of Ithaca.
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RIP to a New York legend and hero. "He was uniquely qualified: A rarity among public officials, he was a regular subway rider."
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