Patrick Conlon

The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma

[Patrick Conlon @RealPatConlon]

I am so happy this is real

[Patrick Conlon @RealPatConlon]

I was umpire & bball ref from 8th grade thru law school. Early on, I wore tinted shades to hide how intimidated I was to have adults raging at 14yo me

Great life lesson for me (loud & angry =/= right) but embarassing for parents involved. Sad to see this

[Eric Allen Conner @eaconner]

Better Blocks did not have time to do an official endorsement this cycle (we've been focused on writing more policy pieces) but I did want to comment on @MussabAliJC versus @RobMenendez4NJ.

I voted Menendez, despite voting for his primary challenger last cycle, and here's why:

[Steven Fulop @StevenFulop]

I love this article and there's a clear lesson here for NYC as well.

For 12 years as mayor here, I was unapologetically pro-housing growth. At times I faced pushback from NIMBYs, whom we overruled. I brushed off plenty of trolls on social media accusing me of prioritizing developers. I absorbed political pressure from the building trades when I refused to force projects into their deals. But I held the line and was elected 3 times bc the noisy ppl aren’t the majority.

I was YIMBY before that was even a term.

This article is proof that a housing-first agenda and the discipline to discard the noise is the most effective path to affordability. Period. Full stop.

The hard truth is that it takes a decade : first getting capital comfortable enough to trust an administration, then getting them to invest, sourcing deals, navigating entitlements, and finally breaking ground. But if you commit and stay the course, it works.

https://t.co/Xw6CU350fw

[I AM PEACE STAR @StarburyMarbury]

I would like to issue a formal apology to every Knicks fan, every security guard, and especially Jalen Brunson 🙏🏾 not because I stole his shine, because I could never. That man owned the Garden. I just got swept up in the current like a plastic bag. My energy flew out of the roof, I lost my mind, and my feet carried me somewhere they didn't belong. Thank you to the fans for the positive reaction 💫 it felt great, which is honestly concerning. Now… how about we run that back? Just kidding. Unless Jalen hits another one. Then all bets are off. 🤨🖖😆 🦁 🐂 🐺

Starbury

[Better Blocks New Jersey @BetterBlocksNJ]

NEW: Hudson County is planning to turn county-owned parking lots around Journal Square into mixed-income housing, adding thousands of homes, including income-restricted affordable.

We took a detailed look at the proposed sites, including one that hasn't been previously reported.

[Maciek Lipa @maciekl_]

If you're working in settings like this, just know you're getting zero work done. Working 'outside' in the sun is the biggest psyop ever. Laptop overheating. Background noise. And constantly moving spaces due to discomfort. Real ones work in a prison-like environment. Nothing in sight. Just you, your laptop + wired headphones.

[𝔽eral ℙawg ℍunter @FeralPHunter]

living in Manhattan must be so cool bc you can see the greatest city in the world from your window (Jersey City)

[Alicia, Courtyard Urbanist @UrbanCourtyard]

a fantastic advantage of sending your kids to a neighborhood school is that your family's primary social circle becomes centered in your neighborhood, and you see your friends and your kids see their friends constantly because you live within a half mile radius of each other.

This is the world of walking home from bars and restaurants, from friends' houses, from games and events. in a walkable, connected neighborhood, socializing does not depend on cars or even on subway rides

[Josh Mann @jmaxmann]

In the same way no one should listen to me if I opined about Archeology, no one should listen to the Assemblyman discuss housing. Absolutely nothing he says here is correct.

[Upzone New Jersey 🏗️ @upzonenj]

Supply and demand is real, don't trust these command economy marxists.

[Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature]

Oslo had 41 road deaths in 1975. By 2019, that number was one: a single driver who hit a fence.

Oslo effectively ended road deaths by redesigning its downtown for people instead of cars.

They removed 700 street parking spaces and replaced them with 37 miles of protected bike lanes and pocket parks.

They lowered speed limits inside and outside the city. Many streets to car traffic entirely.

They created "heart zones" around every elementary school where cars can't pick up or drop off kids.

Did it kill the city? Nope.

Retail sales at shops went up. Kids started walking and biking to school unsupervised.

Air quality improved measurably and traffic congestion got better because fewer people wanted to drive through a pedestrianized downtown.

Every piece of Oslo's strategy is available to any American city that wants it. The problem is solved, now we just need to implement it.

[Better Blocks New Jersey @BetterBlocksNJ]

Parking obsessed council members keep fighting pedestrian improvements to Washington St in Hoboken and the Newark Pedestrian Plaza in Jersey City claiming lost parking hurts business.

@RealPatConlon breaks down why the "parking = customers" argument fails the evidence test.

[Patrick Conlon @RealPatConlon]

Full circle moment… @3_under_scores_ was my intro to the YIMBY movement in DMs in 2019 when he tweeted every new JC bldg permit issued. Now writing for him and @eaconner ‘s publication about how walkability helps everyone. Pls read my @BetterBlocksNJ piece so I can write more

[Better Blocks New Jersey @BetterBlocksNJ]

Every time Jersey City or Hoboken proposes a pedestrian plaza or bike lane, local businesses fear it'll destroy them. The data says the opposite.

🧵/5

[Jack Hunter @jackhunter74]

Trump: I’m gonna wipe out an entire civilization.

Pope: That’s wrong.

Vance: The pope should stick to questions of morality.

[Jonathan 'Boo and Vote' Cohn @JonathanCohn]

A+ sign game

[Patrick Conlon @RealPatConlon]

You don’t need a skincare routine if you have a kind heart and a clean pillowcase

[Admiral Snaccbar 🐙 @Chris_Mench]

It's crazy how the only difference between cockroaches and ladybugs is aura.

[Admiral Snaccbar 🐙 @Chris_Mench]

Jersey city is in fact a significantly nicer place to live than many parts of the outer boroughs but you’re treated like a social outcast by people from Ohio who don’t know how to use the path train.

[Better Blocks New Jersey @BetterBlocksNJ]

Nobody does a better job putting numbers in context than Nick Zurawski.

Shaving 12 stories off a high rise as a “compromise” to appease rich condo owners next door means millions less in tax revenue for the city and 100 fewer people get off the affordable housing waiting list.

[Hampton Prescott @HamptonPrezcott]

There was a brief period from 1987-1992 where we did nothing but develop beautiful, architecturally distinct and timeless high rises.