iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 31/08/2026

On LI they are pretty open about it. www.thefoggiestidea.org/2023/04/25/a...

Suffolk County Legislator Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holbrook) expressed his concerns over the impact that sewers will have on development in local communities as well as the budgetary security of the new funds being voted on by the public.

“The new fund could be used to pay for sewer projects in areas like Kings Park, Patchogue and Oakdale,” he said, adding that local builders are excited at the prospect of having more sewers. “It is an undisputed fact that sewers are linked to the appetite for development.”

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.

0367

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 08/05/2026

bsky.app/profile/theb...

Former Facebook complaint input.

What's going on?
First option: it's annoying or not interesting
Second option (selected): I'm in this photo and I don't like it
Third option: I think it shouldn't be on Facebook
Fourth option: it's spam

050

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 19/04/2026

What percentage of "DSA comrades" do you think own dressage horses sponsored by Douglas Elliman Realty? www.wellingtoninternational.com/showgrounds/...

Wellington International
Entry 2568 Alouna Z
Entry: 2568
Horse: Alouna Z
Riders: Laura Chapot, Layla Law-Gisiko
Owner: Layla Law-Gisiko
Trainer: Mary Chapot
Classes
Number: 1002 $8000 1:45 open jumper (sponsored by Douglas Elliman)

0191

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 22/03/2026

My main TFA take is that it's actually episode 8, and there is an unmade episode 7 in the first two sentences of the title crawl that would have set the trilogy up to be kind of good, instead of a lame fanfic remake of the OT.

Episode 7
The force awakens
Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire.

160

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 16/03/2026

I've thought about this essay from Umberto Eco- specifically this passage- a lot in the last 10 years. Feels like the whole thing is coming to a head. www.nybooks.com/articles/199...

8. The followers must feel humiliated by the ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies. When I was a boy I was taught to think of Englishmen as the five-meal people. They ate more frequently than the poor but sober Italians. Jews are rich and help each other through a secret web of mutual assistance. However, the followers must be convinced that they can overwhelm the enemies. HIGHLIGHTED: Thus, by a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak. Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy.

021

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 10/03/2026

To put this in perspective: left is pop. change between 1930 and 1940, right is 1970 and 1980. The parts of the country that are growing during major partisan realignments set the direction of politics for decades. bsky.app/profile/open...

Pop growth map in percentage terms from 1930 to 1940. The "farm" states in the middle all lost population while the strongest growth was on the west coast.

Pop growth map between 1970 and 1980. The South and West all grew significantly, while NY and DC lost population and the Mid-West and Northeast stagnated.

030

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 26/02/2026

The man lives in a Sartrean Hell of his own creation, condemned to only ever speak to the kind of person who would want to be around him- and, once every few weeks, Zohran Mamdani.

Trump with Mayor Mamdani in the Oval Office, beaming. Mamdani is smiling and wearing a suit.

Trump at a rally with Elon Musk. Elon is wearing a t-shirt with "Occupy Mars" written on it, jumping up and waving his arms like an idiot, and Trump is looking at him with a look of utter disdain.

060

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 07/02/2026

Yes you can. Trump's "border" polling advantage comes entirely from lying about current law and his policy agenda. Voters want it to be easy to enter the US and get a job legally (current impossible) and for there to be like moats and crocodiles and stuff at the border to repel imaginary enemies.

I don't mind having a big beautiful door in that wall so that people can come into this country legally.

020

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 19/01/2026

Why are my chips labeled "export?" Is this a tariff thing or is my deli just selling bad chips?

A Tostitos chips bag labeled "export". "Best sold by End of DLUO. 31 Aug 2C. MFG DEC 25.

110

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 03/01/2026

Okay. Let's do it, I guess.

A post from Merriam Webster saying "take a screenshot of this GIF, and whichever new word it lands on is YOUR word for 2026. Let's. Go."

My word is "potato."

030

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 01/01/2026

100 million is every single person of color in the US. They've given up pretending this has anything to do with "illegals" or drug cartels or whatever. Just a straight up call for ethnic cleansing.

A tweet from DHS saying "the peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world." Below is a photo of a car on an idyllic beach with palm trees and a caption "America after 100 million deportations."

1102

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 20/12/2025

Your annual reminder that Scrooge's major act of redemption was to show up uninvited to Ms. Cratchet's house, hand her like 20 pounds of raw meat, and ask her to cook for a dozen strangers.

The final scene of a Muppet Christmas Carol where the whole neighborhood eats a big turkey together.

360

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 11/12/2025

This is really the crux of it. Affordable housing investment comes from a mix of private and public sources that take different forms. Which investments the government is willing to do vs not is basically arbitrary, and states are starting to fill gaps in the private market they traditionally didn't

The situation is exacerbated by the current economic environment, with higher interest rates
and rising labor and materials costs for multifamily housing putting a damper on both market
rate and affordable production. These cost increases result in financing gaps that traditional,
private-sector lenders are unable to bridge with standard loan products, leaving developers to
turn to outside equity investors with return expectations that make projects infeasible.7 Due to
limited supply, more and more households are feeling the squeeze, with cost-burdens rising rapidly among middle income households.

010

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 10/12/2025

The Bloomberg rezonings were never meant to be broad-based increases in the housing supply. The goal was always to downzone the Republican-leaning outer boroughs, with the industrial-to-residential upzonings offsetting the loss. bsky.app/profile/bicy...

A map of NYC zoned residential capacity color coded by change during Bloomberg's first term. The largest reductions are in outlying neighborhoods while the largest increases are in Western Queens, three South Bronx, and Jamaica.

0176

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 28/11/2025

At midnight last night, Whoopi Goldberg became (to my knowledge) the first person to ever EGOTLMF: She has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony, and is now a Lego minifigure.

Three Lego mini figures depicting Data, Guinan, and Wesley from Star Trek: the Next Generation

150

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 10/11/2025

Federalist No. 74 specifically deals with this issue- what if the president sympathizes with an insurrection. Hamilton argues that it may be necessary to pardon traitors in high stakes ceasefire negotiations. That's obviously irrelevant now, as Jan. 6 was >4 years ago. guides.loc.gov/federalist-p...

It deserves particular attention, that treason will often be connected with seditions which embrace a large proportion of the community; as lately happened in Massachusetts. In every such case, we might expect to see the representation of the people tainted with the same spirit which had given birth to the offense. And when parties were pretty equally matched, the secret sympathy of the friends and favorers of the condemned person, availing itself of the good-nature and weakness of others, might frequently bestow impunity where the terror of an example was necessary. On the other hand, when the sedition had proceeded from causes which had inflamed the resentments of the major party, they might often be found obstinate and inexorable, when policy demanded a conduct of forbearance and clemency. But the principal argument for reposing the power of pardoning in this case to the Chief Magistrate is this: in seasons of insurrection or rebellion, there are often critical moments, when a welltimed offer of pardon to the insurgents or rebels may restore the tranquillity of the commonwealth; and which, if suffered to pass unimproved, it may never be possible afterwards to recall. The dilatory process of convening the legislature, or one of its branches, for the purpose of obtaining its sanction to the measure, would frequently be the occasion of letting slip the golden opportunity. The loss of a week, a day, an hour, may sometimes be fatal.

010

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 05/11/2025

This isn't the same as "last time you moved" but close enough. For the record: the belief that being born somewhere makes your opinion more valuable than someone else's is both dumb and un-American.

Exit poll asking how long you have lived in NYC, showing Mamdani overwhelmingly won recent transplants while Cuomo had a narrow majority of people born in NYC.

040

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 05/11/2025

Yeah they are. Click "AD details," then select a borough. It'll take you to the assembly district table.

120

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 27/10/2025

✅️✅️✅️✅️✅️✅️

060

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 18/10/2025

No kings. No slaves. No Nazis.

Two people in dinosaur costumes and a person in a bear costume at the No Kings protest in Manhattan.

A group holding a banner for the Four Freedoms Democratic Club in front of the crowd.

A large crowd of protestors in Times Square in Manhattan.

A woman, a guy (me), and an older man at the protest holding signs.

040

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 30/09/2025

When I ran for City Council I could only respond to text messages during my lunch break because I was a state employee and if any of them were from supporters that could be considered doing politics with government resources...

US Department of Housing and Urban Development website with a giant red banner reading "The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people."

060

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 23/09/2025

Such cowards. They want to be live in a dictatorship so badly and the moment they get a little pushback they run and hide.

Deadline
FCC Chairman Says His "Easy Way or the Hard Way" Comment About Jimmy Kimmel Wasn't Meant as a Threat to Pull Licenses if ABC Didn't Fire Him

Twitter screen shot
Kevin McHale: this was all in Project 2025, btw
Brendan Carr: [meme of Jack Nicholson nodding *yes*]

1744293

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 17/07/2025

Like, this is very much not a person who saw this as "kids stuff" or charity. It's a comprehensive vision for how to use new technology to advance national prosperity and egalitarian values, and Big Bird is a part of it. www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/re...

Television is still a young invention. But we have learned already that it has immense--even revolutionary--power to change, to change our lives.

I hope that those who lead the Corporation will direct that power toward the great and not the trivial purposes.

At its best, public television would help make our Nation a replica of the old Greek marketplace, where public affairs took place in view of all the citizens.

What hath man wrought? And how will man use his miracles?

The answer just begins with public broadcasting.

In 1862, the Morrill Act set aside lands in every State--lands which belonged to the people--and it set them aside in order to build the land-grant colleges of the Nation.

So today we rededicate a part of the airwaves--which belong to all the people--and we dedicate them for the enlightenment of all the people.

I believe the time has come to stake another claim in the name of all the people, stake a claim based upon the combined resources of communications. I believe the time has come to enlist the computer and the satellite, as well as television and radio, and to enlist them in the cause of education.

031

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 04/07/2025

If (like most ppl) you haven't read the Declaration of Independence since high school, I'd recommend it. It's kind of stunning how many basic tenants of liberal democracy we take for granted that are now slipping away (TLDR: the whole thing is about due process, immigration, and tariffs).

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

Flag of the Pennsylvania "Hanover Associator" volunteer militia from 1775. It's a red background with a rifleman wearing green and the words "liberty or death" in a yellow ribbon at the bottom.

35622

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 23/06/2025

The website is hilarious, BTW. Not even a pretend attempt at transparency. The link to Follow the Money doesn't show anything since they haven't filed a disclosure. Just gonna flout the law and pay the fines next week, after it no longer matters. @boreskes.bsky.social eastsidecommittee.com/

A bare bones website called "committee for the east side in support of Democrat Virginia Maloney for New York City Council 4th District. Paid for by Committee for the East Side. Brice Peyre, treasurer. Not expressly or otherwise authorized or requested by any candidate or the candidate’s committee or agent.
More information at nyc.gov/FollowTheMoney"

050

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 23/06/2025

I appreciate @nytimes.com reporting on the obscene amounts of PAC spending in this race but maybe they could have mentioned this new one advertising on their site, run by fmr Congress Member Carolyn Maloney's COS that has not filed a single disclosure with the CFB... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/n...

Their race, like others, has been swamped by mailers and digital advertising from outside groups backed by companies such as DoorDash and the billionaires Bill Ackman and Steven Roth, who have also supported Mr. Trump and former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the front-runner in the mayor’s race. Ms. Maloney has been by far the biggest beneficiary in her race of this outside support, with $450,000 backing her.

12410

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 22/06/2025

@nadler.house.gov had the foresight to oppose the Iraq War from the beginning. I am glad to see his condemnation of the dangerous military escalation by the Trump Administration.

A tweet from Congress Member Jerry Nadler on X saying:
"The President’s decision to bomb Iran was grossly unconstitutional, since only Congress has the power to declare war. The President’s action will without a doubt lead to many American, Israeli and Iranian deaths and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms."

081

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 16/06/2025

Major car crash on the East Side. Thankfully nobody appears to have been hurt.

NYPD at the site of a car crash that took down a bunch of scaffolding.

231

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 14/06/2025

Early voting starts today. Before you vote, ask yourself what kind of Democrat you want: one who has spent the last 8 years tirelessly fighting against America's authoritarian backsliding, or one from the MAGA PAC's "anyone but Ben" list. Polls open 9:00 AM-5:00 PM.

Ben Wetzler at an anti-Trump protest holding a "No King Any Time" sign in front of a statue of George Washington

An election mailer paid for by MAGA billionaire Bill Ackman and other corporate donors encouraging voters to leave Ben Wetzler off their ballots.

1183

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 12/06/2025

Cool thing to happen. MAGA billionaire intentionally telling people *not* to vote for you.

Campaign mailer saying:
3 champions. 1 ballot. 3 easy steps.
YOUR POWER
Use ranked choice voting to elect ONLY these three incredible candidates- in any order you like, and nobody else.
1) rank any one of our champions #1
2) rank another #2
3l rank the third #3

That's it! Leave the remaining spots blank to keep your vote strong and undiluted.

Vote. Rank. Win. Let's bring real leadership to the council.

Election day is Tuesday, June 24
Early voting is June 14 - June 22

Polls are open 6 am to 9 pm

Paid for by New Yorkers for a Better Future 2025. Jeffrey Leb treasurer. Top three donkrs: William A Ackman. Two Trees KG LLC. Liberty Views Associates LP.

3233

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 11/06/2025

Final 2 weeks of the campaign!!! We have a few last minute expenses we need covered. If you would like to see a Council Member on Manhattan's East Side who will champion new housing, safer streets, and public transit, please make a contribution here: contribute.nycvotes.org/campaigns/be...

120

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 11/06/2025

Elon had a choice between being a centi-billionaire in a country where his life and property were protected by laws or being one in a dictatorship where a senile old man can take it all away and I hope he realizes that he chose wrong.

Tweet from Elon Musk at 3:04 AM on June 11, 2025 with 16.1M views, saying "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far."

1253

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 21/05/2025

This proposal is atrocious, will save the City no money, and completely disincentivizes voucher recipients from holding down jobs. If it's still in effect when I take office, I will introduce legislation to reverse it on my first day.

By Annie McDonough | May 19, 2025

A diverse coalition of advocacy organizations including shelter provider Win, the Legal Aid Society and the Real Estate Board of New York are teaming up to oppose a proposed rent hike for some New York City housing voucher recipients.

A new rule proposed by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration would increase the portion of income that certain CityFHEPS housing voucher recipients would pay toward their rent. Voucher recipients with earned income and renewing for a sixth year would pay 40% of their income on rent – up from 30%. The city told Gothamist last month that the rules change would impact a quarter of voucher recipients, but officials have since revised that estimate down to 3-4% – or about 1,800 households for the next fiscal year.

082

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 13/05/2025

57th and 2nd. Truck parked illegally in the bus lane with its hazards on. Bus can't get by. Cop tells the driver to move, he says to write the ticket, company will pay it. The fine for this kinda thing should triple every time it happens. Otherwise it's just a cost of doing business.

A cop writing a ticket for an illegally parked truck in the bus lane. The bus can't get by to pick up passengers.

87211

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 13/05/2025

"We're developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works." I don't know if I still count as young, but when I was in school they taught us the president had to follow the law. Is that not how it works?

term view Monday. He blamed schools for shortchanging civics education and leaving students with little understanding of the structure of US government or the role of the courts.

"That's really too bad," the chief justice told graduating students at the law school. "We're developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works."

050

Ben Wetzler @voteben.nyc · 05/05/2025

The prequels ruined Star Wars, and JD Vance is very dumb.

A tweet from JD Vance from this morning saying "Prequels were underrated!" With 5.5k likes.

2111