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Justin S.

@jsaif.bsky.social
1K followers 576 following 201 posts

Indie rock, #CambMA and national politics, occasional humor, law. Pro-housing, pro-transit. A Better Cambridge co-chair, “chatty and zealous”

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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sounds just like Cambridge, MA NextDoor! Although many are happy to publicly tell renters (referred to derogatorily as “transients”) exactly what they think of them.
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Laura @3deckerlaura.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Counterargument: tying housing to particular employment is bad on both a logistical level (what if someone wants to quit their job?) and a moral one (who gets to decide that cops and teachers are the most favored professions?)
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Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem @burhanazeem.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Everyone’s worried about whether or not there will be a blue wave this November. Meanwhile, I have a plan to ensure we have a permanent blue block. It all relies on rezoning Massachusetts.
youtube.com
How to Steal 20 Congressional Seats From Florida
Imagine congress with 20 fewer Florida republicans and 20 more Ayanna Pressleys & Katherine Clarks. It may sound like a pipe dream, but it's actually possibl...
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Ah yes, I’m sure billionaires will be fighting each other tooth and nail to rent these “luxury” apartments in Lancaster, PA. I can’t stand the constant misuse of the term luxury to refer to normal new apartments.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Ask your MA legislators to support housing in the final Economic Development Bill! Write a letter here: actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-...
actionnetwork.org
Ask your legislators to support housing in the final Economic Development Bill
The Massachusetts House and Senate have each passed their versions of the 2026 Economic Development Bill, and the legislation now heads to a conference committee to resolve the differences between the...
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Protect Housing Near the Arboretum. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/pr...
actionnetwork.org
Protect Housing Near the Arboretum
In the Moss Hill section of Jamaica Plain, the average home value is around $1.5 million. But some people there are trying to keep new neighbors out and block affordable housing near the Arboretum. T...
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Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem @burhanazeem.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Over the past ten years, the housing movement has grown from a small number of people into a national collective pushing change across the country: Maryland, Arizona, Cambridge, California, and now the halls of Congress. On August 4, the people behind those wins are coming together on one call.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Ironically, most of the pro-parking people in Cambridge claim to care deeply about heat islands.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I just wrote my Senator to support housing the Economic Development Bill (S.3178)! Write your own letter here: actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-...
actionnetwork.org
Ask your Senator to support housing the Economic Development Bill (S.3178)!
This week, the Massachusetts Senate will debate its economic development bill, S.3178. This legislation includes policies that will help create the homes Massachusetts needs to thrive and is one of th...
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Abundant Housing Massachusetts @abundanthousingma.org · 14/07/2026
🎉 Housing Abundance Symposium! Join advocates from across Massachusetts for a day of workshops, a keynote conversation with @jamellebouie.net, and our Celebration of Abundance Luncheon. 🆓 Free to attend. ⚠️ Space is limited—register today! www.abundanthousingma.org/housing-abun...
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Another MA state legislative session, another abject failure to do anything about MA’s housing shortage. Down to the smallest of small ball—municipal opt-in for allowing housing on religious properties (Yes In God’s Backyard) and commercial to residential conversions.
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
“In Toderian’s view, the dividing line between cities that succeed and those that stagnate isn’t geography, wealth or even size—it’s mindset. Some places embrace experimentation, risk…Others default to caution, delay, and a reflexive belief that change is impossible.” momentummag.com/urban-truth-...
Photo by Brent Toderian of a transformed Mount Royal Avenue in Montreal, one of over a dozen transformed pedestrian streets in that city. Text over the photo says “We could never do THAT in OUR city.” Text at the bottom says “Leadership doesn’t make excuses” quoting Brent Toderian. Via the Urban Truth Collective.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Remember when Councillor Zusy claims to support Just-A-Start and this project on Mass Ave that she supports Doug Brown’s zoning petition that would have a huge negative impact on this and all other proposals under the 100% Affordable Housing Overlay!
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
This article omits the part where the affordable housing opponents acted like complete spoiled toddlers and threw a fit, yelling like entitled jerks to try to get their way.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
“Boston has been named the best US city for foreign multinationals to do business, topping the fourth annual FT-Nikkei Investing in America ranking as companies prioritise skilled workers and research networks despite the city’s higher costs.” www.ft.com/content/ced9...
ft.com
Boston tops FT-Nikkei ranking as global companies seek skilled workers
International groups pick Massachusetts capital for intellectual wealth and quality of life, despite higher costs
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Not too late to email Cambridge City Council and tell them to stand up for housing affordability! www.abettercambridge.org/multifamily_...
abettercambridge.org
🚨 Action Alert: Tell City Council to Support Housing Affordability and Reject Attacks on Housing!
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Tell Cambridge City Council not to turn back the clock and reinstate anachronistic parking mandates tonight! www.abettercambridge.org/multifamily_...
abettercambridge.org
🚨 Action Alert: Tell City Council to Support Housing Affordability and Reject Attacks on Housing!
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Lizzie,MPA @lizzieinratcity.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
I want to speak about my disappointment in how certain councillors handled new residents getting involved in the parking minimum discussion on June 4th.
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Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem @burhanazeem.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
For a generation, special permits were the way that both inclusionary and 100% affordable projects were struck down. Now that we have our first new housing proposed in West Cambridge, 3 of my colleagues have decided to bring back special permits under the guise of tree protection.
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
“The plaque says Fort Seawall built in 1644, ‘the structure has been modified to accommodate the town’s changing needs...’ Maybe history does have lessons for us after all.” - Marblehead’s David Modica rallying over 100 housing advocates ahead of @abundanthousingma.org Lobby Day
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Sam @samd.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
A tale of two cities: as bad as Eric Adams was, one area where he and Zohran are aligned is the importance of building more housing meanwhile Michelle Wu’s NIMBY policies are wrecking Boston’s homebuilding
New York YIMBY's 2026
First-Quarter Construction Report Tallies A Dramatic Increase In DevelopmentThe Boston Blobe
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CHESTO MEANS BUSINESS
Building permits slow to a trickle for Boston housing construction. Are the city's policies to blame?
By Jon Chesto Globe Staff, Updated May 20, 2026, 8:07 a.m.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Some go as high as several acres—87,000 square feet! The Starter Home ballot initiative seeks address this very issue—sign up to gather signatures! www.abundanthousingma.org/weekend-of-a...
abundanthousingma.org
Weekend of Action: Legalize Starter Homes
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Mid-Cambridge has successfully used their exclusionary Neighborhood (Historic) Conservation District to block multifamily infill and affordable housing for decades, so no surprise really. www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/File...
cambridgema.gov
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YIMBY Action @yimbyaction.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
🚨 Congress could vote on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as soon as TOMORROW! 🚨 Visit the link to tell your representative to support the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act TODAY: pulse.pulse.ly/1ngqhvn3lc
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Saad Asad @realsaadasad.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
San Diego fell from 5th to 12th most expensive rental market by building more multifamily housing per capita than any other California city. This is what happens when you actually build. The lesson isn't complicated. www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/05/13/s...
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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 13/05/2026
NEW 📣: Applications are open for our #GoodLife Residents Program on housing policy! Led by @resnikoff.bsky.social, the cohort will develop bold policy ideas to expand housing supply and address the real constraints on building, from costs to materials to financing. Learn more and apply by June 1 ⬇️
rooseveltinstitute.org
Roosevelt Institute Expands Housing Policy Work with Residency
The Roosevelt Institute announces a new application period for its Good Life Residents Program, soliciting applications for emerging policy leaders to write on housing policy.
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
20-years after the Keystone Building collapsed into Union Street, New Bedford is finally repairing the gap left in its urban fabric. A new mixed-use development with 45 homes & retail is rising in its place, part of a broader housing renaissance driven by pro-housing leadership.
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John Hawkinson @johnhawkinson.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
At tonight's #cambma Planning Board, Tom Sieniewicz announces that it is associate member Joy Jackson's last meeting, as she is moving across the river [to Boston?].
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 07/05/2026
From @sightline.org www.sightline.org/2026/05/05/c...
sightline.org
Climate Is Stuck, Housing Isn’t | Sightline Institute
Why apartments may be the most powerful domestic climate move of the Trump years.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
“The plan is a sham. And it represents a bigger problem in Massachusetts: Housing prices are sky-high in large part because municipalities are effectively blocking new construction.” www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/07/b...
bostonglobe.com
Marblehead’s housing ‘plan’ is a sham. It should be ashamed of itself. - The Boston Globe
Resident David Modica's viral criticism was right. The zoning proposal approved by Town Meeting on Monday will likely result in few new units.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
By the way, it's not at all an exaggeration to say Marblehead residents were comparing 3A to the Revolutionary War
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
"Tyranny of townhouses." I love this man.
“Last year we spoke for hours,” he says. “Everyone wanted to say something. You guys were getting up there talking like you were revolutionary soldiers fighting the good fight against the tyranny of townhouses.”

This year, the same debate ended in under 30 minutes.

“I had the sense it was fake,” he says. “I wanted someone just to say it that way. We couldn’t all pretend anymore.”
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
“We shouldn’t be signing our name to a lie and the state shouldn’t let us get away with it.” On state funding tied to compliance, he added: “We don’t f—ing deserve it. It’s just not the right thing to do.” marbleheadcurrent.org/2026/05/06/m...
marbleheadcurrent.org
Man whose housing comment at Town Meeting went viral: ‘We should all be vocal’ - Marblehead Current
David Modica didn’t realize his remarks at Town Meeting had gone viral until his phone started blowing up the next morning. His comments — questioning Marblehead’s plan to comply with the MBTA Communi...
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
David Modica, truly the hero we need in Massachusetts! www.bostonglobe.com/2026/05/06/b...
bostonglobe.com
Marblehead man goes viral for comments on town housing plan: ‘Are we kind of being pricks?’ - The Boston Globe
David Modica’s remarks at Town Meeting on Marblehead’s plan to comply with the controversial MBTA Communities Act have exploded online.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
@massgovernor.bsky.social and @kimdriscollma.bsky.social must address this problem of fake paper compliance—towns acting like “selfish pricks” by designating a golf course that’s never going to change as the town’s multifamily housing district.
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
On its third attempt tonight, Marblehead Town Meeting approved an “MBTA Communities–compliant” district largely centered on the 125-year-old Tedesco Country Club, meeting 3A requirements on paper while all but assuring no new housing would be built. This comment says it all.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
@massgovernor.bsky.social @kimdriscollma.bsky.social If we are truly serious about addressing MA’s severe housing shortage, we can’t base these decisions for a proposal a block from the red line on 15-year-old, car-oriented, suburban design guidelines.
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Matt Szafranski @mszafranski.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Now that @burhanazeem.bsky.social is running for State office, Macy's is selling his look at its store downtown.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Brookline and other municipalities could plan for steady new growth that offsets Prop 2.5 via zoning reform but choose not to do so.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Great explainer on how (and why!) to fix the build-to-rent single-family home provisions in the Senate housing bill.
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Open New York @opennewyork.org · 31/03/2026
The current 12-game Jeopardy champion works at an affordable housing finance agency in NJ, and shamed New York for not building more housing: "NJ's doing really well, we're ahead of NY, CT, PA. If you're from one of those states, shame on you, build more housing."
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
🚨MA Sen. Sean Maguire files S.4012, the "Nonconforming Conformity Act." The bill would make Massachusetts legal to build in Massachusetts again. Towns would calculate what they actually built before zoning existed, lot sizes, setbacks, density, and make that the new baseline.
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
@massgovernor.bsky.social @kimdriscollma.bsky.social this would be a straightforward boost to housing production, along with permitting reforms like a municipal review shot clock and licensed third-party reviews and inspections.
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Lexington schools have lost 550 students and face a $4.7 million gap. Staff cuts are coming. Those 1,600 apartments some are fighting will bring at least $7mil in revenue & maybe 250 students. That new housing is not a burden. It's a desperately needed bailout. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/27/m...
bostonglobe.com
Lexington Public Schools to cut scores of teachers and other staffers - The Boston Globe
Like many districts, Lexington is grappling with a budget crisis that is prompting drastic measures: cutting about 65 teachers, classroom aides, and other staffers and issuing non-renewal letters to a...
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
1. Here’s a thread on #NIMBY (“not in my backyard”) and the challenges of change in cities: First off, although it might feel that way, NIMBY isn’t unique to your city, and it’s (probably) not worse in your city than anywhere else. It’s also not surprising, since it’s largely about human nature.
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Nithya Raman @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Los Angeles’ housing crisis is self-inflicted.  For decades, city leaders have taken deliberate actions to limit new housing. Today, we announced our plan to fix this and triple housing production.
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Across the country, the balance between local control & state action on housing has played out very differently. Montana & Texas have acted boldly at the state level while MA, CT, and NY continue to lag. A recent poll shows MA voters support stronger statewide action on housing.
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
It's happening! BUILD OR DIE: HOW AMERICA IS SUFFOCATING ITS CITIES AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT, coming from Princeton University Press on December 8. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu
Build or Die
From a leading voice of the pro-housing movement comes a blueprint for revitalizing America’s major cities
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Justin S. @jsaif.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
This new Pew study finds the biggest rent decreases from building multifamily go to lower income renters in the least expensive apartments, which directly prevents displacement and homelessness. Exactly our goal in #CambridgeMA!
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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
We’ve spent decades making walkable neighborhoods like these nearly impossible to build today. Beacon Hill v. Federal Hill Old Montreal v. Old Quebec But which ones are the best? 40 iconic neighborhoods. 1 champion. 🇨🇦🇺🇸 Round 1 voting ends March 25 www.remainplaces.com/walkable
remainplaces.com
Walkable Neighborhood Madness | re:MAIN
40 Neighborhoods. 2 Nations. 1 Champion.
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