Chaim Simon
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chaimsimon.bsky.social
Chaim Simon
@chaimsimon.bsky.social
210 followers 1.1K following 13 posts
urban planner/transportation planner
Seattle | Albany | NYC
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Chaim Simon
pitchingninja.com
Gary Sheffield Made Pedro Martinez Wait.

Pedro Sent a Message.
January 11, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
yonahfreemark.com
Intersections with the red light cameras have reduced T-bone crashes by 65% and rear-end collisions by 49%.
January 10, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
beardjam.bsky.social
The Shire Man
January 11, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
mims.bsky.social
WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to:

* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon

The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire

www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings
A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July.
www.wsj.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
railmag.bsky.social
Great news on the selection of automated metro for LA’s Sepulveda Corridor! The capacity via super low frequency might deliver the region’s highest-per mile ridership.
With NYC’s IBX shift to automated light metro + Honolulu SlyLine, are we seeing a limited trend emerging…?
January 10, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
statuscoupnews.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING: A car just ran over a protester in Minneapolis as protesters march in the rain against ICE after an ICE agent killed Renee Nicole Good.
January 9, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social
New: Hochul and Mamdani are announcing a plan to this year launch free childcare for 2 year olds in NYC.

But lots of details are unclear, including how much that'll cost and how it'll be funded. Hochul's team does say it won't require tax hikes in 2026. www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/08/h...
Hochul unveiling free childcare plan for 2-year-olds in NYC, though funding unclear
As part of his affordability agenda, Mamdani campaigned on a promise of free child care for all kids from 6 weeks to 5 years old, regardless of household income.
www.nydailynews.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
adamweinstein.bsky.social
This glib statement is all the more risible when you recall how many law enforcement officers used their vehicles as weapons against protesters in 2020... and how many Republican-dominated states *sought to legalize killing protesters with vehicles* as a reaction to the demonstrations
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d
Noem: "People need to stop using their vehicles as weapons ... it's clear that it's being coordinated. People are being trained"
January 7, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
bellingcat.com
Using imagery online of the shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, we’ve created an animated sequence which highlights the approximate positioning of officers and vehicles at the scene. The red dot represents the agent who fired the shots. Yellow dots are other agents who arrived at the scene.
January 7, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
langdongrant.bsky.social
Here's the ICE agent "defending himself" by shooting into the driver's side window of a car that's pulling *away* from him.

Put this photo on the front page of every newspaper in America.
January 7, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
mnolangray.bsky.social
A heck of a chart: in every single one of the 10 major US cities that built the most housing between 2017 and 2023, rents for older, existing units fell—often by quite a bit.
January 6, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
bfishbfish.bsky.social
Mamdani’s first act as mayor? Announcing the city as an interested party in my slumlord landlord Pinnacle’s bankruptcy auction. (And a slew of executive orders addressing housing!)
Zohran Mamdani
January 1, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
mjsdc.bsky.social
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
The Government asked this Court to stay the District Court's order. After the response and reply were filed, JUSTICE BARRETT referred the application to the Court. We directed the parties to file supplemental letter briefs on an issue that the District Court had addressed but the parties' initial briefs had not: the meaning of the term "regular forces" in §12406(3). In its supplemental brief, the Government argues that the term refers to civilian law enforcement officers, such as those employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Federal Protective Service. Respondents, echoing the District Court, maintain that the term refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary. We conclude that the term "regular forces" in §12406(3) likely refers to the regular forces of the United States mili-tary. This interpretation means that to call the Guard into active federal service under §12406(3), the President must be "unable" with the regular military "to execute the laws of the United States." Because the statute requires an assessment of the military's ability to execute the laws, it likely applies only where the military could legally execute the laws. Such circumstances are exceptional: Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is prohibited from "execut[ing] the laws" "except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress." 18 U. S. C. §1385. So before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be "unable" with those forces to perform that function.
December 23, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
bubbaprog.xyz
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
December 23, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
colinreports.bsky.social
⚠️ It’s official! New York has repealed the “100-foot rule” subsidy for new gas hookups, joining five other states that have ended similar subsidies.

Statement from Hochul:
GOVERNOR HOCHUL SIGNS LEGISLATION TO ELIMINATE UNFAIR UTILITY SUBSIDY THAT PASSES THE BUCK FOR NEW RESIDENTIAL GAS HOOKUPS TO ALL CUSTOMERS Legislation S.8417/A.8888 Will Do Away With Outdated 100-Foot Rule for Natural Gas Hookups That Cost New Yorkers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Each Year Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation to eliminate the “100-foot-rule” for new natural gas hookups that costs New Yorkers hundreds of millions of dollars a year. “It’s simply unfair, especially when so many people are struggling right now, to expect existing utility ratepayers to foot the bill for a gas hookup at a brand new house that is not their own,” Governor Hochul said. “I have made affordability a top priority and doing away with this 40-year-old subsidy that has outlived its purpose will help with that.” Each year, New Yorkers spend hundreds of millions of dollars on connecting new homes to the gas system. Currently, all existing ratepayers of a utility subsidize the first 100 feet of new gas lines. Under legislation S.8417/A.8888 signed by Governor Hochul, new applicants must pay 100 percent of the material and installation costs for gas service, as opposed to other ratepayers. State Senator Liz Krueger said, “Kathy Hochul just gave New Yorkers a $600 million Christmas present by signing our bill to repeal the 100-foot rule. This is a massive win for New York’s gas customers, and for clean air and a livable climate. In recent years the 100-ft rule has forced all ratepayers to subsidize gas hookups for new customers and a tidy profit for utility shareholders, at a cost of $600 million every year, which compounds many times as it is paid off on gas bills for years down the road. That burden on New Yorkers will now be lifted.” Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon said, “This is a victory for hard-working New Yorkers, our wallets, and our climate. Utility companies have had a blank check to expand polluting gas infrastructure and pass those co…
December 19, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
princetonyimby.bsky.social
Widening of NJ Turnpike Extension through Jersey City has been scrapped. Major news, a big win for advocates in Jersey City. www.nj.com/news/2025/12...
Murphy scraps controversial Turnpike widening through Hudson County
The most opposed part of the controversial $10.6 billion NJ Turnpike extension widening project will be dropped, Gov. Murphy announced.
www.nj.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
opennewyork.org
Queens, a borough of 2.4 million people, permitted just 3,240 homes last year, a bit over 1 boatload.

Austin, a city of less than a million people, permitted that same number every month last year.

The results?
Queens rents: ⬆️ 4.6%
Austin rents: ⬇️ 3.1%
opennewyork.org Open New York @opennewyork.org · 25d
NYC is not building “boatloads of housing”.

Last year, Manhattan permitted fewer units (2,347) than 1 boat (Icon of the Seas, 2,800 units)
Tweet from Nicole Gelinas: Finally, someone smart says the obvious ... NYC builds boatloads and boatloads and boatloads of housing. More than most American cities combined. Why doesn't that make housing cheaper? For the very reason that NYC builds the housing: it is built to meet new demand by the new top... Show more
December 16, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
cohenhouse.bsky.social
A new bombshell modeling report by the State of Minnesota has found that small single-stair buildings with smoke-separated stairwells are likely to be SIGNIFICANTLY SAFER than typical double-loaded apartment buildings
December 18, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
stephenjacobsmith.com
Consultants contracted by Minnesota found that an eight-story single-stair building with 6,000 sq. ft. per floor (building 4) has dramatically lower fire risk than a same-height code-compliant two-stair building with a larger floor plate (building 1) www.dli.mn.gov/sites/defaul...
December 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
gbrockell.bsky.social
I’ve heard from immigration attorneys that clients say ICE guards lay out the WRAP device (essentially a full-body straitjacket) on the tarmac as a threat — “do what we say or you’re getting the WRAP on the whole flight.”

And here’s proof, from Seattle livestream today via @lalabote.bsky.social.
A screenshot of an Embraer 145 from ICE flight contractor Key Lime Air/Denver Air Connection on a tarmac with with guards and detainees . In the lower right hand corner is a contraption with a bunch of nylon straps and metal fasteners. A closeup of the contraption
December 11, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
celticsbakitbol.bsky.social
THE SPURS HAVE A LUKE KORNET BLOCK CELLY SHIRT 😭😭😭💖 they passed them out in the locker room
de'aaron fox wearing a headset and a black t-shirt with a black-and-white image of luke kornet pointing at the sky.
December 11, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
yonahfreemark.com
One cool reform element related to parking minimums has impacted previously planned projects:

“In the Bronx, a 94-unit project will not include the 25 parking spots previously required, & in Brooklyn, a more than 500-unit project will not include the previously required 140 parking spots.”
December 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
yonahfreemark.com
Major announcement in just-posted board documents: DC's Metro is moving fast toward automation.

Over 15 years, Metro plans full automation & platform screen doors, which the agency says will improve safety, reliability, & travel times—at reduced costs.
www.wmata.com/about/board/...
Building blocks of modernization and automation Modernization allows Metro to deliver more service at lower cost Roadmap to modernize Metro How rail modernization increases capacity
November 17, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Reposted by Chaim Simon
reinventalbany.bsky.social
Report: 94% of World’s Transit Lines Operated by One Person

Hochul Should Veto Bill Requiring Two

See our statement on the new, important report out from NYU Marron's Transit Costs Project

buff.ly/Umk9Dc0
Report: 94% of World’s Subways Operated by One Person. Hochul Should Veto Bill Requiring Two - Reinvent Albany
NYU Marron Center Report Shows 94% of the World’s Subway Systems Use One Person – Or Are Automated   Gov. Hochul Must Veto Wasteful, Politically-Motivated Bill Requiring Two Train Operators   An…
reinventalbany.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:34 PM