Jake Berman
@lostsubways.com
Wrote and illustrated "The Lost Subways of North America". Lawyer. Californian living in New York. Avid cyclist. Transport + housing nerd.
Order the book at: http://lostsubways.com
Order the book at: http://lostsubways.com
Pinned
Jake Berman
@lostsubways.com
· 12d
MY LOST SUBWAYS OF NORTH AMERICA EVENTS:
DETROIT: 11/13, 6pm, Next Chapter Books. www.eventbrite.com/e/lost-subwa...
CLEVELAND: 11/15, 1pm, Cleveland Public Library - Main Branch. cpl.libcal.com/event/13146709
DETROIT: 11/13, 6pm, Next Chapter Books. www.eventbrite.com/e/lost-subwa...
CLEVELAND: 11/15, 1pm, Cleveland Public Library - Main Branch. cpl.libcal.com/event/13146709
D&D. Trivia. Pool. Super Smash Bros. You know, all the stuff Millennials did as teenagers.
as the husband of a mahjong addict, dudes need to identify an activity that can be done relatively easily in groups with minimal financial commitment so they can get out of the house for 2-3 hours on a school night, have two beers, and shoot the shit with their buddies.
It won't be mahjong tho.
It won't be mahjong tho.
This is excellent, and great fun to read. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
D&D. Trivia. Pool. Super Smash Bros. You know, all the stuff Millennials did as teenagers.
Good write-up by Max on the YIMBY-Strong Towns back and forth. I like Chuck Marohn, and I've written for Strong Towns, but as Max writes, fundamentally government is about getting good results, not about ideology. Housing is an area where local control has failed to deliver.
"What does prioritizing millionaire homeowners’ aversion to change over the needs of the poor and unhoused do to our souls?" is a truly ice cold line from @maxdubler.com
www.maxdubler.com/blog/2025/11...
#yimby
www.maxdubler.com/blog/2025/11...
#yimby
On The Tension Between YIMBYism and Strong Towns — Max Dubler
Special thanks to those who gave their thoughtful feedback on this piece. The past couple of months have seen quite a bit of Discourse about the differences between Strong Towns and YIMB...
www.maxdubler.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Good write-up by Max on the YIMBY-Strong Towns back and forth. I like Chuck Marohn, and I've written for Strong Towns, but as Max writes, fundamentally government is about getting good results, not about ideology. Housing is an area where local control has failed to deliver.
This clears the SF seat for Scott Wiener, who is an extremely effective legislator. Wiener absolutely belongs in Congress.
Democratic strategist Christine Pelosi announces run for state Senate, NOT her mother's U.S. House seat as many anticipated for years. This state Senate seat isn't up until 2028 unless Scott Wiener, who is running to succeed Nancy Pelosi, wins and a special election is needed.
Christine Pelosi Eyes Sacramento, Not Congress, in 2028 State Senate Run | KQED
Christine Pelosi, attorney and daughter of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told KQED she’s running for San Francisco’s state Senate seat, focusing on women’s rights, AI and affordability.
www.kqed.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:49 PM
This clears the SF seat for Scott Wiener, who is an extremely effective legislator. Wiener absolutely belongs in Congress.
Reposted by Jake Berman
Timeline cleanse: A pair of SF Municipal Railway painted PCCs on the F Market this afternoon
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Timeline cleanse: A pair of SF Municipal Railway painted PCCs on the F Market this afternoon
Saturday, I'll be giving a talk at the Cleveland Public Library downtown, with @schmangee.bsky.social.
20 tickets left!
20 tickets left!
Cleveland Vibes: Transit Maps Rock!
Public transit enthusiasts and map lovers unite!
Come get lost (and found) in the bright, vibrant world of transit maps. Jake Berman, cartographer, artist, and author surveys...
cpl.libcal.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Saturday, I'll be giving a talk at the Cleveland Public Library downtown, with @schmangee.bsky.social.
20 tickets left!
20 tickets left!
Reposted by Jake Berman
Then you tell them Thom Brennaman is calling the game and they become even more confused.
sprinting to a time machine to tell everyone in 2017 that within a decade bill belichick vs frank reich would barely be broadcast in HD
November 8, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Then you tell them Thom Brennaman is calling the game and they become even more confused.
Horrifying. This seems like a straightforward products liability suit in civil court - but there should also be consequences for the creators of this abomination.
Exclusive: The parents of a man who killed himself are suing the company that created ChatGPT, claiming the product encouraged him to commit suicide.
ChatGPT encouraged college graduate to commit suicide, family claims in lawsuit against OpenAI | CNN
A 23-year-old man killed himself in Texas after ChatGPT ‘goaded’ him to commit suicide, his family says in a lawsuit.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Horrifying. This seems like a straightforward products liability suit in civil court - but there should also be consequences for the creators of this abomination.
It applies to state and local government too. For many years, legislators in Albany were paid so poorly that state senators were practically expected to have their hands in the till.
Every business knows that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Every business knows that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
I have long argued that the single best thing you could do to improve the functioning of the US government is double the salaries of everyone working on Capitol Hill. Serving Congress shouldn’t involve poverty wages in DC. You could attract a much wider set of perspectives netting a better result.
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
November 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM
It applies to state and local government too. For many years, legislators in Albany were paid so poorly that state senators were practically expected to have their hands in the till.
Every business knows that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Every business knows that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Cheap decorated boxes are how you got the celebrated Brooklyn brownstone. Too many architectural rules try to micromanage things, and the results are not pretty.
i wrote a thing on this like a decade ago
it's part of why condo fees in berlin and other cities are so low
www.theurbanist.org/2018/08/22/i...
it's part of why condo fees in berlin and other cities are so low
www.theurbanist.org/2018/08/22/i...
In Praise of Dumb Boxes » The Urbanist
# One of the more, ummm, interesting complaints about new buildings is that they are
www.theurbanist.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Cheap decorated boxes are how you got the celebrated Brooklyn brownstone. Too many architectural rules try to micromanage things, and the results are not pretty.
Toronto converted to OPTO. The G and L already are OPTO. BART and WMATA have always been OPTO. This ain't rocket science, guys.
One thing the mayor-elect could do between now and January 1 is to call on Kathy Hochul to veto the bill on her desk that would ban one-person train operations in the NYC subway. Mamdani was absent the day of the vote, and banning OPTO is incompatible with lower cost (or free) transit.
November 6, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Toronto converted to OPTO. The G and L already are OPTO. BART and WMATA have always been OPTO. This ain't rocket science, guys.
Catsimatidis runs Gristedes, New York's worst grocery chain. I can believe he doesn't give a shit about grocery stores!
NYC billionaire John Catsimatidis rages over Zohran Mamdani win: ‘I don’t give a s–t about grocery stores!’
“The burden is on the Governor’s office right now and [Hochul] needs to keep her thumb,” on the city, John Catsimatidis said.
nypost.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Catsimatidis runs Gristedes, New York's worst grocery chain. I can believe he doesn't give a shit about grocery stores!
@wandrme.paxex.aero is there a good guide somewhere for how the flight cancellations get done?
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
@wandrme.paxex.aero is there a good guide somewhere for how the flight cancellations get done?
None of this surprises me - Plano was my case study for how not to build a transit line. Nothing near the stations, tons of parking, precious little TOD, and a zoning plan straight out of 1999.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit just built a transit line extension into Plano that opened just a couple weeks ago. Yesterday, Plano City Council voted 8-0 to allow voters to choose whether or not to leave DART www.keranews.org/news/2025-11...
Plano leaders vote to hold DART withdrawal election next spring
City council members heard hours of public comment Wednesday, most of it in support of DART, before voting to call the election.
www.keranews.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:24 PM
None of this surprises me - Plano was my case study for how not to build a transit line. Nothing near the stations, tons of parking, precious little TOD, and a zoning plan straight out of 1999.
Reposted by Jake Berman
In this week's UCLA Housing Voice we speak with John Zeanah, Chief of Development and Infrastructure for the City of Memphis, and Andre Jones, an urbanist developer in the city, about a host of smaller-but-important code barriers to building missing middle housing www.lewis.ucla.edu/2025/11/05/1...
Episode 101: Beyond Zoning with John Zeanah and Andre D. Jones (Incentives Series pt. 4)
Your city just legalized “missing middle” housing in its zoning code — now what? Looking at Memphis, Tennessee, we discuss the hidden non-zoning barriers to developing small apartment buildings.
www.lewis.ucla.edu
November 5, 2025 at 8:57 PM
In this week's UCLA Housing Voice we speak with John Zeanah, Chief of Development and Infrastructure for the City of Memphis, and Andre Jones, an urbanist developer in the city, about a host of smaller-but-important code barriers to building missing middle housing www.lewis.ucla.edu/2025/11/05/1...
"Let's build a city in the middle of nowhere in the desert! And it'll be one huge miles-long building the height of the Empire State Building! What could go wrong?"
November 6, 2025 at 2:25 PM
"Let's build a city in the middle of nowhere in the desert! And it'll be one huge miles-long building the height of the Empire State Building! What could go wrong?"
Reposted by Jake Berman
Single-stair plus multifam zoning on single-fam lots might be what prefab needs to take off. Manufacturing processes require scale and repeatability; only single-family lots deliver those. Homeowners want too much customization in ADUs, but developers might be profit-minded enough to see the vision.
We could panelize it and assemble the whole thing with mass timber
November 6, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Single-stair plus multifam zoning on single-fam lots might be what prefab needs to take off. Manufacturing processes require scale and repeatability; only single-family lots deliver those. Homeowners want too much customization in ADUs, but developers might be profit-minded enough to see the vision.
If you have a chance to see the new documentary by @segbydesign.bsky.social on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway I highly recommend it.
November 6, 2025 at 12:13 AM
If you have a chance to see the new documentary by @segbydesign.bsky.social on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway I highly recommend it.
Mamdani is a really excellent public speaker. The contrast between his normally sunny demeanor and the serious, eloquent delivery of his victory speech is really effective.
www.youtube.com/live/NnM_RgL...
www.youtube.com/live/NnM_RgL...
WATCH LIVE: Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters after winning 2025 NYC mayoral race
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Mamdani is a really excellent public speaker. The contrast between his normally sunny demeanor and the serious, eloquent delivery of his victory speech is really effective.
www.youtube.com/live/NnM_RgL...
www.youtube.com/live/NnM_RgL...
It looks like the hard split between the Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods largely held. Boro Park, Kew Gardens Hills, Midwood, S. Williamsburg, and Jamaica Estates all went hard for Cuomo - not that it did much to salvage his campaign.
See how your neighborhood voted for mayor with THE CITY's interactive map:
www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/04/e...
www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/04/e...
November 5, 2025 at 4:04 AM
It looks like the hard split between the Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods largely held. Boro Park, Kew Gardens Hills, Midwood, S. Williamsburg, and Jamaica Estates all went hard for Cuomo - not that it did much to salvage his campaign.
i mean it's great mamdani won and all
but have you felt the schadenfreude of seeing eric adams currently beating a coalition of mickey mouse, bugs bunny, and spongebob squarepants by 40 votes?
but have you felt the schadenfreude of seeing eric adams currently beating a coalition of mickey mouse, bugs bunny, and spongebob squarepants by 40 votes?
November 5, 2025 at 3:40 AM
i mean it's great mamdani won and all
but have you felt the schadenfreude of seeing eric adams currently beating a coalition of mickey mouse, bugs bunny, and spongebob squarepants by 40 votes?
but have you felt the schadenfreude of seeing eric adams currently beating a coalition of mickey mouse, bugs bunny, and spongebob squarepants by 40 votes?
NYC Questions 2, 3 and 4 all look to pass comfortably. This is a very good thing, because they'll allow the city to build a more affordable housing, bypassing NIMBY councilors and streamlining housing approvals.
HELL YEAH.
HELL YEAH.
Live NYC ballot proposals election results
Track live results on the six ballot proposals for New Yorkers in the 2025 election.
www.fox5ny.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:59 AM
NYC Questions 2, 3 and 4 all look to pass comfortably. This is a very good thing, because they'll allow the city to build a more affordable housing, bypassing NIMBY councilors and streamlining housing approvals.
HELL YEAH.
HELL YEAH.
1) Congratulations, Mayor Mamdani.
2) Go back to Westchester, Andrew. Nobody wants you here.
2) Go back to Westchester, Andrew. Nobody wants you here.
November 5, 2025 at 2:53 AM
1) Congratulations, Mayor Mamdani.
2) Go back to Westchester, Andrew. Nobody wants you here.
2) Go back to Westchester, Andrew. Nobody wants you here.
Well, it only took four years of Eric Adams...
De Blasio: ‘Well, Well, Well, Not So Easy To Find A Mayor That Doesn’t Suck Shit, Huh?’
NEW YORK—Clucking his tongue with mock disappointment, Bill De Blasio announced to New Yorkers that “It’s not so easy to find a mayor that doesn’t suck shit after all, huh?” during a press conference ...
theonion.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Well, it only took four years of Eric Adams...
This is some good shit. Let's hope it holds.
All YIMBY ballot measures are currently winning in NYC by 10-point margins at least
November 5, 2025 at 2:26 AM
This is some good shit. Let's hope it holds.