Policy and Advocacy Director, Build Philly Now
Philadelphia, PA
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It’s so exciting to see bipartisan support for abundant housing reforms emerging in Harrisburg from a left-right “strange bedfellows” coalition of lawmakers and advocates. The PA Housing Choices Coalition has 30+ members asking the state to take action! spotlightpa.org/news/2024/03…
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Why indeed
The SEPTA funding debate digs up Pennsylvania’s perennial rural-vs.-urban divide inquirer.com/news/pennsylvan…
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My little personal protest against car culture is I will never do this courtesy jog. For what??
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“For weeks, Rhode Island media has referred to “the Philadelphia trip,” a mysterious expedition during which terrible things happened.” inquirer.com/news/philadelph…
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Very fishy there’s still no name or intoxication report. What’s up with that?
Less than a week after 30-year-old Barbara Ann Friedes, a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia died in a multi-vehicle crash while riding her bike, calls for action are growing louder in Philadelphia among the cyclist community. fox29.com/news/parents-chop-…
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Imagine all the extra drunk driving that’s going to happen after games if the state doesn’t fund SEPTA
Packed 9:30pm SEPTA Broad Street Line train after a Tuesday night Phillies game.
This train will be cut if SEPTA doesn’t get proper funding.
Ride the ride. Fund SEPTA.
#Phillies #SEPTA
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Heard this from a Harrisburg person yesterday. It’s not about the money. It’s about the vibes. They want to see some pain for Philadelphia
None of the “Well we could just do X to fund SEPTA” proposals will work because the GOP doesn’t want to fund SEPTA. It’s not a budget choice, they want to keep Philadelphia weakened and fractured so it doesn’t threaten their hegemony over state politics.
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Philly’s Streets Dept doesn’t allow use of boulders for traffic calming anymore. How come?
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5% of the land, 41% of the economic activity. Senate Republicans, did you even say thank you?
Southeastern PA generates 41% of the state’s economic activity with 32% of its population on 5% of its land thanks to a dense concentration of residents, jobs, and a transit system that moves people efficiently. #ISEPTAPHILLY #HowWeRoll #FundSEPTA #NationalPennsylvaniaDay
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Pennsylvania taking care of 80% of America’s pretzel needs
Pennsylvania is responsible for 80% of the nation's pretzel production — we're the pretzel capital of the U.S. Why is that? We break down pretzel history and where to find the best ones in the Philly region: inquirer.com/food/best-soft-… via @PhillyInquirer
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“Pedestrians have the right of fucking way, motherfucker!” - older Philadelphia woman to a truck driver in Center City just now. A+ delivery
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Is there anything even comparable on the Dem side where state lawmakers are actively trying to destroy something critical to how the other side's hometowns function?
SEPTA is urging families in the Philadelphia region to start planning now for how their children will get to and from school next month.
cbsnews.com/philadelphia/new…
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Republicans oddly quiet on highway fare evasion
Toll evasion cost the turnpike $170 million dollars last year, but no one calla for defunding the turnpike because of that
local21news.com/news/local/w…
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Totally aware of how insane this sounds, but every city political controversy can usually be boiled down to either racism or parking
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Could be us, southeast PA
Voters in Mecklenburg County approved a 1% sales tax increase that will generate $19 billion over 30 years to build & operate new rail lines, including a 25mi Commuter Rail expansion, overhaul the bus system, and expand road, bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
📍Charlotte, NC
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Everybody at Commonwealth deserves a nuclear wedgie for this ridiculous “bailout” language. What happened was they passed a law phasing out the old funding source (Turnpike transfer) and now a new funding source is needed to replace it
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I can’t be the only person who would enjoy an HGTV show that was all about a project team trying to get zoning approval to build housing
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“One of the central mythologies of GOP politics in PA is that the good and virtuous people of the hinterlands subsidize the bad nasty people in the cities — an exact reversal of fiscal reality.” thephiladelphiacitizen.org/s…
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and the rest of the state uses the 40% of the state budget that the Philly region contributes. Nobody here is talking about messing with how other regions of the state work, so why do we have a target on our back like that?
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They aren’t at the top of the list for blame, but it’s pathetic that the big contractors and engineering firms, and big employers like Comcast, haven’t spent a dime on pro-transit advocacy this year. Lots of private dollars on the line with this issue, but they didn’t help at all
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Hundreds of millions of dollars in economic value just completely destroyed by I-95
Work in Progress - Northern Liberties: 1928 vs 2023 (detail)
The angle's not quite right. I was trying to get around One Water Street, but geometry doesn't lie, so I'll have to reshoot another day.
Thanks to @DRPA_PAandNJ for the heads up that the North Walkway is open today
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❌Penn
❌Drexel
❌Temple
Why won’t the big Philly schools show a little Philadelphia patriotism here and opt their students into this very affordable benefit?
We're excited to announce @BrynMawrCollege as the second higher ed institution to participate in SEPTA Key Advantage UPass! Beginning 9/1 - more than 1,500 Bryn Mawr students will be eligible to ride #SEPTA – at no cost to them: wwww.septa.org/news/bryn-maw…! #ISEPTAPHILLY #waytogo
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Glad to see this idea gaining traction: if you deny the Philly metro funding for our critical priorities, when we are the largest funder of the state budget, we will just take our ball and go home
With SEPTA staring down the barrel of a $213 million budget deficit, one Pennsylvania lawmaker is mulling an unprecedented idea to avoid future lapses in funding amid stalled negotiations.
via @Kenny_Cooper_Jr
bit.ly/3V9vPIE
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Nobody parks on this sidewalk anymore after the PPA got serious about ticketing for like 2 weeks about 2 years ago 👍 People say it can’t be done, but it worked!
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This is the outcome the left-NIMBY faction was rooting for all along. Fewer, more expensive units with parking right next to the trolley. 54 fewer places for people to live. I hope all the people who gave credence to the bad faith actors learn their lesson next time
Zoning permits clear the path for 11 duplexes where the "poop building" was once proposed. After pushback on plans for a 76-unit apartment, a fecal sample study took place. The new permit subdivides the property, indicating that 22 new parking spaces will also be included.
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The “bicyclists don’t stop at stop signs” discourse is entirely about people driving behind cyclists who are mad they can’t pass them more easily. Not sure if this is always clear to onlookers
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All transit spending combined all across the state is only 13% of PennDOT’s budget. When reps outside the southeast say we don’t help them, they are not telling the truth. They get most of the transportation money
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Rode the NYC subway and the Philly subway today and Philly’s still #1 in pee-smell, baby. The champs
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PA already has 40,000 miles of state-maintained roads—about 2.6x the expected size for our population and land footprint. That’s a 160% overbuild that every taxpayer in the state helps fund. We are very far from “ignoring the needs of our rural communities”
We recognize the importance of public transportation, but we can’t ignore the needs of our rural communities, roads and bridges. Pennsylvania deserves a balanced, comprehensive plan that works for the entire Commonwealth.
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When did the beer people decide we’re now only drinking 4-packs of tallboys and they’re all gonna be $20?
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In the middle of a statewide housing shortage, it seems pretty messed up that one of the richest townships in PA might get to reject more housing just because they like the look of 3-story buildings better than 6-story ones inquirer.com/real-estate/low…
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A lot of people who don’t necessarily *need* to live in Queens or Brooklyn may find that they would enjoy living in Philadelphia
A lot of the rents I'm seeing in New York City have DOUBLED from where they were 3-4 years ago. Salaries certainly haven't kept up.
I don't think people are grasping how dire the situation is out here.
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What it looks like to take the ADA seriously 👏👏👏 @PhilaParking whyy.org/articles/parking-ti…
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Let’s double the celebration energy by passing a law requiring front-mounted license plates in addition to rear ones
Inbox: Gov. Josh Shapiro has announced a new Pennsylvania license plate design to celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.
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Daycare NIMBYism is real. Wonder why there are so few of them and you need to get on a waitlist as soon as you’re pregnant? Because other people are doing political activism to keep them all from opening. billypenn.com/2018/08/23/a-d…
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It’s sadly not that complicated. The Senate Republicans hate Philly and want to see the people here suffer. Telling them how important it is to our economy just makes them want to cut it more
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SEPTA should really look at bus stop rebalancing options as they look for ways to spread any cuts around in the least-bad way. Stopping every single block slows down buses and makes it more expensive to run the service
Philadelphia buses stopping every ~100m sounds unbelievable until you've ridden the bus
Something so infuriating about riding the bus and as soon as the doors close on one stop someone pulls the cord to stop on the next block - then repeat for 30 minutes
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If your civic association can afford to serve attendees wine and chicken sandwiches at all their meetings, it’s a strong sign your neighborhood needs to build more housing
Attended a Society Hill Civic meeting last night for a possible column and discovered they serve wine, chicken sandwiches and the most amazing homemade oatmeal cookies. Step it up Philly civics! No more soggy pretzels with the salt falling off.
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Dude come on
A historical facade sticks around as a revised 35-unit Old City proposal returns to the Historical Commission. The protected building that had been eyed for demo is included in the design, which now steps down towards the remaining buildings.
Full update below/in the bio
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This is the worst part. They are turncoats. They don’t represent rural PA, but are willing to take a punch at their own region just to stay in good standing in their Philly-hating caucus
In the @PhillyInquirer: "Why would three Republican state senators from Southeastern Pennsylvania — Frank Farry, Tracy Pennycuick, and Joe Picozzi — side with their rural counterparts in refusing to finance SEPTA and provide court-ordered monies to underfunded school districts?"
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Gosh, think about all the different Philly storylines you need to know about to understand this tweet
Dumpster pool dude who backflipped off into the Vine Street slime river last week started a roller disco on the new Fishtown roundabout on Labor Day.
Bonus news for River Wardsers: The roundabout is likely opening to traffic within a week after nearly 9 months of construction.
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We could have containerized trash collection and end this type of thing. But our local electeds have been more worried about losing votes from people mad about the lost parking than losing votes from people mad about seeing this. We should change that
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These guys have spent weeks putting out innumerate garbage posts about how bad SEPTA is, and then turn around and run “Philly Runs on SEPTA” ads against Democrats. A special place in Hell for these liars
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Just witnessed a live reaction to SEPTA cuts announcement poster on Frankford Ave. “What?? The 25???”
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Just one thing out of many, but it’s a big one: housing cost inflation in PA and elsewhere tarnished Dems’ governing record and lost us votes. We need to pass statewide zoning standards next term and start bringing housing costs down
Reading, PA: “Ten, fifteen years ago, it was very good to buy a house here,” Rivera said. “But, right now, it’s very difficult to do. There’s such low inventory, and the prices have risen so much.” politico.com/news/magazine/2…
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Please fund SEPTA 😬
We’re expanding @Amtrak passenger rail service from Philly to Pittsburgh and secured funding to do critical planning for service from Scranton to New York City and from Reading to Philly.
That’s how we connect communities and create real opportunity all across Pennsylvania.
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Of course the author opposed multifamily housing near a train station in Chestnut Hill 🙃
Yo, Yimbies. This is a deeply informed and nuanced take - with solutions - on America’s housing shortage from an esteemed @WeitzmanSchool urban planning professor. planetizen.com/features/1331…
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Southeast PA cross-subsidizes so much state investment in the rest of PA, but then the reps in those other places just spit in our faces and defund our services. Glad to see someone in Harrisburg from the southeast is taking this problem seriously!
Since I was elected I have heard my Rebulican colleagues how they are repulsed by SEPA’s spending.We have more infrastructure, schools & population. I just circulated a memo that would ensure that each region in PA funds its own schools, transit,& police using their own resources
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Bet the PA Senate Republicans are loving this clip
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jay Young doesn’t think that anybody from “his community” takes SEPTA down to 76ers games… 🤔🤯
There are multiple Broad Street Line stops in his district.
No way, right?
But this is what a Philadelphia City Councilmember thinks about SEPTA 🤷♂️
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This is nuts “This area is a museum,” said Sara Rabinovic, who has lived in the Society Hill Towers for two decades. “A bus station in the middle of a museum doesn’t make sense.”
Philly’s roving Greyhound station could soon move to an Old City parking garage. Neighbors are surprised and alarmed.
inquirer.com/transportation/…
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Good news but replacing a 1980 building shouldn’t require a trip to the Historical Commission
A seven-story, 26-unit proposal received zoning permits at 1423 Spruce St. in Rittenhouse Square. The two-story building from 1980 will be demoed, with apartments over ground-floor commercial space. Design is from Ping Design and was already approved by the Historical Commission.
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There’s just no good reason to let anybody drive or park in the Italian Market at 1pm on a Saturday. What are we doing here?
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Why I give approximately zero weight to the idea that we need to make transit service drastically better before we can try and win the urbanist agenda for street changes/zoning/etc. People who have drastically better transit in NYC still say all the same stuff as people in Philly
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Zoning is bad! You can’t let people open a cafe in a corner property in what really is core Center City? Get a grip! fitlerfocus.com/p/neighborho…
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The “why” is that PA Senate Republicans blew the deadline to pass a transit funding bill that would have allowed SEPTA to continue operating all services. House Dems have passed 5 such bills
SEPTA GM said Eagles Home Opener will be chaotic…here is why:
“No extra express coupled with 20% less regular trips. Normally stage 10 extras at NRG to run for the hour after the game, will only have 3-4 trains during that time per the regular schedule. For a night game, that could be a bigger issue because we’ll have a hard stop for service a little after midnight where normally we run past the schedule to get crowds out as needed. So if we normally take about 16,000 people postgame, we’re looking at only about 4,000 after the opener”
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Building a lot of housing in the Philly metro, Lehigh Valley, and Harrisburg/York/Lancaster is how we avoid the Ohio situation
I understand this compulsion, but not only does Pennsylvania have an Acela corridor city of Philly, Allegheny County was one of the only large urban counties in the country to not shift right. PA will remain a swing state, but Republicans are flexing more power than before
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Curtis Jones calling a situation where a 12,000 sqft mansion in Overbrook would get converted into a multifamily building an example of “gentrification” is so wild. Defending literal mansions as the pro-equity position
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I Superman’d into the El car today after running up the stairs just in time to get through the doors, and then I slipped on the floor and absolutely ate shit in front of the whole car. Some guy calls out “safe!” It’s Philly, somebody’s gonna have jokes 😂
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Why don’t the big metros with 75% of the population gang up on the other 25% by taking our state tax resources back? This isn’t how Dems normally think about this stuff and I’m here for the pivot from Rep. Shusterman
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Another center city surface parking lot slated for housing 👌 inquirer.com/real-estate/com…
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Allan Domb has already been on SEPTA more times in his few weeks campaigning for Mayor than Jim Kenney has in 8 years
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Hearing a lot of anecdotes from people lately who say they’ve been riding transit more because of how expensive Uber/Lyft have gotten
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Excited to announce I’ve been elected the new President of @Fishtown Neighbors Association for the 2021 term! Looking forward to working with our new Board and members of the community and local leaders to make our neighborhood a welcoming, safe, and thriving place for everybody!
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Since there are massive amounts of unrestricted public money out there for car infrastructure, but a relatively limited amount for transit, I would suggest we start spending all of the transit money on transit morethanthecurve.com/septa-p…
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I’m a few days into having an Urban Arrow family cargo bike and thinking about the silly “e-bikes are cheating” people. It’s cheating in the best possible way! 100 pounds of kids to lug around feels totally negligible!
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This makes me irate. SEPTA is trying to budget responsibly after the state legislators blew their budget deadline, forcing 20% service cuts. Who are these lawyers and judges to tell them how to do that? Sue the legislature! Do things that actually get SEPTA the money they need
George Bochetto has literally never lifted a finger to help transit, yet he wants to serve as shadow GM for septa.
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This sucks
495-space parking garage is planned for 41st and Market in University City inquirer.com/real-estate/com…
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This person gets more use out of their 4x6 patch of stoop space than most suburban homeowners get out of their giant front lawns
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at a minimum we gotta get the state police out of the PennDOT budget, and out of the business of doing municipal police work. Totally unfair, unaffordable invisible subsidy to rural and exurban PA
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They’ve been doing this Eakins Oval park pilot for like 10 years, and every year it’s a hit, and then they dismantle it again and turn it back into a surface parking lot. Did nobody tell Philly city government people about what happens in the second half of piloting stuff?
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“Designed to be used by experienced bicyclists” is such a fuck-you. Why even say it? bicyclecoalition.org/citys-p…
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Where’s the bloat? PA Republicans are just makings things up about SEPTA inquirer.com/opinion/comment…
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We need an emergency effort from the Mayor to secure Robyn this is insane
Calum Scott is Down to Perform the Dancing on my Own Remix in Philly* crossingbroad.com/2022/10/ca…
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This is a good point and it’s why we need to keep building more housing in the places with popular amenities
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When I email somebody and they write back addressing me as “John.” Like do you think I put the wrong spelling of my name into my own email account and just haven’t fixed the typo in over a decade?
*to the tune of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name"*
SPELL MY NAME, SPELL MY NAME
IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE EMAIL
IT'S NOT A HIDDEN DETAIL
THE SPELLING DOESN'T CHANGE
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I wrote about the intolerable unfairness of southeastern PA not being able to get our transit funded by the state, when we are the ones propping up the state budget. More power to @RepShusterman and others working to fix this! thephiladelphiacitizen.org/s… @thephilacitizen
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