Local Government Nerd 🚲 🌈 ⚽️

We need people to be more creative and optimistic about what their city's built environment can be and more passionate about making that happen.

The private sector has gained back all the jobs it lost in the covid recession, and more. State and local governments have gained back just 76%. 7/

It just ain’t true that people won’t choose public transit over cars. It’s true that people won’t choose bad public transit over cars.

Ke Huy Quan was born in Vietnam, fled to Hong Kong, and then came to the United States as an eight-year-old refugee. The White House last month released a new rule that would ban refugees that stopped in another country before arriving at the US border.

New York's land banks have generated over $480 million in historically underserved urban neighborhoods, village centers, rural main streets, and formerly contaminated industrial sites across the state! Learn more: nylandbanks.org/resources

Reporters parroting “Tin Cup Day” seem to be making an editorial judgment that all other interest groups asking for funds are worthy, but local government officials who democratically represent their communities are somehow less worthy.

Ironically, the pejorative term "Tin Cup Day," implies that local officials asking for additional revenue to provide essential services (police, fire, streets, sidewalks, water, sewer, parks, senior & youth programs, street lighting, parking) & to LOWER property taxes is bad.

Time for my annual rant. Why wasn't February 6th Tin Cup Day, when everyone came to Albany to lobby for money for transportation projects?

@DavidZipper Plus, vehicle design could address many of the issues people have with sharing rides.

@DavidZipper But shared rides are the solution for mass transit's First Mile, Last Mile problem, no? Transportation as a service model that is as convenient as owning your own vehicle but much less costly will only be a solution with mass transit + FM/LM being addressed.

This is an oversimplification of the issue. Sure, all other factors being equal, most people prefer a private ride. But all other factors won't be equal. Private rides are significantly more costly than shared rides & mass transit.

It's cold here in the Capital District, but thankfully it's not Mt. Washington cold. youtube.com/live/cycNkPxtX…

As I'm wrapping my arms around the proposed "New Homes Targets and Fast-Track Approval Act"

NYCOM's statement on Governor Hochul's Executive Budget proposal.

@DavidZipper AV shuttles integrated with a transportation as service model to provide first mile, last mile service to connect to mass transit?

Looks like it's the end of the road for Navya, maker of low-speed autonomous shuttles: itsinternational.com/its4/news/navy… AV shuttles were all the rage a few years ago, but I've never understood their use case.

Property tax levy growth for school districts and the state’s biggest cities will be capped at 2%, the same as last year, even as my office calculated the rate of inflation at 8%. osc.state.ny.us/press/releases…

State and local governments added just 2,000 in December and have added back just 70% of what they lost in the recession. They are still down 452,000 jobs since Feb ’20, with over half of that, 239,000, in education. THIS IS A CRISIS, BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE. 4/

How to describe the beginning of a local government's official year? #ChatGPT with the win I found my first slide for my next new officials training

Vehicle maintenance should almost always be completed with at least 2 people, with few exceptions. Vehicle maintenance, especially on large trucks and equipment, can be dangerous so a second set of hands and eyes is vital to have available.