Better Blocks advocates for better urban land use so JC and NJ can build more housing, businesses, parks, & transit to sustain our vibrant communities.
Hudson County, NJ
Joined May 2025
- Tweets1K
- Following371
- Followers727
- Likes6.8K
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
Welp, we're still having regular incidents of injured and dead whales at the Jersey Shore. But it seems that now that the wind turbines are canceled a lot fewer people give a shit.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
A lot of things are going wrong, but we now have a chad, transit-oriented ShopRite.
Inserra Supermarkets opens a new 85,000-square-foot ShopRite in Jersey City with modern amenities, replacing its Marin Boulevard location. bit.ly/4zwrKjV
ALT ShopRite to open new 85,000-square-foot Jersey City store
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
Dollar for dollar, a PILOT for 40 Newport Pkwy wouldve created/preserved 2x as many affordable units as a new-build PILOT, as we wrote for @BetterBlocksNJ at the time. Megan & others bravely spoke for it, but council didnt listen. Now the tenants are begging not to be displaced.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
In a letter to @GovSherrillNJ, NJ Transit President CEO/President Kris Kolluri, & @NewJerseyDOT Commissioner Priya Jain, @RepMenendez calls for the expansion and modernization of the @NJTRANSIT_HBLR.
He suggests:
🚆 More interconnections between Newark & Jersey City
🚆 Connections into Bergen County
🚆 Infill stations in Jersey City & the Union City/Hoboken border
🚆 Prioritizing the Hoboken Wye Bypass
Menendez pushes for expansion and modernization of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail hudsoncountyview.com/menende…
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
I am pro-safe but unsanctioned mobility behaviors. Firetrucks blocking the bike lane so you're biking on the sidewalk? No problem. Idaho stop? Great.
Biking wrong-way and pushing right-way cyclists into the car lane? Insanely anti-social and wrong.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
This is great news! This was always arbitrary and heavy handed, not to mention a loss of important property rights, with no compensation. If you believe it’s historic , designate it! It’s that simple.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
This was the McGinley Square Community Board in 2023 on 128 Glenwood. It's pretty clear what their motivation is for the city buying the lot, and any other justification is besides the point.
Us aficionados of ridiculous NIMBY posters will appreciate this one... nj.com/opinion/2023/06/a-que…
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
The Fair Share Housing Center is not an affordable housing organization— they are an anti exclusionary zoning organization. Forcing IZ into every development without subsidies will drive up market rate rents as it is the market rate rents that subsidize the IZ. The math is simple— completely devalue 20% of a deal and you have to pay for the whole thing with 80%. Every deal is different, and if Hoboken is serious about IZ it should review deals on a deal by deal basis— a one size fits all approach is in my opinion counterproductive and will lead to a reduction in supply and a worsening affordability problem.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
On one hand, this is a shocking declaration of economic illiteracy.
On the other hand, it’s refreshingly honest. Councilman Russo is far from the only HudCo politician who doesn’t really care whether their proposed “solutions” work in the real world! Why bother w/ a sham study?
The Hoboken City Council voted 8-1 to approve a $30k contract to study a potential 20% affordable housing mandate.
@MichaelRussoNJ voted no because he wants the 20% regardless of what the study says.
" ... The result doesn’t matter to me, so ’ll be voting no on this tonight.”
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
Classic example of how "human scale" is not about height, it's about lot width & horizontality. It's about how many storefronts you can pass while walking 100 steps
There'd be tradeoffs to *mandating* skinny buildings, but these tall skinny lads really exemplify the dynamic
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
Hudson County residents need to support the @HudCoStreets Better Light Rail campaign to improve @NJTRANSIT HBLR service.
30 minute weekend headways, service bunching, and broken promises on network expansion are unacceptable in the state’s most transit-oriented county.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
Essentially, developers rushed to beat the clock before the inclusionary zoning took effect. The new 100% market-rate buildings swamped the market and lowered rents. And the inclusionqry zoning is now suppressing supply.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
JC's mayor is moving ahead with implementing universal inclusionary zoning in JC. This resolution mentions "financial incentives" but it's misdirection—JC doesnt have legal authority to implement guaranteed financial incentives. All PILOTs must be voted on by the council.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
I support the Better Light Rail campaign of course, but I really want an explainer of wtf happened with the parking tax, it was supposed to pay for an infill station.
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
20 minutes for a train/light rail on the weekend discourages lots of activity that people would otherwise partake in. We don't need rush hour service on the weekend but say 10 minutes between trains would be ideal.
It turns out running direct, frequent weekend service on @PATHTrain has led to a spike in ridership on Saturdays and Sundays.
We should run more trains. Looking at you, @NJTRANSIT HBLR…
Better Blocks New Jersey retweeted
wow: it turns out that more housing will be built if the government simply… stops making it illegal to build housing
it’s remarkable that this extremely obvious idea was ever controversial
