Sam
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samd.bsky.social
Sam
@samd.bsky.social
https://bettercities.substack.com/

Better cities and transit are possible 🚇

#1 Congestion pricing stan

#1 RFK Jr. hater
this entire presidency is so fucking stupid man

national self-immolation led by a senile pedophile because 49.8% of American voters are either fascists or dipshits
REPORTER: Do you commit to not militarily engaging NATO partners?

TRUMP: I don't talk about that

REPORTER: You're not willing to commit to not attacking a NATO partner?
January 16, 2026 at 10:04 PM
blue state NIMBYism is just handing the keys of the country over to republicans.

I find Philly NIMBYs to be especially egregious on this front. If Philly passed a city of yes style upzoning last decade, Bob Casey would still be a senator right now
The bare reed of truth here is that MN beat out NY for the 435th congressional seat by 87 people. Basically if NYC were willing to build one (1) more high rise from 2010-2020 they would've gotten an additional house seat
Generally prefer the government not play favorites in the market but if they do go in for crushing things, polymarket is pretty high on my list. What is this nonsense.
January 16, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Sam
It feels like certain nonprofit and political leaders are upset they and their friends didn’t get jobs in the Mamdani administration, but they know that that’s not a sympathetic framing, so instead they’re slicing and dicing top leadership racial categories instead www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/n...
None of Mamdani’s Deputy Mayors Are Black. It Has Become a Problem.
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:12 PM
the professional managerial class beat the Nazis and I’m tired of pretending we didn’t
January 16, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Sam
The actual story is that a family of American citizens trying to evacuate from a neighborhood that ICE had made unsafe, and then ICE tossed munitions into the car, causing three kids to be hospitalized and a six month old to stop breathing. DHS called the family “radical agitators”
January 16, 2026 at 5:16 PM
it’s kinda funny how every single one of these articles is like “neither YIMBYism nor NIMBYism but a secret third thing (NIMBYism)”
January 16, 2026 at 2:35 PM
NY MTA: we need to build more housing near transit to help boost ridership

LA Metro: dense housing near transit? the horror!

even as urbanism is making so much progress across the country, LA still seems to be uniquely cursed
For some reason, LA Metro is pushing a proposal to repeal SB79, the new law that legalized apartment buildings near transit.
metro.legistar1.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by Sam
is your country descending into lawless authoritarian anarchy? feeling helpless and overwhelmed? make sure to keep your focus on the real enemy: people with slightly different opinions about how the opposition party should word it's messaging.
January 15, 2026 at 11:31 PM
government of the dipshits, by the dipshits, for the dipshits
The FDA quietly removed webpages saying cellphones aren’t dangerous as the Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches a study on cellphone radiation.
RFK Jr.’s Health Department Is Studying Health Effects of Cellphones
Government webpages saying cellphones aren’t dangerous have been quietly removed.
on.wsj.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Trump posted this in February 2025.

It is 11 month later and congestion pricing is still in effect.

how could he overturn the midterms in New York when he can’t even stop us from collecting a congestion toll?
January 15, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Ryder is a friend of mine who is a passionate progressive urbanist running against a field of NIMBYs.

the only way we can make progress in Albany is if we elect people like him to push back against the Long Island conservatives

strongly recommend supporting him if you are in NYC!
Join our campaign to deliver lower costs, a stronger democracy, and a district where every New York family can thrive.

www.ryderfornewyork.com
Ryder for New York
www.ryderfornewyork.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:31 PM
if ICE can’t handle will stancil tailing them in his Honda Fit, they’re going to be in for a rude awakening when tens of thousands of New Yorkers bike and take the subway to their location in a matter of minutes
January 15, 2026 at 6:37 PM
lol i just found out that a hardcore NIMBY who tries to pretend that she’s a progressive is running for city council in my district.

given the fact that she led anti-housing rallies with Curtis Sliwa and Vickie Paladino i think her odds of winning the democratic primary are pretty low
January 15, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Zohran Mamdani’s mayoralty is the final nail in the coffin of left-NIMBYism.

progressive pro-housing politics is the future
You probably don't know what SEQRA is - but you should know that it's slowing down the housing that we need. Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg is here to explain why reforming it is key to cutting red tape and building more housing.
January 15, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Sam
Having seen several abductions up close, it is really hard to convey how much the thing they’re doing is roaming in military convoys until they see someone who is alone and isn’t white, and then jumping out in large numbers, pulling them into a van, and screeching off, all in 90 seconds or so.
"“They specifically asked me if I knew where the Hmong families lived on my street & in the neighborhood.” Lugert-Thom responded, “I don’t know anything about that” & she said they then asked, “Well, what about the Asian families?”"

"“I was a bit shaken & a bit shocked of what I was asked to do.”"
A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.
January 14, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Sam
over the course of 1871, congress held seven months of hearings on ku klux klan and other white vigilante violence in the south, they took detailed testimony from hundreds of black men and women attesting to klan terror. (1/?)
January 14, 2026 at 2:06 AM
watching better call saul for the first time and the ending of “Plan and Execution” is one of the most brutal things I’ve ever seen. incredible episode, incredible show, but man I’m shook
January 13, 2026 at 6:13 AM
while I generally find the “you’re just a smug elite” trope to be used in tedious ways to launder anti-intellectual populism, it’s especially funny when the editor in chief of Vox (and former NYT reporter) uses it against an elections blogger in North Carolina
January 13, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Reposted by Sam
most of the people whose opinions I hold in high regard are on here but a solid 15% of this website is people who are both wildly self-righteous and extremely stupid
seriously, look at this absolute shit. just unhinged insanity. hard not to suspect people who post shit like this are actually feds
January 13, 2026 at 12:34 AM
what is wrong with NJ democrats (except Andy Kim)
Bad news: It looks like Democrats in the NJ State Senate have passed S4834, which requires insurance and registration for all e-bikes. Vote was Yes: 28 No: 10 Not Voting: 2. Companion bill likely to get vote in state assembly today. www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/...
NJ Legislature
The New Jersey State Legislature
www.njleg.state.nj.us
January 12, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Sam
cope, seethe, etc
January 12, 2026 at 10:19 PM
it’s honestly so funny that Trump tried to halt congestion pricing, got obliterated in court, and now has no recourse other than just pouting and whining into the ether about how unfair it is
New York news: Trump is vaguely threatening to end congestion pricing, again. Unclear why he is bringing this up now.
January 12, 2026 at 10:22 PM
nothing is real to Ken. it’s all just content. and the biggest offense isn’t Trump’s authoritarianism. it’s being cringe/old
Reality defeats satire once again
January 12, 2026 at 9:31 PM
it’s become clear at this point that all of the messaging from the Trump administration is targeted at room temp IQ losers who are incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction
HUD Secretary Scott Turner: "100% of rental demand in California and New York is because of illegal immigration"
January 12, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Sam
hold on now, let him cook
January 12, 2026 at 4:15 PM