iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 05/09/2026

Is Gossip Girl the origin of the Christmas Carol adaptation no one wanted?

Bart Bass tells Blair Waldorf "I've always felt that Scrooge was unfairly maligned."

Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 28/08/2026

Can't make the in-person workshop? There's also a virtual workshop on Wednesday, September 23. RSVP for the Zoom meeting here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

NYC Department of City Planning's South of Prospect Neighborhood Plan Virtual Community Workshop

Get involved in a plan to bring housing, jobs and investments south of Prospect Park!

September 23 | 6:30-8:30 pm on Zoom

Council Members Shahana Hanif and Rita Joseph are on the flyer.

Language interpretation is available.

RSVP at nyc.gov/southofprospect

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 28/08/2026

The South of Prospect Neighborhood plan is kicking off this September with a visioning workshop on Tuesday, September 15! RSVP here: forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...

NYC Department of City Planning's South of Prospect Neighborhood Plan Community Workshop

Get involved in a plan to bring housing, jobs and investments south of Prospect Park!

September 15 | 6:30-8:30 pm

P.S. 889
21 Hinckley Place
Brooklyn, NY 11218

Near the FG at Church Av, the Q at Beverley Road, and the B35 and B68 buses.

Council Members Shahana Hanif and Rita Joseph are on the flyer.

Language interpretation is available. Activities for kids are provided.

RSVP at nyc.gov/southofprospect

Can't make it? Join our virtual workshop on September 23.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 26/08/2026

Abortion is healthcare, and I'm officially literally alive today because I live in a state where I could access it easily.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 23/08/2026

An excellent discussion of family estrangement on @annehelen.bsky.social's Culture Study: www.patreon.com/CultureStudy...

"The family” is really a political entity that’s used by people in power to wield power and make people do things; it is the center of so much of our daily life and as such, it is the place where patriarchy and homophobia and transphobia and classism and all of our society’s fears about loss and death and pain get placed. The family is a powerful place, even as it is often framed as a haven. The complexity of our social world is laid bare in our family lives. This makes families so important to understand. I’ll be busy for decades to come! Send me your research ideas!

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 21/08/2026

Every time people post AI-generated food posters, I think back to how a real life diner decided to use a photo from my old food blog on their menu over a decade ago. lizdenys.com/journal/arti...

Baked apple pancake in a cast iron pan fresh out of the oven. It's sitting on my old electric stove. There's a layer of sliced apples atop the pancake that have gotten a nice golden brown.

Maxfields Pancake House a restaurant's diner menu with except:

Oven Baked Pancakes
Our Own Precious Batter Slowly made into a Delectable Adventure.
"Pancakes you won't forget" in all caps

Large Apple Pancake
Crisp fresh apples baked with our special pancake batter (Serves 2-3. Allow 40 minutes) 11.25

Junior Apple Pancake
Crisp fresh apples baked with our special pancake batter (Serves 2. Allow 40 minutes) 8.85

My photo is slapped next to this text at an angle.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 12/08/2026

Does anyone else have Specialized Purist water bottle caps failing with the mouthpiece just coming out suddenly when you try to drink? These little plastic crumbles left behind make me really uneasy about their safety. Anyone have alternative bike bottles to recommend?

The black mouthpiece of a Specialized Purist water bottle pulled out and there are pieces of plastic remaining around the red remainder of the cap.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 23/06/2026

Go vote for pro-housing candidates today!

Me wearing my I voted sticker on a very bright dress with a trippy flower print!

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 15/05/2026

Also what's up with CB1 Chair Tammy Meltzer asking DOT to AVOID Chambers St, even though the CB1 full board resolution speaks to the importance of a direct route? The full resolution speaks even MORE to the issues of other streets: web.miniextensions.com/api/public-a...

WHEREAS: Criteria for selecting the best east-west route for traveling between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Hudson River Greenway should include that it: (1) is direct, (2) is an obvious path for riders to find, (3) does not have a Belgian block road surface since riding on them stresses the bike frames and makes cycling difficult - reasons cyclists use the sidewalk, and (4) links important destinations for intra-district travel; and

Chambers is the most-popular crosstown cycling route in the area, according to data from fitness app Strava, because it provides the only direct connection from the Brooklyn Bridge’s popular bike lane to the greenway, the continent’s most-used bike path.

Still, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Council Member Chris Marte (D-Chinatown) and Manhattan Community Board 1 Chair Tammy Meltzer asked the Mamdani administration not to give those cyclists a protected bike lane, and instead attempt to direct them elsewhere.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 13/05/2026

This woman cut through car-free Prospect Park and threw a tantrum when I and others told her it's a car-free park. We asked if she's on official park business and just said "no it's a road, it's for cars."

A car with license plate BRUC3 in Prospect Park's car free loop

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 10/05/2026

The tiny cones that Vancouver puts up on stumps in treepits

Tree stump with large roots above ground inside a tree pit and there's a small orange cone nailed to the top of it

A very small orange cone is nailed to a small stump in a tree pit

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 05/05/2026

With super speeders like this, our families are at risk of dying, too! New York State legislators (I'm looking at you Carl Heastie), please help us allby passing the Stop Super Speeders Act (S4045/A2299) in the budget!

dril tweet candles meme redone with $60,000 of speeding tickets instead of $3,600 of candles:

Food $200
Data $150
Rent $800
Speeding tickets $60,000
Utility $150
someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 28/04/2026

This work isn't done yet - and not just because this is a groundbreaking presser - we still need huge changes south of Grand Army Plaza to prioritize bus riders in the neighborhood of Flatbush. NYC DOT, don't leave riders behind!

Council Members, advocates, and DOT ceremonially breaking ground for this project.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 28/04/2026

Thrilled to see years of organizing with @ridersalliance.org for better, faster buses on Flatbush Avenue result in big changes for bus riders on the northern section of Flatbush Avenue.

Jolyse Race, Senior Organizer at Riders Alliance, speaks at a presser for faster buses on Flatbush Avenue at Times Plaza, the intersection of 4th Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 28/04/2026

I promised myself that I'd post about some of the pots I'm making this week, so here's a quick post about some starry sky hex cups that are secretly also glaze tests! Good luck in the glaze firing!

Three hex cups, each with hexagonal bottoms and openings and six straight sides. They are made of a black stoneware that looks like a brown charcoal at this bisque phase, and each has glaze applied in a tape-resist starburst pattern from the corners of the geometric form.

One of the cups's glaze is pale green on the bisqueware, another is a pastel purple, and the last is a mauve taupe.

These colors will change in the glaze firing!

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 02/04/2026

you: *spends hours time traveling to rebuild the pikachu fountain until you get a ditto face* me, an intellectual:

On the roof deck of Silph Tower, I've added two surface lights on the top surface near the wide row of string lights - together, these lights make Ditto's iconic face.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 01/04/2026

Let's all give Leafeon a warm welcome to the pro-housing movement!

Leafeon in Pokopia says: "If everyone gets a home that's just perfect for them, d'you think they might stop squabbling over territory?"

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 24/01/2026

Immensely grateful to @mskellymhayes.bsky.social putting together Read This When Things Fall Apart today.

An excerpt from the intro of Read This When Things Fall Apart:

"Across the course of that work, which spans many years, movements, and battles lost and won, I have encountered moments of abject grief, profound loss, and mind-numbing confusion. I have experienced a spectrum of crises, from heartbreak and betrayal to the need to reckon with my own mistakes. Sometimes, the way forward is clear, even if that path is plagued with difficulty. At other times, I've found myself adrift in uncharted territory-grappling with a question, a feeling, or a trauma that no one around me seems to understand.

If you are navigating such waters, this book was written for you, with love and care, by a group of activists, organizers, and co-strugglers who want to hold you in this moment."

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 11/01/2026

My Roman Empire is getting rid of cars in cities.

An Amazon Prime truck illegally double parked in a bicycle shared path run by Roman Empire Logistics LLC

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 18/11/2025

They're out of the kiln :)

Three circular spoonrests have glazed in an intricate striped pattern. The claybody used is a sandy tan with black speckles, and the pieces are left raw, showing off the speckled claybody, on the rims. Thin teal and cobalt blue glossy lines run vertically across each piece, and the speckles show through these glazes. Behind them, thick glossy yellow and orange glossy stripes make up the background, and the black speckles show through this, too.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 15/11/2025

Thrilled to be a member at a community studio and glazing and firing pieces again. While I'm still setting up my own full home studio and itching to get to do my own glaze chemistry, it feels amazing to get to see pieces all the way through again in the meantime - and be around other ceramists!

Three circular spoonrests are being glazed in an intricate striped pattern. Thin teal or blue lines run vertically across the piece. Behind them, thick glossy yellow and orange stripes make up the background.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 13/11/2025

Since Council gutted outdoor dining and many places don't have parks or even benches, I've found myself eating at what is often the best option: a docked Citibike (I usually ride it right after and am mindful not to block anyone wanting a bike): ✅ outdoors ✅ table ✅ seat

Citibike basket as a table holding my drink while my right hand holds my sandwich.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 13/11/2025

Bad news for me, a public clock enjoyer, that the south-facing clock on the old Williamsburg Savings Bank is broken. Looking forward to freaking out that I'm late every time I bike up 4th Ave.

The south-facing clock has stopped displaying 6:30.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 12/11/2025

Incredible news for me: the latest @ranchogordo.bsky.social Bean Club box is the perfect size to fit easily on the front of a @citibikenyc.bsky.social. Going to use this a lot for ferrying ceramic objects home from the studio!

Most recent Rancho Gordo Bean Club shipment box

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 31/10/2025

Thrilled to be a Halloween voter today! Voting for Ballot Proposals 2, 3, 4, and 5 was an absolute TREAT - can't wait to get more affordable housing for New Yorkers!

Matt and I wearing our Halloween voter 2025 stickers. I'm also wearing Yes on Affordable Housing and Zohran for New York City buttons! We're in front of a row house with skeletons crawling up the building.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 30/10/2025

"You Can't Have Social Housing Without Building Housing" - vote YES on 2, 3, 4, and 5! jacobin.com/2025/10/new-...

Low-density zoning and ULURP were not designed to protect tenants, they haven’t protected tenants in the past two decades, and they won’t protect tenants in the future. If we want the social housing tenants deserve, we need to build it — and we need to change the rules to make that possible.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 13/10/2025

Gross that Council is spending public money on illegal electioneering. Ballot proposals 2-4 push every neighborhood to add new affordable housing, and I'm disgusted to see Council waste money breaking the law instead of ensuring New Yorkers have the housing we desperately need.

City Council electioneering mailer that says in multiple languages. Here is the first side's English text (Haitian Creole won't fit in alt text, too.):

Your power could be taken away by Mayor Adams' misleading ballot proposals.

Less Affordability: Mayor Adams' Proposals 2, 3 and 4 eliminate New Yorkers' power to fight for more affordable housing in neighborhood development.

Less Investment: Mayor Adams' Proposals 2, 3 and 4 weaken communities' power, giving developers and the City even more power to ignore our neighborhood needs.

More Gentrification: Mayor Adams' Proposals 2, 3 and 4 take away the public's power, leaving our communities weaker to fight irresponsible development and gentrification.

Learn more at: whatsonmyballot.nyc

City Council electioneering mailer that says in multiple languages. Here is the other side's English text (Haitian Creole won't fit in alt text, too.):

The return address is from New York City Council, City Hall 250 Broadway 14th Floor, New York, NY 10007, to me and my partner, Elizabeth & Matthew Denys, Brooklyn, NY (additional address detail redacted)

Don't be misled by Mayor Adam's so-called housing proposals. Get the facts: whatsonmyballot.nyc.

Your neighborhood is on the ballot.

Mayor Adams' misleading ballot proposals 2, 3 + 4 hide that they take away your power. We need more housing, but giving away our power to developers leads to less affordable housing and more gentrificiation.

Early Voting: October 25 - November 2.

Election Day: November 4

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 09/10/2025

Every New Yorker should be able to find a home they can afford, and it's way too hard to find an affordable place to live in New York City. That's why I'm voting YES on Ballot Proposals 2-5! See you at the rally with @yesonaffhousing.bsky.social this upcoming Wednesday! RSVP here: bit.ly/YAHRally

Rally for Affordable Housing!
Join NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in saying vote yes on Props 2, 3, 4, & 5! By Nov 4 to build affordable housing in NYC!
October 15 at 12pm in City Hall Park
RSVP: https://bit.ly/YAHRally

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 31/07/2025

Oh hey, finally some awareness that new yorkers in basement apartments don't always know/have safe places to evacuate to! I really hope everyone stays safe during the flooding.

Notify NYC

Notification issued 07-31-2025 at 01:54 PM.
Heavy rainfall is expected within New York City on 7/31 through 8/1. Current forecasts anticipate up to 2 inches of rain per hour, with total amounts between 1.5 to 3 inches with higher localized amounts possible. Heavy rain has the potential to cause rapid flooding with little to no notice and can be life threatening, especially in poor drainage areas and low-lying spots. Basements and ground-level apartments are also at risk of flooding. New Yorkers are reminded to be prepared to move to higher ground or a higher floor during periods of heavy rain. Head for above-ground locations nearby that you know and trust. If you do not have one readily available, remember that many government facilities have public areas you can use.

For example, New York City Police precincts are always open. To find your nearest NYPD station, visit https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/find-your-precinct.page

To find more information, visit nyc.gov/notify, or call 311. If you are in a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 29/07/2025

This vegetarian ramen may be the greatest ready-in-15-minutes lunch I've ever made? I used frozen Sun Noodle ramen noodles, and I made the veg dashi packets, ajitama eggs, and miso tare over the weekend in bulk. Some of the veggies are raw; others were roasted in a previous sheet pan dinner.

A bowl of ramen: a reddish orange miso broth, springy wavy noodles, ajitama egg cut in half and yolks up, corn, baby cherry tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, roasted diced sweet potato, spinach leaves, and scallions.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 24/07/2025

Looks like it's time for another Schermerhorn bike lane challenge, even though it's "protected."

Line of at least three schoolbuses parked in the Schermerhorn two-way protected bike lane just east of Bond - blocking any access for bicyclists

Truck parked in the Schermerhorn two-way protected bike lane just east of Hoyt St, and there's barely enough space for one direction of bicyclists to pass and very limited visibility

Police car parked in the Schermerhorn two-way protected bike lane just west of Smith St, blocking visibility for bicyclists and making two-way bicycling difficult

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 24/07/2025

Wynonna Earp really captures what living in the current moment is like through what must be the most perfect line ever delivered in all of television:

Nedley: Nicole, a couple weeks ago, I saw vampires bite Lonnie’s head off, and the next night I binged watched an entire season of Pretty Little Liars as if nothing ever happened, but this…something changed in that tree lot. I can’t snap out of it.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 19/07/2025

Corporate needs you to find the differences between this picture and this picture.

In Mario Kart World, Baby Daisy jumps from her Biddybuggy cart and does a trick: her arms are extended out, she winks her right eye and does the splits. Directly behind her, there's a large explosion with the word Boom.

The Disaster Girl meme: a young girl stares at the camera while there's a dramatic house fire behind her.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 03/07/2025

I started these hand-quilted, hand-embroidered wall quilts of the Northern and Southern Skies on January 6 of this year, and I finally finished them a couple weeks ago. Project notes and more photos here: lizdenys.com/journal/arti...

Me holding up my Northern Sky embroidery quilt. It's a 36 inch square quilt on a single background fabric that's a deep inky teal blue linen. The constellations of the Northern Hemisphere are outlined in white thread, and the Milky Way is a gradient of French knots in coppers, blues, greens, and greys. Constellation names are done in a gradient of the same colors as the Milky Way.

Me holding up my Southern Sky quilt. The quilt is composed in the same style and materials as the Northern Hemisphere quilt.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 15/05/2025

It's really hazardous how narrow the new Brooklyn Bridge bike lane is when you get a flat in the middle of the bridge like I just did, cc @nyc.streetsblog.org @tabk.bsky.social @bikenewyork.bsky.social There's not space to walk the bike to somewhere safe to fix it alongside two-way bike travel.

Me holding my brompton with a flat back tire in the middle of the narrow Brooklyn Bridge two-way bike path. There's no longer space for two way bike travel.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 09/05/2025

that's right 💫 bikeleague.org/bike-month-q...

You are a...
Big Wheel (Kid's Bike)
Big Wheel (Kid's Bike)
You're joyful, imaginative, and always up for one more loop around the block. Whether you're new to riding or just never lost that sense of wonder, you bring the fun wherever you go! Maybe you've got streamers on your handlebars, or maybe you just are the life of the ride. You remind everyone that biking is for play, not just performance.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 06/05/2025

I am once again begging @citibikenyc.bsky.social to put functional fenders on their pedal-assist bikes:

Bag and boot completely covered in grime kicked up while bicycling a citibike ebike

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 05/05/2025

Rents are skyrocketing across the state - New Yorkers literally can't afford to keep being told to wait for more homes. Tell your representatives to choose to be part of the solution and pass the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act (S3397/A3647) now! #PutFaithInHousing 🏘️

The Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act would create 60,000 more homes across New York State.

Put Faith in Housing

Urgent Action!

Join faith leaders, housing advocates, and community members from every region of the state to tell Albany: Pass the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act (S3397 / A3647)

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 04/02/2025

When I was glazing this v60-style cone, I was thinking of rising sea levels, eroding beaches, and melting ice caps.

Drippy layers of glaze on a pot evoke sea foam hitting the beach - layers of sea foam aquas with white streaks breaking over them against dark tan speckled clay

This glazing is part of a v60-style coffee cone, which is white inside

The drippy layers are all around the outside and appear as waves crashing on the sand

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 03/02/2025

Apropos of nothing, reminder that NYC DOT doesn't even have a well-maintained internal dataset on which intersections are daylit.

Your NYC Open Data Help Desk Inquiry - ID #10807
from
NYC Open Data <noreply@dobt.co>

Tue, Jun 25, 2024, 5:11 PM

to me

You have a new message from NYC Open Data

Hi Elizabeth Denys,

Thank you for your request on Daylight Locations with the NYC Department of Transportation Open Data. The information you've requested is currently exempt from Open Data release schedule because the data is not in a tabular format that is required by the Open Data Law.
You may submit a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request on Open Records Portal https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/.
Thank you,
NYC Department of Transportation

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 09/01/2025

We can't afford to wait to build out protected bike lane networks connecting every neighborhood in the city. People's health and lives are on the line. nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/01/09/e...

Is a broken collarbone compelling enough to rally NYC’s hard-bitten officials to the Cobble Hill-Carroll Gardens Protected Bike Lane cause? Hey, a girl can dream. I don't want a white bike or a memorial safety law named after me. An anonymous protected bike lane is enough.

On second thought, a whole bike lane network would be even better.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 06/01/2025

We picked up a Rosca de Reyes today that had four plastic babies in it. I didn't even know that was an option!

Box says "Caution: 4 babies, cuatro niños"

A very large, oval-shaped Rosca de Reyes. The brioche base is golden brown and topped with cream-colored sugar paste strips, guava paste stripes, candied cherries, and dried plums.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 17/12/2024

Had a blast at @tabk.bsky.social's holiday party last night! @mattdenys.bsky.social and I love the bracelets we made! 🚴‍♀️🚶‍♂️

Beaded bracelets saying:

Protected bike lanes save lives

Streets for people not cars

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 11/12/2024

Just got to the part of When Driving Is Not An Option by Anna Letitia Zivarts that discusses the need for abundant housing to make sure non-drivers can thrive!

In addition to redefining expectations around traffic volumes and speeds to counteract arguments against growth and density, we also need to continue to change our zoning laws to allow more homes. Many local jurisdictions are working to add "missing middle" housing by passing laws that make it easier to build more units per lot or even to legally split lows to allow additional housing construction and ownership.

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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 11/12/2024

My full testimony at the Transportation Committee hearing at City Council today:

Hi my name is Elizabeth Denys, I'm a Flatbush resident, and I am here to speak in opposition to Intro 606, and any other legislation that would license, restrict, ban, or outlaw e-bikes in New York City.

E-bikes have been essential for ensuring I can bicycle safely around the city, including between a lot of locations in Brooklyn and Queens where public transportation is sparse. An e-bike is a more climate friendly option than taking a car and is critical for me to access essential medical appointments reliably.

Intro 606 does nothing to directly reduce any of the dangers on our streets. Heavier, faster more dangerous mopeds are already licensed or illegal vehicles. Similar laws haven't improved street safety, but they have diverted resources from building proven technologies like protected bike lanes and daylighting intersections and from enforcement that could make streets safer. These misguided laws always have issues with uneven, xenophobic, and racist enforcement and result in significant bicycle ridership drops. Every city with a similar law has since repealed it.

This bill would make it very difficult and costly for me to access my essential medical care.

But above all else, it feels ridiculous to me that Council is hearing this bill - which would require our city to build ineffective and expensive new agencies and programs - when the Department of Transportation is so woefully behind on implementing the proven safety solutions mandated in the Streets Plan. We need to focus instead on making sure lifesaving protected bike lanes connect every neighborhood throughout the city.

DOT's own data has shown protected bike lanes make our streets safer for all road users - whether they're walking, bicycling on either a traditional bike or an e-bike, taking the bus, or driving - and they dramatically reduce bikes riding on sidewalks. Rather than licensing e-bikes, the City needs to catch up on the Streets Plan requirements for protected bike lanes, pass Intro 1131 to make sure these bike lanes meet the current and future bicycling needs in our city, and hear and pass Intro 1138 so every intersection has lifesaving daylighting.

We can't afford to go backwards. E-bikes are here and provide riders like me who can't always ride a traditional bicycle safe, climate friendly ways to get around. Let’s build for a future where New Yorkers have more sustainable transportation options, instead of a future where they're more expensive and dangerous.

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