John Surico

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | John Surico

Cars, trucks and bikes mingle on Madison Avenue in New York City in 2025. (Bloomberg) -- Getting around New York City is safer than it’s been in years, city officials often say. So why doesn’t it feel that way? Over the last decade, a host of policy changes and infrastructure improvements — from lower speed limits and red-light cameras to bike lanes and intersection upgrades — have calmed roadways long famous for being uniquely perilous to navigate, especially on foot.

2 months ago | nyc.streetsblog.org | John Surico

"The city is selling its streets," blared an early April article in The New York Post. The sell-out, as the paperpitched it, was a "shocking rule change" from the city’s "anti-car" Department of Transportation, which could formally allow restaurants to set up seating on Open Streets and in public plazas. "I don’t recall reading that in the Communist Manifesto," quipped Council Member Joann Ariola, when she heard of the news.

2 months ago | streetbeat.substack.com | Thomas Frank |John Surico

And welcome to this newsletter. It's where I (John Surico) talk each month about cities & their discontents: streets, climate, cultures, people, food, form, etc. This month, we cover:- The race to be New York City’s next mayor;- Funding five years after the pandemic;- How mutual aid can save lives;& much, much more. Later this year, New Yorkers—or, at least, some fractionof them—will choose their next mayor. And, to put it bluntly, the race is a shitshow.

Feb 18, 2025 | curbed.com | John Surico

St. James Towers, a Mitchell-Lama complex in Bed-Stuy. Late last year, a clip of Timothée Chalamet uttering the words “Mitchell-Lama” on Theo Von’s podcast went viral, and housing advocates everywhere had a minor meltdown. Von had asked the actor about his childhood in New York City, and Chalamet gave a shout-out to Manhattan Plaza: a Hell’s Kitchen apartment complex for professional artists where other celebrities, like Alicia Keys and Larry David, also grew up.

Feb 6, 2025 | news.bloombergtax.com | John Surico

The first few weeks of 2025 have been busy for Rob Reiter, a security consultant who specializes in protecting people from hostile vehicle attacks. It’s a brand of urban mayhem that ranges from storefront crashes to acts of terror like the one that occurred in New Orleans early on New Year’s Day, where a man plowed a rented pickup truck through crowds of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring at least 35.