What I'm Working On #3

Current classes // Essays in progress (a procurement contest??) // Projects & events // The standard offer to DM me

Mar 20, 2024

It’s been four months since “What I’m Working on #2.” As usual, a lot has changed. Maximum New York continues to grow, classes continue, and more MNY projects are coming online. I also hit the 100-post mark two weeks ago, and was on the Futurati Podcast discussing government.

Current classes:

[OPEN APPLICATIONS] Applications for Cohort 9 of The Foundations of New York City (and State) are open through this Friday, March 22.
Cohort 8 of The Foundations of New York is preparing for their upcoming final exam.
Open offer: if any serious group of 10+ would like a government class, I will put one together. If you have a group that isn’t in NYC, we can do something over Zoom. It could be very structured with more involved curriculum (like a section of The Foundations of New York), or it could be a simpler discussion group. In either case, the focus will be on helping people take action—it will not be abstract and unconnected from the world.

Essays in progress

I’ve been working on these essays and more. If any one is of particular interest to you, let me know.

City Council Data Project follow-on posts analyzing the data
A history of 1989, when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the voting structure of NYC’s central governing body, the Board of Estimate. The result: the Board of Estimate fell, and we got our modern city government.
A review of the 174 local laws enacted in 2023. I look at what bodies of law they change, their policy area, whether they require reports, which administrative agencies they involve, how much they cite/rely on law from other states and levels of government, and comment on their significance from my point of view.
What is lobbying in New York City and State? What is the lobbying law? What do lobbyists do, and who are they?
Procurement in NYC: what is it, and how does it work? I will issue a procurement challenge—see if you can get a contract once you know how it works!
Housing for Culture: an essay that discusses how blocking new housing supply kills NYC’s ability to generate novel culture, one of its great competitive advantages. Of course, the essay discusses solutions. We will fix our cultural engine!
The Berenson Doctrine: Can New York State’s High Court invalidate restrictive zoning? I analyze case law from New York State to see whether there is a case to be made (literally) to end restrictive zoning as we know it. If you’re a lawyer, a developer, or a generally interested party, I’ll want to hear your opinions!
An interview series with people who’ve done big things in New York City politics, and how they did them. Inspired by
Santi Ruiz
and Statecraft (this is a longer term project).
Political turbulence: pilots are not scared of turbulence, passengers are. Governmental mechanics are not often scared of politics, casual observers are.

Projects & events:

Twitter Spaces politics show: I’m working on a Twitter Spaces NYC politics show, and looking for a regular co-host(s). Once a week, same time. We'll talk about cool developments, new city laws, and much more. It will be good vibes, and I want it to work either as: (1) something you can have on in the background that isn't stressful, that makes you feel like you're listening to friends, and/or (2) something that makes you more optimistic and agentic about NYC/America.
The Maximum New York library—what are the best books, papers, blogs, podcasts, Twitter accounts, etc, to learn about city government? I’m working on organizing these into a large index. If resources aren’t available electronically, I’ll scan them if I can. If someone wants to make a beautiful library website to host these links, I would be interested in talking to that person.
Civic hackathon: I was initially planning to host a civic hackathon at the end of March, but I’m pushing it to late spring/early summer. Stay tuned! In the meantime, you can read my post on civic hacking, and my list of civic hacking projects.
Fundraising: if you’ve financially supported Maximum New York, you’ll start receiving regular updates about what I’m doing (beyond what’s written here).
Train the instructors, the Maximum New York Master’s Exam: I continue to work on this credential. In addition to the version I’m offering in New York City, I have begun to build the curriculum for others around the country. I assume zero starting knowledge. If you want to build a civics school and jumpstart a new pool of progress-oriented political capital in your city, I’ll have a protocol for you!
The Maximum New York road show: related to the point above, I am planning a trip around the U.S. to meet with anyone interested in the MNY model of political change (train people deliberately and rigorously, network them). I don’t have dates set yet, but this would be during the summer at the earliest. If you want to put together an event in your city, drop me a note.