“Leaning benches may technically meet ADA requirements, but they aren’t usable for many people — including disabled people, older adults, pregnant people, children, and those recovering from injury,” DiPetrillo said. “In trying to prevent unhoused people from sleeping or lingering, we’ve created a new barrier for those who may need a place to rest the most.” said DiPetrillo
Topic
In the News
Gov. Murphy Signs New Pedestrian/Cyclist Safety Bill in Maplewood
“This bill marks a crucial step in advancing awareness of New Jersey’s Safe Passing Law and, in particular, ensuring drivers fully understand their responsibility to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users when they’re behind the wheel,” said Leigh Ann Von Hagen, AICP,PP, Executive Director, Voorhees Transportation Center.
Herb Op-Ed: Government funding for resilient infrastructure, warning systems is vital
“At a time when our country grieves for the loss of life in Texas, this tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of proactive disaster preparedness.”
Stamato Commentary: Remembering Bill Moyers, an uncommon man guided by Common Sense
Moyers, who died last month at age 91, was a PBS icon, author, adviser to President Lyndon Johnson, deputy director of the Peace Corps, newspaper publisher, and an ordained minister who firmly believed in the separation of church and state.
Op-Ed by Justin Auciello (MCRP ’05): Why New Jersey must treat information as infrastructure
Let’s embed civic signal into our plans, our budgets and our collective sense of readiness. The next storm, outage or institutional failure isn’t a question of if, it’s when. And when it happens, civic signal is the thread that holds us together. Let’s plan like we know that.
The Housing Market Was Built for a Baby Boom. What Happens in a Baby Bust?
“Housing, I think, in terms of facing contraction, is still pretty far off,” says Hughes. But while demand might hold, it will likely be for a different kind of housing entirely.
More than 100k people lost power during NYC’s heatwave last week. Experts say get used to it.
“Many of those [transmission lines] are maxed out, especially due to electric vehicles and also due to the increased presence of air conditioning and heat pumps,” Andrews said. “Many of them are a century old and not only outdated, but woefully under capacity.”
JPMorgan Chase plans fourth round of NJ layoffs in 2025
James Hughes, an economist at Rutgers University, previously told NorthJersey.com that white-collar jobs in banking and finance have become saturated after a two-year hiring spree that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
GOP Candidate Nick Cuozzo (MPP’14) wins Primary for Somerset County Commissioner
“I am looking forward to building on the momentum and great enthusiasm our campaign generated this past year,” Cuozzo said. “I will continue to make the case for a more affordable Somerset County, to fight overdevelopment that harms our communities and our environment, and to prioritize public safety and security for all residents.”
How much can I deduct for my local taxes? Congress just decided
“What Trump and Congress did at that point was dramatically increase the standard deduction but decrease the amount you could deduct for state and local taxes,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a senior policy fellow at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, who studies local government in New Jersey.