Ben Teresa
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benfteresa.bsky.social
Ben Teresa
@benfteresa.bsky.social
660 followers 770 following 250 posts
Associate Professor VCU Urban and Regional Studies & Planning, Co-founder and director, RVA Eviction Lab
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Reposted by Ben Teresa
hetanshah.bsky.social
This is so good from Cory Doctorow on all the tricks Amazon uses to get both consumers to pay more, and how businesses on the platform end up paying it 45-51 cents on every dollar.

Plus he rightly calls for regulatory change, not just individual consumer action
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish?
Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
andreapitzer.bsky.social
So many people were detained extrajudicially, were tortured, or died because of Dick Cheney. You can't get to the danger we're in now without everything he did. The weapons he helped forge are ones we need to take away from U.S. presidents forever.
November 4, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
grudgie.bsky.social
Republicans still being willing to carry on this charade for 15 fucking years is a direct indictment of the media
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d
Mike Johnson talks about the Republican "healthcare plan" like it's highly classified information: "We're not gonna be on a conference call explaining all our plans and strategies for healthcare reform, because they're leaked in real time."
November 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
tonydamiano.bsky.social
Published my first Op-Ed w/ Professor Ed Goetz on how the national narrative about Minneapolis misses how zoning and market rate housing are necessary but not sufficient to help lower-income renters 🧵 www.startribune.com/twin-cities-...
Opinion | We’re seeing haves and have-nots with Minneapolis rents
While the housing cost burden is easing overall, it’s not the case for lower-income renters, the authors write.
www.startribune.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
yonahfreemark.com
Since the LIHTC program was created in 1986, the number of LIHTC units has risen every year as the program has become the major generator of affordable housing in the US.

Because of affordability expiration, however, the number of LIHTC units is expected to begin falling over the next decade.
Expirations and early exits of LIHTC units: Implications for the affordable housing stock - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the nation’s largest source of financing for the development and preservation of affordable rental housing. The program provides tax credits to developers ...
www.chicagofed.org
October 31, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
yonahfreemark.com
The US federal government's spending on housing—directly through the budget, or through tax expenditures—amounts to more than $400 billion a year.

Only about 1/4 of that goes to low-income renters. The majority is spent on subsidizing higher-income homeowners.

www.urban.org/research/pub...
The Federal Government Commits Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Annually to Reducing Housing Costs through a Variety of Mechanisms
October 30, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
adamserwer.bsky.social
Diversity doesn’t weaken unions. Racist bosses like Vance using racism to divide workers by race so they can exploit them weakens unions. All this stuff is arsonists complaining about the temperature in the building they set on fire. bsky.app/profile/diew...
dieworkwear.bsky.social derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 12d
JD Vance claims that diversity weakens unions, as people end up distrusting each other and not organizing.

Let me tell you two menswear stories related to this claim. 🧵
October 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
katz.theracket.news
Jeremy W. Peters identifies the tell-tale sign of “leftist dogma” in @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social: pronouncing Haiti’s name correctly
What Zohran Mamdani Learned as an Africana Studies Major at Bowdoin The mayoral candidate has said his education was formative. But critics say that his degree exemplifies how colleges steep students in leftist dogma. Listen to this article • 12:37 min Learn more By Jeremy W. Peters Oct. 28, 2025 Updated 3:17 p.m. ET It wasn't so much what Zohran Mamdani said. It was how he said it. "We're going to stand up for Haiti, because you taught the world about freedom!" the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York exclaimed to an elated crowd at a Haitian music festival in June, fresh off his upset victory in the primary. Mr. Mamdani pronounced the island nation's name "AH-ee-tee" - near-perfect Creole elocution. "When I heard him say that, I smiled," recalled Brian Purnell, one of Mr. Mamdani's former professors at Bowdoin College. He also noted that Mr. Mamdani's reference to freedom was a nod to Haiti's status as the first republic founded by former slaves.
October 29, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
katz.theracket.news
That’s right folks, knowing basic facts about one of the formative events of Western history makes you a threat to the nation
"When I heard him say that, I smiled," recalled Brian Purnell, one of Mr. Mamdani's former professors at Bowdoin College. He also noted that Mr. Mamdani's reference to freedom was a nod to Haiti's status as the first republic founded by former slaves. "That's straight out of the lessons from the Haitian Revolution that we teach in Africana studies," said Dr. Purnell, who is now the chair of the Africana studies department at Mr. Mamdani's alma mater. "I will claim that," he added with a laugh. He would also become one of the most visible representations of a new generation of progressives - whose formative years as young adults were shaped by elite colleges where, over the last decade, theories of social and racial justice became even more deeply ingrained in liberal arts education.
October 29, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
jamellebouie.net
i hope that a governor spanberger and a democratic general assembly uses its authority to discipline the university for its capitulation and to remove these BOV members who have decided that they work for donald trump and not the people of the commonwealth
October 22, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
klasfeldreports.com
The day after the Chinatown raid, New York AG Tish James launches an online portal for the public to submit photos and videos of ICE activity.

"We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law," she writes.

Portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...
Attorney General James Launches Portal to Collect Photos and Videos of ICE Activity in New York NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James is encouraging New Yorkers to submit videos or other documentation of federal immigration enforcement actions in New York following yesterday’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on Canal Street in New York City. “Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” said Attorney General James. “If you witnessed and documented ICE activity yesterday, I urge you to share that footage with my office. We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law. No one should be subject to unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation.” Attorney General James is asking New Yorkers to share photos or videos of federal government actions using the Office of the Attorney General’s new online portal.
October 22, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
zingherpolisci.bsky.social
We're two weeks out from Virginia's election. Almost no state's electorate has realigned as much as Virginia's over the past decades. When Mark Warner won the 2001 Gov. election, he did so with a coalition that included the Western coal counties and Hampton Roads, but mostly lost NOVA. 1/x
October 22, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
tonydamiano.bsky.social
This is one of the worst papers I've read in a long time and should not be cited by serious scholars and journalists
A May 2022 paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests St. Paul’s rent control ordinance adversely affected existing properties and tenants, too. Researchers attributed most of the 6% to 7% decline in St. Paul home values following the Nov. 2021 vote to the ordinance. They also found that rent control benefited relatively high-income tenants at the expense of lower-income homeowners.
October 22, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
danimmergluck.bsky.social
New, by me, on why the City of Atlanta should not extend its TAD (TIF) districts and how it will hurt, not help, low-income Atlantans.

(Bracing for a new round of ad hominem attacks from Mayor Dickens or his staff/lobbyists, but I am traveling so may not see it.)

🧵1/N
Extending gentrifying Atlanta’s tax districts for 25 years makes little sense
Atlanta's Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) have run their course and we should find more novel ways to spur prosperity, build housing and assist low-income residents.
www.ajc.com
October 18, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
chanda.blacksky.app
GET RID OF YOUR RING CAMERAS www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Amazon’s Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police
Agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with "evidence collection and investigative work."
www.yahoo.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
tressiemcphd.bsky.social
In about three years the entire university pivot to AI curricula and schools and programs is going to be so deeply embarrassing. We will all pretend it never happened and I will be standing there, looking at people with a mirror in my eyes. This is all so embarrassing.
October 17, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
ericumansky.bsky.social
BREAKING from PP

We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*

The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:

Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer

More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado

www.propublica.org/article/immi...

by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
prisonculture.bsky.social
I thought this was lovely.
"A few years ago I received a DM from Zohran Kwame Mamdani. Only recently did I discover its existence. It was a very unusual DM—especially coming from a local assemblyman who would soon be running for higher office. He had very little name recognition at the time, and could have benefited from publicity. But unlike the thousands of messages I’ve received from people with something to promote, Zohran did not ask to be featured on Humans of New York. Instead he asked if he could introduce me to taxi drivers that were struggling beneath the burden of debt. Coming from a man with political ambitions, this self-denying request was so strange as to be almost singular. I don’t endorse politicians on Humans of New York. But I’ll endorse a good man. And it was a good man who cleared 30 minutes from his schedule yesterday to swing by Grand Central and visit Dear New York’s Vanderbilt Hall Exhibition. Nearly fifty-student artists were visiting that day with their families, and I thought a surprise visit from this widely-loved future mayor would be a special memory for all of them. Before Zohran’s arrival I was convinced I’d made a terrible mistake. The exhibit was filled to capacity with adult visitors. Dear New York is self-funded so there was very little staff and security for crowd control. In the crush of people I was almost certain this special day for the kids would devolve into thirty minutes of selfie requests. But everyone rose to the occasion." black text on white background "Hundreds of adults quickly cleared the room and stood outside the exhibit. Eleven very notable adult photographers are also featured in the show, but even they took a step back, so that these students could briefly have the stage to themselves. Each child stood by their work and Zohran was able to meet all of them, one at a time, and honor their contributions to the most-visited art show in New York City. Thanks to everyone who ceded the stage yesterday to make this moment possible. Thank you Zohran for literally sitting down on the floor so that these young artists could feel so tall. Thanks for continually centering other people in your life and work. And thank you, for being such an important part of Dear New York." A large group of children and adults pose together indoors in front of a sign reading "DEAR." A man in a suit sits cross-legged in front, surrounded by smiling kids. The background features an ornate architectural detail.
October 13, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Absolutely brutal.
Bari Weiss: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Promoting the editor-in-chief's personal side project. Zero named sources in a story that promotes the editor-in-chief's personal political position. Misspelling the subject's name. It took one day for CBS News to become a conservative blog.

www.cbsnews.com/video/some-n...
CBS News: Some NYPD officers worry about Mandani becoming NYC mayor the Free Press reports.
October 13, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
jamellebouie.net
apparently “bari weiss doesn’t actually know what journalism is” extends to getting basic facts like the name of a subject right
brandonfriedman.bsky.social Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 28d
Promoting the editor-in-chief's personal side project. Zero named sources in a story that promotes the editor-in-chief's personal political position. Misspelling the subject's name. It took one day for CBS News to become a conservative blog.

www.cbsnews.com/video/some-n...
CBS News: Some NYPD officers worry about Mandani becoming NYC mayor the Free Press reports.
October 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
danimmergluck.bsky.social
🧵1/3

I've argued against a 25-year extension of all the (already) 20+year-old tax increment financing districts (TADs) in Atlanta. Someone sent me an email from "Atlantans for Safety" arguing against my explanation for why extending the TADs is a bad idea. Their email & my responses are (next)...
October 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
This South Side Weekly report on the Chicago building raid is well worth reading. Most striking to me are the indications of collusion between federal authorities and the building owner and management to effect a mass eviction at the blighted property. southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...
October 8, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
chicago.suntimes.com
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.
trib.al
October 6, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Ben Teresa
jamellebouie.net
for any UVA folks that follow me you should circulate this among your networks balkin.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...
Balkinization: The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
balkin.blogspot.com
October 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM