Toby Muresianu
@tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
310 followers 83 following 190 posts
Housing advocate in LA, content creator, digital comms guy. I did a lot of comedy before covid (and still do sometimes)
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tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Key to using AI effectively: treat it like a person dumber than you, not a person smarter than you.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Good morning. CEQA can no longer stop critically needed urban housing in California. It’s a new day.
Reposted by Toby Muresianu
erichmcelroy.bsky.social
We are back on American Exchange with housing advocate and funnyman @tobyhardtospell.bsky.social getting a firsthand account from LA on the 'riots', the protests and ICE raids.

Surprise it wasn't what the media or Trump made it out to be.

WATCH HERE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP6Z...
www.youtube.com
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
The unidentified maybe-cops trying to deport people remind me of Putin's "Little Green Men"
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Hundreds of mentally disabled people are being evicted from supportive housing to Skid Row in LA, apparently due to losing Medicaid coverage.

1) This seems very bad and to be an illegal eviction
2) Is this going to happen nationwide if Trump's Medicaid cuts pass?
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
And parents who are afraid to attend—bc they aren’t legal, or they are but have seen how this administration has deported people here legally for minor paperwork errors or entirely by accident—are staying home and watching over Zoom.

This isn't the America I know.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
This was my son’s LAUSD preschool graduation was last week.

This week, nearby ICE raids caused parents to flee mid-ceremony.

Today, LAPD officers are forming rings around ceremonies to stop ICE officers who don’t have valid legal justification from entering.
Reposted by Toby Muresianu
kairyssdal.bsky.social
Hello. I live in Los Angeles. The president is lying.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
It's wild housing opponents will say "We can't have housing unless we have transit" and then it's literally defined to be right by transit they oppose it
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
The walkability of part of transit-oriented development is often overlooked.

If you allow 7 story mixed use buildings by train stations (SB79), you don't just get apartments.

You also get grocery stores, gyms, and restaurants residents new and old can walk to.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
She's supporting other housing bills and given how she made misspoke several times during the speech I wonder if her decision was changed and rushed at the last minute.

I hope that she reconsiders her position and I can support her again.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
It's also worth noting Menjivar ran as a public transit advocate who wanted to improve things for families on public transit, reduce air pollution from cars, and have an "all of the above" approach to addressing the housing crisis.

It's a really weird turn.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Then she claims the the transit isn't something "working class residents" use because they have to drive far away for work.

-Have you ever been on transit in LA? It is working class! There's data!

-There are lots of working class jobs in the valley!

-Building housing near transit creates more!
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Then she says "we don't have the transit infrastructure yet, we shouldn't put the horse before the carriage [sic]"

-LA has the #1 light rail system in the US and #2 transit system, with 300m+ rides taken per year

-The horse in the analogy is the train! The bill legalizes *carts after horses*!
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
First she says a new light rail line across the Valley (her district!) goes from "nowhere to nowhere."

-The SFV has 1.8 million people. It'd be the nation's 5th largest city on its own!

-The train connects 3 major transit lines!

-The bill enables stops to grow into "somewhere"!
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Dismayed by this speech opposing apartments near transit from Caroline Menjivar.

It's a betrayal of her campaign promises, her constituents facing high housing costs, and the housing and environmental advocates who endorsed her (including me).

It's also...nonsense. ⬇️
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
I can't believe Ben Allen gave tribute to Donald Shoup--and then 4 days later opposed a bill to legalize apartments by train stations. That just sucks, man.
cayimby.bsky.social
Yesterday State Sen. @benallenca.bsky.social adjourned the Senate in memory of Professor Donald Shoup, who passed away earlier this year. Thank you to Sen. Allen for this wonderful honor of a great and inspirational figure to so many of us working to make our cities better places to live.
California State Senate Adjourns In Memoriam of Professor Donald Shoup - May 29, 2025
YouTube video by California YIMBY
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Toby Muresianu
handle.invalid
Property/ Land taxes are really the ultimate “value capture” mechanism it’s annoying that all this energy trying to extract community benefits agreements on a project by project or bill by bill basis aren’t just focused on Prop 13 reform.
Reposted by Toby Muresianu
urbfuturistdem.bsky.social
Sen. Caroline Menjivar: Triumphantly appears at the event celebrating a federal award of $900 million for East San Fernando Valley Light Rail

Also Sen. Menjivar: "The utter audacity of planning more housing in my district, don't you know this is garbage transit that goes nowhere & serves no one"
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
If your suburban town is "too rural" to have apartment buildings near train stations, it is too rural to have state funded train stations.
tobyhardtospell.bsky.social
Anyone who says "local communities can plan best" to argue against a bill that *legalizes apartments by train stations* needs to explain why they have not done such an incredibly basic planning step yet.

It's like not allowing kitchens near cafeterias.
Reposted by Toby Muresianu
mnolangray.bsky.social
It's do or die for SB 79, the bill that would legalize multifamily housing around rail and BRT stops across the state. The vote could be held as early as tomorrow morning.

Californians: call your state senator tomorrow morning to help us get out of the senate!
cayimby.org/legislation/...
SB 79 (Wiener): Transit-Oriented Development and Upzoning
SB 79 will make it faster and easier to build multi-family housing near transit stops, like train and rapid bus lines, by making it legal for more homes to be built in these areas and streamlining exi...
cayimby.org
Reposted by Toby Muresianu
cayimby.bsky.social
SB 79 may come up for a vote today -- now is the time to call your State Senator to urge them to vote YES on this bill to legalize multifamily housing around rail and BRT stops across the state. Click here for an easy way to make your call:
Call the State Senate to pass SB 79!
Please call your State Senator and urge them to vote YES on SB 79!
cayimby.org