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Ben Wetzler

@voteben.nyc
2.8K followers 578 following 883 posts

2025 candidate for NYC Council. Fmr East Side Democratic District Leader. Public servant. Views do not reflect those of my employer. www.voteben.nyc

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Reposted by Ben Wetzler
Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I also think about Elon saying Biden's DOJ wouldn't prosecute Sam Bankman-Fried because he was a Dem donor... followed by Biden's DOJ nailing SBF, who now posts about how awesome Trump is so he can get a pardon.
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Mrs. Detective PikaBOO, Esq. @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social · 29/09/2026
Personally I find it less than ideal that this is how Google works now
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 29/09/2026
Send Stephen Miller to The Hague.
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 27/09/2026
The (very sweet) elderly Lyft driver in Tucson told me (totally unprompted) that she blamed Biden for her groceries going up but thinks Trump is more focused on personal vendettas than the economy. Also she doesn't like talking politics. GOP cooked.
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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 27/09/2026
“'Because we can’t afford a home, we’re probably not going to have kids,' she said. 'We can’t even afford a dog.'” Do high housing costs reduce birthrates? What does the best evidence tell us about this question?
nytimes.com
Mortgage Rates Hit 7% as Iran War Fallout Crushes a Weak Housing Market (Gift Article)
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the United States jumped to 7.03 percent, putting pressure on housing affordability.
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 26/09/2026
This happens in an episode of Super Friends. The whole place goes haywire when a mouse starts chewing on the wires.
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muscular baby jeb lund @mobute.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"It shoots through schools."
A Rotten Tomatoes screenshot of young Michael Keaton in a fedora behind the name "Johnny Dangerously" (an adverb), which only got a 44 percent critics rating.
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Open New York @opennewyork.org · 23/09/2026
🚨 We're hiring! 🚨 Open New York is looking for a Westchester Organizing Coordinator to help Open New York build community, advance policy, and grow our membership in one of the most expensive counties of New York State. Apply now! open-new-york.breezy.hr/p/0d8a0eb3e0...
open-new-york.breezy.hr
Westchester Organizing Coordinator at Open New York
About Open New York Open New York (ONY) is a statewide nonprofit fighting for a New York that makes room for every New Yorker. We engage residents from Westchester to Windsor Terrace, building a power...
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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Every game coming out is either faux 8-bit or hyper-HD. Give me something middle of the road. Some state-of-the-art 2005 graphics.
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 21/09/2026
Donald Trump 1) is very corrupt and for ideological/aesthetic reasons wants to align the US with tinpot dictators 2) has a bogus public image as an expert deal-maker 3) is quite stupid Knowing this, Putin has convinced him to destroy all our closest alliances in exchange for bags of dirt.
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Jon Ossoff @ossoff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We will vote to rebuke him so decisively no president will dare such abuses again for centuries.
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Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
NEW POLL: 53% of Americans support expanding the Supreme Court, including majorities of both Democrats and independents. Two weeks ago, House Dems stood united to keep that option on the table. Happy Constitution Day! law.marquette.edu/poll/
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Boo!-per Lund @cooperlund.online · 16/09/2026
To be clear - I don’t think this is a sign that voters understand second order effects, I think they’re looking at Trump and going “that guy is clearly full of shit”, which is way worse for him
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 14/09/2026
Reminder that this community workshop is tomorrow! This is a huge opportunity for more housing and affordable housing in Kensington and Flatbush, and I hope to see you there!
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I don’t think the dynamics here are that complicated. Imagine a foot race where the winner gets a trillion dollars, but as the leaders of the pack approach the end line they see it’s at the very edge of a sheer 1000’ cliff. They would probably try to coordinate some slowdown.
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Spectrum News NY1 @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The last speaker at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony lost his father to the attacks.
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 09/09/2026
The combination of the Fugitive Slave Act and the Dred Scott decision was such a major escalation in the lead-up to the Civil War bc it put to lie the idea that slavery was a "states rights" question. The South and SCOTUS were determined to force slavery into the North.
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Micah @rincewind.run · 05/09/2026
the intro to Batman: The Animated Series is one of the single best bits of storytelling ever done in any medium, an absolute masterpiece of character and atmospheric development achieved in a single minute with no dialogue
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We Geek Girls @wegeekgirls.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
‘Batman: The Animated Series’ premiered on this day 34 years ago! (September 5, 1992) 🦇 Created by Bruce Timm & Eric Radomski. Voice cast: Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Loren Lester, Bob Hastings, Robert Costanzo, Richard Moll, Mari Devon, & more. #OnThisDay #BTAS
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Julio Peña III @juliopenabk.com · 05/09/2026
My op-ed in this morning’s @nydailynews.com with Jackie Smiley. We can’t lose a generation of voter’s who are already feeling unseen from the Democratic Party. www.nydailynews.com/2026/09/05/b...
nydailynews.com
Brooklyn Dems change the rules after voters spoke
Voters went to the primary polls in June believing that their votes mattered. In Brooklyn, they elected a new majority of reform-minded district leaders, the local officials who determine the future o...
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
“One [GOP] lobbyist who raised money for the ballroom tells me the pitch” “You’re either on the team or you’re not, and if you’re on the team, there are certain benefits to being on the team,” “If he has a project he cares about, make a decision to be a part of it.” nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Inside Trump’s Ballroom Obsession
The president’s bid for architectural immortality is barreling toward completion.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Happy 100th birthday to Ivan Illich, the OG car hater: "[Cars] create remoteness which they alone can shrink. They create distances for all and shrink them for only a few....The new expressway expands Chicago, but it sucks those who are well-wheeled away from a downtown that decays into a ghetto.”
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Liz Denys @liz.nyc · 28/08/2026
I'm really looking forward to this plan unlocking more housing and affordable housing in my neighborhood! You can learn more about the project and take the community survey in many languages at www.nyc.gov/content/plan...
nyc.gov
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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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ae @aelkus.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
the point here is not rendering justice, it is setting future expectations. we can't control thermostatic electoral behavior. we can teach a very painful lesson that Democrats will punish corruption when they take power
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Mr. Beat @iammrbeat.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Happy Henry George Day for all those who celebrate!
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Ben K. @benjaminkabak.com · 02/09/2026
Cowards and losers
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Micah Lasher @micahlasher.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A foreign diamond industry sends Trump an 18-karat gold ring and gets a tariff exemption weeks later. We used to call this bribery. Now it’s Tuesday.
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Andrew Giambrone @andrewgiambrone.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Record Amount of Outside Money Flooded NYC Elections Last Year (via @katiehonan.bsky.social for @thecityreporter.nyc) www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/09/01/p...
thecityreporter.nyc
Record Amount of Outside Money Flooded NYC Elections Last Year
There were more than $83 million in independent expenditures last year, with about $65 million for the mayoral election.
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The Alternate Histoween 🎃 @althistorian.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
My advice to every Dem politico is to immediately remove "I agree with Trump" and any other variations of that phrase from your communications with the public.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
It's like a parody, but it's deadly serious; the Commerce Department (which includes Census, NOAA, and others) has outright deleted "don't alter or suppress scientific findings for political reasons" from its scientific integrity rules. Seriously.
Protecting against "inappropriate influence" is no longer a "hallmark" of scientific integrity

The Commerce Department updated its policy for promoting a "culture of scientific integrity" in January 2025, days before Trump's second inauguration.

A new Trump administration order bans the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis from using statistical “noise,” or data for fuzzing survey results, to protect people’s privacy in their statistics.

The 2025 version included bans on attempts to shape or interfere in data collection, statistical analysis and other scientific activities "against well-accepted scientific methods and theories or without scientific justification."

The department's policy, the 2025 version said, involves ensuring scientific findings at its agencies "are not suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes and are not subjected to inappropriate influence," as well as making sure there's "independent review of facilities, methodologies, and other scientific activities as appropriate to ensure scientific integrity."

That language is missing, however, in the Trump administration's revision of the policy, according to an NPR analysis of text posted on the Commerce Department's website.

And while the revision adopts a definition for "scientific integrity" that is similar to the previous version, it no longer says that "protection from inappropriate influence" is among the "hallmarks of scientific integrity."
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 28/08/2026
What conceivable justification could there be for this, other than to give ICE more reasons to attack random folks?
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rev. howard arson @theophite.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
one thing which is fascinaing, other than the direct analogy trump is making between himself and adolf hitler, is tha virtually every image of donald trump in this is from his first term or earlier
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 25/08/2026
Worth repeating: the president does not name lakes. He resolves inconsistencies between agencies regarding use in federal publications. There's no inconsistency here, so a more accurate headline would be "Trump treatens to start calling Lake Ontario 'Lake America'" which is as childish as it sounds.
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Micah @rincewind.run · 24/08/2026
the current supreme court continues to signal that the only way forward for democratic self-governance in the united states of america is to dismantle its power through court expansion or other major structural reforms
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 21/08/2026
it is my understanding from history that specifically persecuting educated professionals and making it much harder for college graduates to find jobs that will allow them to become professionals is a perfectly safe thing to do that never ends unpredictably
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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Vote blue no matter who in November. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/16/u...
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 18/08/2026
When I ran for the City Council I had to wait until my lunch break to respond to text messages from friends because the lawyers told me as a state employee it could be construed as campaigning on government time if any of them were also supporters...
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terra firma, terra eterna 🚱🌉 @kavi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
"please fix my pothole like Mamdani did in NYC" "[Triumphantly] I did not fix it you're welcome"
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terra firma, terra eterna 🚱🌉 @kavi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Genuinely hilarious video I cannot believe Bass posted it
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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Nithya Raman has been removed as chair of Los Angeles City Council's housing committee, to be replaced by a member who, in a pro-housing forum no less, thoughtlessly bragged about how she reduced the scale of an affordable housing project. Truly insane.
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 12/08/2026
The combination of this kind of thing, the administration's bold-faced corruption, and the stories of forced labor at CECOT has some grim implications. Not hard to imagine ICE is basically running a human trafficking operation.
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Lurker Envoy @lurkerenvoy.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
This is a pretty great article from 2014 and it’s quite promising that Zohran has nominated the author to lead the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals And revealingly shitty that most of NYC Council is opposing his nomination law.stanford.edu/publications...
law.stanford.edu
The New Exclusionary Zoning | Stanford Law School
If low-income families can't afford the suburbs and the cities, where should they go? For the first time in American history, it makes sense to t
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
You can't predict the turns this sentence takes. Extreme heat is threatening Italy’s “cheese banks,” where hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels are stored as loan collateral. fortune.com/2026/08/10/i...
fortune.com
Italy's $4.7 billion cheese economy is feeling the heat as climate change threatens its cheese banks that hold Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral | Fortune
Extreme heat is straining the vaults that hold Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral, and economists say the damage runs wider than the vault
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 09/08/2026
Is any high-profile media outlet going to run a story contrasting how Platner was treated by the Democratic Party (run out on rails) with how Max Miller is being treated by the GOP (protected, supported) and drawing the obvious conclusions?
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Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 08/08/2026
this is an admission of a crime btw; superpacs cannot coordinate with candidates
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Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 06/08/2026
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Last year voters approved a measure to allow the zoning appeals board to fast track affordable housing projects. Now the Council is going to reject Mamdani's appointee as chair because he wants to... do that.
The mounting opposition to Mangin puts Council members in a politically awkward spot, as they appear to be rejecting a nominee committed to ramping up affordable housing construction at a time of skyrocketing rents in the city. That could open Council members up to criticism that they are embracing NIMBY talking points.
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Chris Sommerfeldt @c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
For instance, a Marte aide, as part of her government work, was allegedly tasked with staffing a birthday party for him this spring that doubled as a fundraiser for a 2029 public advocate campaign he plans to launch (a previously unreported aspiration). www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
politico.com
New York City lawmaker accused of using government staff for political fundraising
The accusations, outlined in a formal whistleblower complaint, come as concerns about wrongdoing in New York City government remain heightened.
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