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JC Policy Circle

@jcpolicycircle.bsky.social
295 followers 299 following 717 posts

Advocating for more effective, evidence-based policy in Jersey City, Hudson County and New Jersey

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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Really nice piece from @idothethinking.bsky.social on the dangers of the dangers of optimizing for narrow goals. open.substack.com/pub/darrello...
open.substack.com
The Fire Department vs. Traffic Safety Advocates
Street safety advocates are butting heads with fire officials. Swift fire response does not have to come at the cost of lives on the roadway. They can work together.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Let’s please retire the phrase “induced demand.” Too many people think it means that demand is produced out of thin air. If 6 people want pizza, but there are only 5 slices, making 1 more slice for the last person doesn’t make new demand—it just addresses demand that was always there but unmet.
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The City Reporter @thecityreporter.nyc · 22/07/2025
The Charter Revision Commission voted to place five proposals on the November ballot — four aimed at simplifying and speeding up the development approval process for affordable housing.
buff.ly
New Yorkers to Vote on Affordable Housing Fast Track and Election Calendar This Fall
The Charter Revision Commission convened by the mayor approved four ballot measures aimed at fighting the housing crisis — and one proposal to shift elections to even-numbered years.
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Shabazz Stuart @shabazzstuart.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
YESSSSSS!!! I want to live in a world where mayors jockey to take credit for secure bike parking!
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Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
It's time for clear eyed thinking about the potential for the large-scale destruction of public transit in American cities. It could happen in the next two years. Thread... 1/
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Open New York @opennewyork.org · 21/07/2025
The Charter Revision Commission just approved the 5 questions that will be on ballots for NYC voters this November! This includes 4 housing questions, which would collectively represent a huge step forward for affordability in New York. 🧵
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New Jersey Monitor @newjerseymonitor.com · 18/07/2025
NJ Transit approves $3.2B budget, engineer contract newjerseymonitor.com/2025/07/18/n...
newjerseymonitor.com
NJ Transit approves $3.2B budget, engineer contract • New Jersey Monitor
The new budget is the agency's first since the pandemic that does not include hundreds of millions of dollars in federal relief funds.
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Ben Ross @benrosstransit.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Long experience has shown me that in local government, the definition of "the community" is "people who own single-family houses."
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3underscores.bsky.social @3underscores.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
If anyone wants to work with us to canvass at bus stops on Ocean and MLK so that those bus riders' voices can be heard on this, let us know! It'll drastically speed up their buses, but I'm worried many of them won't even know about this survey or meeting!
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
It’s remarkable how much more the Hoboken council emphasizes technical proficiency than does Jersey City’s. A Hoboken councilwoman, Tiffanie Fisher, put out a detailed and thoughtful breakdown of her views on the proposed budget. In JC, most council people don’t even attend most budget meetings.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Youth curfew in Newark? Is this real? It must kill summer house parties!
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Per r/JerseyCity, it looks like Waymo’s training fleet has arrived in Jersey City. And in Manhattan, Uber has started offering fixed route service. Large L4 AVs operating on fixed routes = abundant, cheap buses. Are we *sure* public transit as currently operated/funded has a future in NJ?
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Taxes that pay for themselves aren’t really expenses. They’re investment.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Can we please stop measuring the size of govt by the amount of taxes? It’s wildly misleading. Like, if we didn’t have social security, most people would invest a lot more of their savings in … treasuries. The same thing the social security program does with your taxes.
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Jenny Schuetz @jennyschuetz.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
State & local govts (& unpaid civic groups) do a ton of heavy lifting on disaster planning & recovery, but they will always need backup (staff, $$, info, technical expertise) from the federal govt. by all means, let’s build more state & local capacity but not as a *substitute* for federal support.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
People (here, Jack C) complain NJ isn’t affordable because of its high taxes, but we’re skeptical that that’s right, at least in the sense they mean it. The economic cost of govt = (goods/services taxes fund) - (goods/services ppl want). The key thing to optimize is to shrink this difference.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Tapping the sign. A Waymo operator is doubling the size of the fleet.
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Effective Transit Alliance @etany.org · 07/07/2025
A bill passed by the NYS Legislature requiring two-person crews for all subway trains would not only leave NY in the past—no other major transit system requires this—it would also cause service cuts wherever trains operate with one person now, including on the G and M. www.etany.org/statements/i...
Indeed, the MTA’s own operations showcase effective transitions away from TPTO. Starting in 1997, the NYC Transit Authority (NYCTA) began to transition to OPTO on most of its shuttles: the Franklin Ave Shuttle (all times, 2 75-ft cars), the Rockaway Park Shuttle (all times except for summer weekends and holidays, 4 75-ft cars or 5 60-ft cars), the Lefferts Blvd Shuttle (late nights, 4 75-ft cars or 5 60-ft cars), the Dyre Ave Shuttle (late night, 5 51-ft cars), and the now-discontinued B-West End Shuttle. All have successfully run with OPTO in the 28 years since. Then in 2018, the MTA also transitioned to OPTO on both the G (4 75-ft cars or 5 60-ft cars) and M (4 60-ft cars) on weekends and late nights, extending the practice further, again, without incident to date.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Yes! L4/5 AV technology deployed sensibly is a huge win for urbanism! Safer streets, way less need for parking subsidies, easier tolling/taxing (ht @lewislehe.bsky.social), and improved bus service, all become possible with strong AVs!
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Shabazz Stuart @shabazzstuart.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
I don't think embracing self driving tech should mean that we quit trying to have less car traffic. I just think the technology will be far, far more effective than speed cameras and red-light cameras. It will revolutionize public transit (busses especially) and reduce car ownership dependency!
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TechCrunch @techcrunch.com · 07/07/2025
Waymo starts robotaxi testing in Philadelphia and NYC
techcrunch.com
Waymo starts robotaxi testing in Philadelphia and NYC | TechCrunch
Waymo kicked off two “road trips” to Philadelphia and New York City on Monday, signaling the Alphabet-owned company’s push to expand into cities in the Northeast. 
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Honestly not sure whether this reflects good or bad performance for SF’s speed cameras?
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Are we *sure* public transit as it is funded/operated today has a financial future? Can we please start talking about how to save public transit before it’s too late?
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
OP here is concerned that North Bergen will build a preschool for only North Bergen kids on county land. JC residents aren’t really in a position to complain because the state did a similar thing on a bigger scale last year in favor of the city when it all but deeded Liberty State Park to JC.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Some great observations from @ilanaglazer.com!
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
One of the great weaknesses of capitalism is that it doesn’t scale reward to effort. There are few office workers who work harder than roofers. And many CEOs don’t grind as hard as full-time stay-at-home parents.
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Senator Andrew Zwicker @andrewzwicker.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Automatic Voter Registration has passed the NJ State Senate!! AVR is a major win for democracy and a powerful tool to drive civic engagement. By streamlining registration, we're making sure that more eligible voters have a say in our elections. Thank you to all our partners who made this possible!
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jerseycitytimes.bsky.social @jerseycitytimes.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Liberty State Park took a lot of digging, a lot of dealing, a lot of disinfecting, and a tremendous amount of determination to become the place we now know it to be.  jcitytimes.com/a-new-book-l...
jcitytimes.com
A New Book, ‘Liberty State Park,’ Tells the Story of Our Most Famous Greenspace
Liberty State Park feels eternal. It feels inevitable, too. Most Jersey City residents can’t remember a time without it. Why wouldn’t there be a grand, dramatic greenspace overlooking the Hudson Ri…
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jerseycitytimes.bsky.social @jerseycitytimes.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
"The conclusions and proposed solutions in his piece, while well-intentioned, oversimplify both the causes of our sanitation challenges and the realities of municipal management in Ward D." jcitytimes.com/op-ed-domini...
jcitytimes.com
Op-Ed: Dominici Oversimplifies the Solutions to Garbage-Strewn Streets
Clean Streets, yes. But let’s be honest about solutions. Elvin Dominici’s op-ed strikes a chord with anyone who cares about Jersey City’s quality of life. No one disputes that clean streets are ess…
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
RCV’s impact on the NYC mayoral race is a great example of how impactful procedural rules can be. One really easy procedural improvement to fight the vetocracy is to eliminate the aldermanic privilege—the informal veto power given to council people over projects in their ward/district.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
All enterprises are already state owned. Via taxes, the state is an economic owner and via regulation it has governance ownership. What’s different here is direct government *operation*. So what problem does this idea solve better than giving ppl in need vouchers for food + transportation to it?
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
We have to find smart, content-neutral ways to publicly subsidize news—especially local news, which is least suited to the digital advertising model. Here’s a finding that closing a local newspaper results in an increase to municipal borrower costs. 1/2
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3underscores.bsky.social @3underscores.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Wow. Bus lanes and protected bike lanes on Baldwin/Summit and Ocean/MLK, basically running the whole length of the city. 20mph citywide speed limit. Municipal Council will need to be dragged kicking to do this. We will need to show up and speak out!
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
So many marginal policies get green light only because we ignore their opportunity costs. You should never fund a program (free buses) before funding a more impactful/desired program (expanded service).
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
It’s been 25 years since he got the job. Can NJ finally admit that Tony Soprano was a bad administrator and manager?
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3underscores.bsky.social @3underscores.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
If you agree and live in JC please sign on here: actionnetwork.org/letters/150-...
actionnetwork.org
150 Bay St - Support a plan for affordable housing, public school, and open space downtown!
Downtown JC is the wealthiest part of Jersey City. It has the best transit access and walkability, and is the part with the highest demand for new housing, both market-rate and affordable to low-incom...
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Patrick Ambrossi @patrickambrossi.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
The calls for safe streets continue to be stifled by inaction and the inability of our elected representatives to push meaningful legislation.… Ward D will not fall behind. Below is my pedestrian safety plan: hudsoncountyview.com/letter-my-je...
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
We somehow missed that the @amywilson.bsky.social is leaving Jersey City! Best of luck, Amy, and thanks for running Neighborhood Character all these years! Your newsletter has helped filled a big news shortage for the city and sparked discussion and awareness. open.substack.com/pub/neighbor...
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
It’s the time of year when political hopefuls try to convince you that any and all tax increases are waste and hurt affordability, as Jack Ciattarelli does here. This is just so clearly wrong. Here’s a 2020 paper linking spending on teachers to increasing home values. Why does this myth persist?
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
One thing we should have included in our thread about Solomon's housing plan are thoughts on his slate's prospects for horizontal up-zoning. One simple way to increase unit production is to expand the transportation network...
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Voter Choice NJ @vcnj.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
On July 2nd at 8PM, we’ll dive into the full ranked-choice voting results from NYC (& what it means for us in NJ). Whether you are new to RCV or if you are closely following every beat of the NYC local elections, we have you covered: www.voterchoicenj.org/vcnj_deep_di...
voterchoicenj.org
RCV Deep Dive: A 2025 NYC Local Primary Analysis
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Summarizing a couple of threads for posterity because there's some valuable info about James Solomon, one of the leading candidates to be JC's next mayor. -We give background on his housing plan, including some reasons for optimism: bsky.app/profile/jcpo... solomonforjc.com/wp-content/u... 1/4
solomonforjc.com
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Love this from @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social. Waste and inefficiency steals from those who need it most! Maximizing the use of public resources is paramount. substack.com/@derekthomps...
substack.com
Derek Thompson on Substack
Here’s what Mamdani told me about why abundance appeals to him. I’ve heard incredibly similar language from other progressive/left politicians.
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Regional Plan Association @rpa.org · 25/06/2025
NEW: NJ TRANSIT moves 720,000 people every weekday. We know it's important for the state — and now we've quantified its worth. RPA's latest report, The Value of NJ TRANSIT, looks at the real, measurable value of NJ TRANSIT for the state of NJ A 🧵⬇️ rpa.org/work/reports...
rpa.org
The Value of NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT service is vital for the economic prosperity of New Jersey and the region, but what would happen if we failed to adequately fund that service? Researchers investigate this hypothetical scen...
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Central NJ Yimby 🏗️🚲🚇🇺🇸 @princetonyimby.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
The regressive 'Stay NJ' program, which funnels money to wealthy boomers, is still part of the latest NJ budget, even as the state struggles to balance the numbers. The 'mansion tax' on home sales over $1 million (i.e. all homes in Princeton) is also doubling to 2%. www.nj.com/politics/202...
nj.com
Murphy, state leaders hammer out deal on N.J. budget, tax increases
Gov. Phil Murphy has to sign a final budget by June 30.
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Hudson County Complete Streets @hudcostreets.org · 25/06/2025
Our latest newsletter was just published!
newsletter.hudcostreets.org
Are You One of Those Showing Up Thursday?
Standing up for our quality-of-life, together. This is what community looks like.
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Why don’t cities install solar-powered misters (w motion sensors) on sidewalks for summer use?
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Jersey City is dropping its licensing and fee regime for selling ice. Abundance is finally paying off!
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JC Policy Circle @jcpolicycircle.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Really cool idea to take ill-gotten gains and invest them in violence prevention!
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