Kate Slevin
- Senior Vice President, State Programs and Advocacy, Regional Plan Association
New York
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Articles by Kate Slevin
Op-Ed | Congestion pricing ‘pause’ wreaked havoc on the last MTA Capital Plan and threatens the newest
The weather may be cooling, but the pressure to properly fund the MTA, reduce costly congestion, and improve air quality and emissions is still heating up. At the top of the list of policy pressure points this summer is the Central Business District Tolling Program, more commonly known as congestion pricing.
Housing in New York is increasingly unaffordable. Hochul, Legislature must act now
3-minute read Show Caption Hide Caption Governor Hochul speaks at groundbreaking for new Yonkers housing Governor Hochul and other officials attended a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony for a new apartment building in downtown Yonkers. Sky high rents. Scant options for first-time home buyers. Record homelessness rates. These problems share a common root: a lack of housing supply. New Yorkers need more safe and affordable homes to prevent displacement, bolster our economy and help communities thrive.
Housing in New York is increasingly unaffordable. Hochul, Legislature must act now Original
3-minute read Kate Slevin, Laura Harding and Tim Foley Special to the USA TODAY Network Sky high rents. Scant options for first-time home buyers. Record homelessness rates. These problems share a common root: a lack of housing supply. New Yorkers need more safe and affordable homes to prevent displacement, bolster our economy and help communities thrive. Albany tried but ultimately failed to reach consensus to address housing and land use reforms last session.
Groups say Hochul's plan for housing would help address high costs and a lack of units
Kate Slevin with the newly formed New York Neighbors coalition said it’s a “bold” plan that would help address the high cost of housing and the low number of available homes in New York.Local governments, including the New York State Conference of Mayors, oppose the state making changes to local zoning rules.In a statement, Executive Director Peter Baynes said the governor “mistakenly lays New York's housing shortage problem at the feet of local officials.“There needs to be a state leadership...
Op-Ed | It’s time for the City Council to make the Open Restaurant program permanent
New York City has experienced a revolution in outdoor dining. The Open Restaurants program brought joy and community to isolated New Yorkers, kept businesses afloat during the economic downturn, and has reimagined social life for diners across the five boroughs. But nit-picking, squabbling, and fear of change could cause us to lose this program forever. We can’t go backward; now is the time to amend and pass Int. 31 to create a permanent Open Restaurant program. Yes, the program needs improvement.
New York housing policy must mesh with transit
A brand new train connection to the East Side of Manhattan will finally open this month. Gov. Hochul can ensure more New Yorkers benefit from this largest MTA capital project yet with a stronger approach to housing policy. East Side Access will connect 11 LIRR lines and save as many as 160,000 passengers up to 40 minutes of commuting time, providing a long promised new connection for Long Islanders to Manhattan’s East Side.
Health and Transportation Benefits from Congestion Pricing Could Be Truly Transformative
Manhattan traffic (photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA) Traffic pollutes, and air pollution results in poorer health. This means higher rates of asthma, lower birth weights, and a greater risk of maternal health problems. As health and transportation policy experts, we see that congestion pricing in New York City will be a win for our region – not only for transportation flow, but also for air quality and public health.
Congestion pricing, more than ever
All eyes have been on New York throughout the COVID crisis, as one of the earliest, hardest-hit cities, and one that quickly mobilized against the virus. Now, as urban areas around the world work to bounce back, all eyes are on us for a different reason: how we dig ourselves out of an economic hole. And good news may be on the horizon.
Why the feds need to bail out the MTA
By Chris Jones and Kate Slevin May 1, 2020 | 8:05pm The New York City region’s transit system is facing its worst crisis since the 1970s. As the recovery begins, reliable and safe public transit must be front and center. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, ridership has plunged by 93 percent on the subways and even more on the LIRR and Metro-North. For the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, this will result in an estimated $8.5 billion shortfall in 2020 — about half its annual operating budget.
Mayor Bill de Blasio should listen to the Regional Plan Association and reduce the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
Transportation advocates have reason to greet the recent recommendations from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s expert BQE panel with praise and enthusiasm. Yet, although it is encouraging to see the city moving forward with some of these ideas—like immediately beginning repairs and restricting heavy-truck traffic—we remain cautiously optimistic that the mayor will trust the counsel of his own experts on the implementation of larger structural changes.
RPA to Port Authority: Consider a Comprehensive Plan for Crossing the Hudson
Today at their monthly board meeting, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported that the option to rebuild the 42nd Street bus terminal in place is viable from a construction standpoint and will be evaluated under the environmental review process. As PANYNJ moves forward with its plans for a new bus terminal at the current location, RPA calls on the authority to consider a comprehensive plan for crossing the Hudson River.
WEEKEND READ: Every Last Detail About Congestion Pricing … Explained!
Authors Alex Matthiessen and Kate Slevin New York made history this week. Governor Cuomo and the state Legislature included the nation’s first ever congestion pricing program in New York State’s FY2020 budget on April 1. The budget authorizes the MTA, in cooperation with the city, to establish a congestion pricing tolling system around Manhattan’s Central Business District.
CityViews: In 2019, Congestion Pricing Needs to be a Cornerstone of A Fairer City
Adi Talwar Our city has become less fair because the most affordable means of getting around, subways and buses, has deteriorated. I have a friend from London who lives in New York. After a recent visit home she told me how impressed she was with the transit system. “They have new stations!” she said, “And the trains arrive so frequently! It has come so far from what I remember.
There’s still more work to do on NYC’s transit and traffic problems
After months of political hinting that the time for “congestion pricing” had come, the 2019 New York State budget has passed with mixed results. Reading between the numbers, state legislators authorized some parts of the FixNYC report recommendations and paved the way for future implementation, but stopped short of authorizing the full comprehensive congestion pricing package.
Make Union Square's subways accessible for all
In April 2019 the L train tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan will be shut down for 15 months to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy. The closure is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize some of the most heavily used subway stations and bring them into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, the 1990 federal law that prohibits discrimination based on physical disability. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority must not ignore this chance to improve accessibility.
The Bronx Deserves Better Than the Current Plan for the Sheridan Expressway - RPA Lab
Earlier this year, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Transportation announced plans to “transform” the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx. At first, advocates cheered, and it seemed like two decades of work to reduce highway blight and increase waterfront access was paying off. But a few months later, it’s clear the project does not go far enough to improve environmental justice in Hunts Point.
Here's What To Do If Your Train Is Delayed - RPA Lab
Our transportation system is facing a crisis and everyone is sharing in the pain. But what are commuters supposed to do when their subway is a mess? This is a question I asked some of the brightest transit advocacy minds last week. They might be advocates, but they are also daily commuters, dealing with repercussions of delayed trains, missed meetings, and late day care pick-ups.
How Governor Cuomo Can Fix the Subways - RPA Lab
With commuters fuming from increasingly delayed and overcrowded trains, the MTA announced a $20 million plan for short-term actions to fix the subways last week. The actions are welcome and a good first step, but fixing the underlying system in a comprehensive way is going to take much more money and attention from the very top. Governor Cuomo, who controls the MTA, must lead the charge.
Subway shutdown is chance to try new transportation strategies | Crain's New York Business
New York has always been congested, but lately, worsening transit delays and gridlock on streets have left New Yorkers fed up. Transportation has gotten so unreliable that when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently installed Wi-Fi in subway stations, instead of being excited, riders took the opportunity to complain about the trains. “Great, now I can email my boss to tell him I’ll be 30 minutes late,” one rider tweeted.
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