Central NJ Yimby 🇺🇸🚲🏙
@YIMBY_Princeton
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Yes In My Backyard. Urbanism. Place. Transit. Bikes. Jersey. Increasingly gone where the sky is blue (princetonyimby)...
Princeton, NJ
Joined October 2016
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Somebody mentioned to me yesterday that they hadn't seen me very much on here recently? And while I would like to say that's because I only focus on productive work these days, the truth is I'm posting just as much, just on the 🟦 site...
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Rutgers just announced that facemasks will be required for all indoor teaching spaces and libraries for Fall 2022 semester.
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@AustinKellerman
who among us hasn't made a spur-of-the-moment bad choice and ended up hanging from the balcony of the US Senate chamber dressed in full tactical gear
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My thing today is Vincennes, France - a community of about 50,000 people in the suburbs of Paris. It has the 9th-highest population density of any city in the world, higher than Calcutta, but it is a charming area and doesn't even have any skyscrapers. How do they do it?? 1/_
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Two North Jersey state assembly reps have sent a letter to the MTA asking that NYC congestion pricing funds should be used to construct a 7 subway line extension across the Hudson to the NJ Transit station in Secaucus.
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I was just re-reading the town of Princeton's new leafblower ordinance, and I think it may have been written so broadly as to *actually ban cars* after 8 pm and on Sunday mornings... (1/3)
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In the “Captain Underpants” cartoon that my kindergartner is watching, the villains are literally planning to use *zoning laws* to get rid of the heroes…
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US 'climate mayors' ought to check this out: Edinburgh is planning to go carbon-zero by *2030*. To make it happen, they are banning personal cars from key downtown areas and greatly expanding transit. Is your city doing this?
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I actually know the answer to this, because we were hoping to get them on Witherspoon St in Princeton. We can't do it. Our engineers have said that it is basically impossible. Another basic technology that is beyond the USA.
Does someone know why North America basically never utilizes retractable bollards? They are so useful in creating flexible car-free spaces!
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Jersey City to pay $175K to woman who was beaten up and thrown in jail by a cop who wanted her parking space. The cop has subsequently been promoted to lieutenant.
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My wife was at a parent gathering this morning, and apparently people were discussing about how a house down the block had been knocked down and TWO houses were being built in its place! My wife apparently said, "That's terrible! It should have been at least four houses!"
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Fun fact: The population density of Hoboken, NJ is 3x higher than that of Tokyo.
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A NIMB slid into my DMs to point out to me that the townhouses that I was YIMBYing "would probably cost $600K each or more". Here's the prices of homes in the surrounding area:
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Every time a downtown business closes because of a claimed "lack of parking", I wait to see if it reopens in one of New Jersey's abundant strip malls, all of which have free parking. Strangely, it seldom seems to happen!!!
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To exempt cars, the ordinance would have to say "internal combustion engines used for landscaping purposes". But I don't think it does! So the town may have just made internal-combustion engine cars unlawful to operate at many times of the day / week! (3/3)
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The cancelation of offhore wind farms in New Jersey is an absolute tragedy. Genuinely gutted about this news.
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Awh come on. You're not even going to be able to see these windmills, they're going to be 10 miles offshore. And they will supply us with clean electricity to keep the lights on.
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Specifically, the ordinance doesn't just cover leafblowers, but "Other noise-creating gas-powered equipment, blowers, power fans or internal combustion engines, including chain saws, snow blowers and portable generators." i.e. *all* internal combustion engines are included! (2/3)
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@ianbremmer
I hear what you're saying but I'm struggling to remember any Trump supporters reaching out to us after 2016. All I can remember them saying was "Deal with it" and "Cry, lib".
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Is it true that Thanksgiving Eve is when college kids go home and get really drunk and try to hook up with people from high school the they never got it together with? (asking for an immigrant...)
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He is determined to ride a bicycle. 21 months old.
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@always_margot
@Miller_Congress
Imagine thinking that it makes your point more salient by observing that Hitler thought the same thing...
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Acela speeds between New Brunswick NJ and Trenton have been increased to 150 mph, thanks to the the New Jersey High-Speed Rail Improvement Program. This matches the fastest passenger rali speeds anywhere in North America. 🚄
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Newark NJ mayor Ras Baraka is planning a 70% increase in the annual rate of housing production, and conveyance of all unneeded city-owned property for development, with a goal of dramatically increasing the city's stock of affordable housing.
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An actual problem that we have in Princeton right now: a lot of people think that there is no point allowing homes to be built that might cost $800K, because "only rich people could buy them". So we stick with the current situation, where new homes sell for $1.5m+ instead. 🙄
A lot of people will see this and respond "whatever, the people who can afford $800k are rich too." But apartments were also banned here when the house cost $500k and apartments could've been built for $250k each. The problem just gets worse the longer we let it fester.
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Young couple expecting a baby can’t find a place to live in Jersey even with a budget of $600k, say housing market is “like fighting over crumbs”. Jersey needs more housing urgently.
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Many of the streets in Vincennes are amazingly narrow, like this one. Somehow, these businesses survive despite having no on-street parking right outside. And somehow the fire department is still able to operate without having enormous traffic lanes and turn radii. 4/_
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Kathy Hochul is a weak governor who has now folded on housing reforms and offshore wind power. Note that New Jersey governor Phil Murphy is marching ahead with offshore wind power despite voluminous local opposition (possibly / probably funded by national rightwing goons).
BREAKING: Veto is in now.
Hochul cites local opposition. Says wind companies need to build positive relations with host communities.
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It's truly depressing that these whacko degrowth ideologies are now apparently mainstream enough in social sciences that they get a whole editorial in 'Nature' magazine of all places. Apparently the Unabomber won.
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Take: YIMBYs should probably spend more time on Nextdoor instead of Twitter.
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Many of the streets in Vincennes are lined with these modestly-tall townhouse-style buildings, similar to those seen in many traditional parts of Paris, which are built right to the street line. This kind of 'gentle' density can provide a lot of homes. 2/_
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This jackass couldn’t even fit his F-250 in the space. Guess what he was using it for? Yeah. Picking his daughter up from ballet class.
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@JFrankensteiner
The idea that landlords were more moral in 1964 is for the birds. NYC was cheap in those days because anybody with any means was moving to the suburbs, where a massive post-war boom in housing construction was happening, encouraged and subsidized by the federal government.
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Vincennes seems like proof that you can have a delightful place even with very high population density. Great place to waste some time on Google Streetview, and I think I'm going to try to visit in real life when I'm in Paris later this year!! (8/8)
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@mattyglesias
We spent the entire summer teaching cops they could do whatever they want with impunity, not all that surprising that they don't even realize they've committed a crime.
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A straightforward win. Car drivers do not have to pay for gas with a bespoke card that can only be used in one gas station, and transit riders should likewise be able to pay to ride with whatever card is in their pocket or phone.
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@SEPTA
demonstrates new ways to pay for transit rides: By RFID credit card, smartphone wallet or Apple Watch. The story today on
@KYWNewsradio
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I see we're doing 'traditional Paris density' discourse again, so a reminder that 'traditional Paris density', for better or worse, means lots and lots of residential towers in the more suburban parts of the Paris metro.
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A traffic cop in NYC is suing the city, saying he was reassigned after giving tickets to family members of other cops who displayed "courtesy cards" to get special treatment from police...
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"New York lawmakers want to slap Jersey drivers with a $50 “non-cooperation fee” when they drive into New York City". "O’Scanlon said New Jersey lawmakers could retaliate by proposing a $100 fee for New Yorkers to enter New Jersey." hoo boy...
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News: Rutgers University has re-instated its mandatory mask requirement in University libraries following an intervention from three faculty unions. Masks would have otherwise been optional from today, according to a previous University announcement from last Monday.
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Reminder that no subway lines have been built in New Jersey for over 85 years, and no new subway lines connecting to New York City for over 110 years.
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Also, if you look from the air, you can see that whereas the buildings in Vincennes are built right to the street line with zero setback at the front, they almost all have yards with trees at the back.... 7/_
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One of my worst buys and a possible contender for
@internetofshit
. The “Bitlock” bike lock. You can open it with your smartphone! Except you can’t! Because the developer stopped supporting the app years ago and now it can never be opened! 🚮
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Red Bank, NJ borough council votes to bring back the pedestrian plaza on Broad Street that was first established in 2020 to facilitate outdoor eating and bring business to restaurants 👍
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Electricity charges on our latest bill are $4.95.
Equivalent period for last year: $185.
Rooftop solar panels. Big inflation buster.
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News: Rutgers University dropping mandatory facemasks from Oct 1.
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We actually put this theory to the test with the recently-approved 'Graduate Hotel' in Princeton. It involves a 3.5-over-1 addition, fully clad in brick with traditional design. And the local NIMBYs absolutely *howled* about it. They're still complaining now!!!
Pretty sure most people's issues with 5-over-1's would go away if they had a brick façade and a cornice
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Would-be developer of 3,079-unit 'Westview' in Jersey City is suing the planning board for denying the application. Big one.
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The USA can do amazing things, and so can European countries. We have very good aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines and intercontinental nuclear missiles, and European countries have functional, pretty downtowns.
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@andrewchen
@reddit
Wow, marijuana use literally doubled in the 5 years after Cypress Hill dropped their first album...
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It turns out that Teslas ship *without front license plate holders*! lol! It's mandatory to have a front license plate in 31 states, but Tesla doesn't fit a front license plate holder to the cars as standard! An almost impressive disregard for standard motor vehicle law!
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NJ Governor Phil Murphy "open-minded" about bill advancing through statehouse to require adult bike-riders to wear helmets. Such laws are well known to reduce cycling. It's a very bad idea.
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Parents can get a tax exemption on up to $5,000 of daycare costss. I just submitted my claim for 2021, I hope to get that tax exemption on $5,000. The amount we actually spent on daycare? $30,067.55.
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Was walking around my neighborhood tonight with some friends and my 5-yo daughter met a girl her own age who she quickly declared was “her best friend ever”. I met the kid’s dad and I asked him where they lived. He said “Avalon Bay”. i.e. the development I YIMBYed hard in 2013!!
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@UChadayammuri
Getting citizenship, after living in the USA for 14 years, was such a relief, because I don't have to be afraid any more ever time I re-enter the country.
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After I-95 burned down, I am struck by the fact that the worst traffic in Philly tonight is on...76.
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Surface parking lots are almost entirely absent in Vincennes. There is some parking, of course, but it's tucked away underground. 5/_
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NJ Transit is racing to complete a new Bus Rapid Transit system to connect Secaucus Juntion rail station to MetLife Stadium. The goal is to have it open before the Soccer World Cup in 2026, and be able to move 12,000 people / hour. But is it any good?
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I recently got an E-ZPass for my car, which lets me pay tolls in many many different states with just one account. And I really want an E-Zpass for:
1. transit
2. media paywalls.
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New Jersey Senate Democrats have advanced a bill to require registration and insurance for all e-bike and e-scooter users. It's hard to explain how stupid this is. Even the people who passed it out of committee said it was a bad bill.
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@davidjmadden
I never understand why people spend so much 😤 finger-wagging about these supertalls when the real problem is a lack of housing for other people. If anything, we probably need more supertalls, or at least medium-talls. And no, the two things are not related. We can have both!!
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Possibile unpopular opinion: Almost all the housing stock in the NE USA should be replaced, because it is old and usually built to a pretty poor standard.
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New York has been relying on New Jersey to house its residents and workforce for years / decades. It's great that Jersey City is building so much new housing but NY is greatly taking advantage of Jersey.
Many New Yorkers will probably find homes in these 8,000 new units of housing… in New Jersey.
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As is the case in Paris, however, there are also taller, even-denser residences in Vincennes, as seen here. They are interspersed around the town and the narrow streets often mask their scale. 3/_
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After his son was struck by a SUV in a crosswalk, a guy in DC set up a camera outside his home to record the behavior of drivers. He found that drivers ignore stop signs or enter crosswalks where pedestrians are present about once a minute. Lawlessness.
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Mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Westfield NJ that was vociferously opposed by local NIMBYs advances...love to see it!
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Our electricity bill is up 44% since I got my electric car.
That means my car is now using more than 1/3 of the electricity that we use in our house.
My EV is costing us ~$55 / month in electricity.
That compares to ~$112 / month in gas for my old car.
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If NYC had made this pitch to New Jersey "congestion pricing in return for a 7 subway connections across the Hudson", I reckon the congestion charge would have been way less controversial. As things stand, it just seems like a cash grab.
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After 2 weeks, it looks like my family's tussle with COVID is over! It came home from daycare. We all got it. We all got better. Including the kid with severe asthma, and my immunocompromised 2-year-old son! 🥳🎉🍾
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Something I noticed at the weekend is that loads of Tesla drivers in New Jersey are driving around without front license plates. That's supposed to be unlawful under Title 39. So why are so many Tesla drivers doing it? The reason amazed me...
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Apparently it has to be said again, but the congestion charge in London increased the frequency and speed of the bus services that low-income people depend on.
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My 7-yo daughter says she doesn't want a summer job as a 'lifeguard'. She says she wants to be a mechanic instead. "Or a plumber!"
Where is the after-school programming for kids with these interests? 😂🤔
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@parismarx
Elon Musk being depressed because somebody stole his bicycle is the single most relatable fact about the guy that I have ever heard.
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NJ Assembly speaker Craig Couglin wants to subsidize seniors to live in big houses, while working families get to pay more and can't even find a place to live. Get stuffed Craig.
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A new rail line between New York City - Scranton PA could move almost a half a million riders annually by 2030, at a start-up cost of $169 million - $266 million according to a study published March 23. 80% of funds would probably come from feds.
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I'm not wildly excited about billionaire space tourism but I kinda respect that Richard Branson rode a bicycle to the launch site before flying into space...
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"The Newark NJ will get a whole lot taller, now that the Central Planning Board has approved a massive redevelopment plan for construction of 11 high-rise towers and 4,200 apartments"
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The commenters variously call it a "Soviet-style housing block", a "tenement", "a prison", and "designed by a millennial who grew up playing Minecraft and thought s/he had the gift of design" 😂😂🥃This is the design:
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When people say weather makes biking for transporation impractical, remember that *Montreal* is probably the biggest biking city in North America.
When people say that weather makes biking for transportation impractical, they're telling you that they use their car as a 2 ton, internal combustion raincoat or parka.
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Another reason why Vincennes has high population density is because it has almost no parks. (of course, there is an enormous park attached to the famous nearby chateau). Despite having few parks, Vincennes has many trees, including street trees on many roads... 6/_
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Crossing a crosswalk on campus today. Instead of running me over and killing me, a driver slowed to let me cross.
Afterwards, she winds down the window and vocally shouts "YOU'RE WELCOME!!" at me.
Advice: do not do this.
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See also: undergrounding utility wires. We have been advised by the electrical utility, PSE&G, that it would cost tens of millions of dollars to underground utility wires over a couple of blocks. That's why so many of our wires downtown are strung up like in a trailer park!
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@wanyeburkett
"Work-from-home" is very popular among Princeton's professional class, and I am well aware that many people are basically working part-time when they are at home, in-between picking up their kids from school and hanging out with them, or even just being on vacation in Cancun.
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Jersey City aims to junk car-oriented 'Newport Centre' mall, replace it with traditional street grid and mixed-use development.
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A brand-new Honda Civic has an MRSP of $21,900 and is good enough for 90% of people. I don't know who is buying all these $30K used cars, but they're clearly much fancier than I am. I wouldn't even spend that on a bicycle.
This is a problem for a huge part of the country.
"average price of used vehicle in the US in November was $29,011—39% more than 12 mos earlier. More than half of households have less income than is necessary to buy average-priced used vehicle."
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Great comment from NJ Gov Phil Murrphy about housing at his budget speech today:
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I suspect that this local resident was not expecting this response to her poll about new housing in Princeton North...
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It is actually really weird given mondern liability laws that governments are not held liable for deaths on roads. Imagine how quickly traffic safety practices would change if every crash resulted in a million-dollar payout to the victim's family from whoever operated the road?
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Incredible: In Winfield, NJ, *all* the houses are owned by the town. Rent is incredibly cheap: five-and-a-half room homes go for as little as $726 a month. You can't buy a house in the community, you have to join a waiting list to become a resident...
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This large surface parking lot at Princeton Shopping Center is now fenced off, about to become a large block of apartments…
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This is a bummer for Hudson County residents who no doubt would benefit from a light rail extension, but if you get an approval in 2007, and haven't advanced planning to fundable status by 2023, I don't think you can blame the feds.
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"Fulop called modernizing New Jersey’s public transit system “one of our state’s greatest needs.”"
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45 units, 20% affordable, being built on a surface parking lot. Who could object to this beauty? 🥰
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What do we think? 3 townhouses, replaces 1 SFH. 100% electric. Walkscore of 73% = "Very Walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot."
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