Congratulations, lovers of ornamental cabbages. This is your season…

Happy 249th anniversary of the Battle of Trenton for all who are celebrating. Turning point in the War of Independence!

Mockingbird hanging out in my yard eating my holly berries

New blog: Conversion of the 2nd floor of this office building into 4 apartments was the only residential project approved by the Princeton Planning Board in 2025. A number of other residential projects have not been completed, despite strong demand for housing. walkableprinceton.com/2025/12/26/p...

Boomers be running around turning off every light that no one is standing directly under in their 3,000 square foot detached house for two people

I am unblocking everyone.

Just scheduled a new blot post for tomorrow morning about housing approvals in Princeton. TLDR: We hardly approved any housing at all in 2025, and several projects that were already approved have not been built. One even had its planning approval rescinded.

My wife seems quite skeptical about my gift of a Misen frying pan, and my statement that "a lot of people who I don't really know from the internet say it is really good" is not helping...

Got quite a good joke in my Christmas cracker tonight... "Why could the bicycle not stand up right?"

counter take: we will deeply regret not having put down another 4-5x solar plants this decade

Watching linear TV for the first time in forever, and you know who *is* overrepresented in adverts? People who look about 27, have two kids and a massive house.

Merry Christmas to those who like being wished Merry Christmas and have a very nice Thursday to those who do not

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating! "Peace on Earth and Goodwill To All"

Salute to all Santas on duty!! 🫡🎅

Genuinely curious how she is going to do this.

“Brother’s Pizza”, Princeton Junction NJ

Christmas Eve carol singing aession in Palmer Square, Princeton NJ

The Port Authority has removed its battery-electric buses from service at Newark Airport. The problem seems to be that the manufacturer, Proterra, went out of business in 2023, and now parts are not available for service. www.nj.com/news/2025/12...

Finally went to the new Princeton U. Art Museum today. I figured it wouldbe quiet, but, actually really busy!!

Jimmy and I disagree about this and that's fine. I just don't think a modern port should be served by a crappy old bridge with two sub-standard lanes. I like the old Newark Bay Bridge, it has a good old-school steampunk vibe, but we should build modern infrastructure.

Affluent North Caldwell NJ has agreed to a settlement with Fair Share Housing Center for its 'Fourth Round' affordable housing requirement. North Caldwell wanted to build absolutely nothing, arguing that it lacked developable land... patch.com/new-jersey/c...

I still think that replacing the Newark Bay Bridge and NJ Turnpike Extension through 14A is a reasonable project, but there ought to be questions about why it is costing $10B. Replacing the Goethals Bridge was a $2B project.

"the first modern tunnel-boring machines ever used in New Jersey will arrive in North Bergen to begin drilling the first mile of the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel through the rocky Palisades" www.nj.com/news/2025/12...

A contest to name Princeton's new municipal jitney route has concluded with the name "Princeton Loop' selected. patch.com/new-jersey/p...

New blog by me: With increasing attention to street safety and e-bike safety in New Jersey, Princeton Police and local advocates met with Princeton Middle School students to bring attention to responsible co-existence on local roads. walkableprinceton.com/2025/12/23/b...

I saw our USPS mail carrier today and he thanked me profusely for the Christmas box we had given him. Felt good. 👍🎅

Last week, the State of New Jersey released a new Development and Redevleopment Master Plan, the first update to the state master plan since 2001. Seems like a big deal, but I have hardly heard a thing about it! www.nj.gov/state/bac/pl...

My 4 year-old, solemnly looking out a car window at the exurban Cincinnati landscape: “We’re not in Brooklyn anymore.”

Happy Festivus to all who are celebrating!!

Jersey City people: do any of you have any knowledge about *Sara Quinlan*, former historic preservation specialist at JC from 2020 - 2023? She has been appointed as the new historic preservation officer in Princeton. Big job. (DMs should be open)

Latest rumor about New Jersey's e-bike regulation bill, which would require licenses, insurance, and registration for all e-bikes, including Class I e-bikes, is that the state Senate has introduced an amendment with a carve-out for "bike-share companies with municipal contracts" 😬🙄🤮

Residents from Bridgewater and Somerville, NJ rage against newly-approved affordable housing, which will include homes for disabled veterans. Court battle will continue. One objection was that the new housing would be "adjacent to single-family homes" 🤔. www.tapinto.net/towns/bridge...

Princeton Councilman David Cohen says "it is on our agenda to lower the speed limit on roads throughout the center of town to 20 mph"... www.tapinto.net/towns/prince...

Very unlikely that this would happen, but homeowners may not see unearned capital gains of 50% in 5 years, as has happened recently in Princeton.

Walking tour of Brooklyn. They have some nice new skyscrapers

Jersey City, NJ

Night falls on the shortest day in New Jersey

Update from advocates in Jersey City: The widening of the NJ Turnpike Extension may not be quite as canceled as is being made out...

Widening of NJ Turnpike Extension through Jersey City has been scrapped. Major news, a big win for advocates in Jersey City. www.nj.com/news/2025/12...

Princeton has been named "New Jersey's most Hallmark-like city", whatever that means. The thing I like the best is that they used the word "city" to describe Princeton. NIMBYs *hate* that. nj1015.com/small-town-c...

I've only skimmed but there's a lot to like in this bill. Particularly appreciate the proposal that feds should provide guidance on zoning reform and point access block adoption. bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/wh...

New Jersey does not build enough housing, but we build almost twice as much as NYC.

The positive spin on this is that Jeff Danielsen (D-Somerset) has notice that the e-bike bill is poorly considered and full of unintended consequences. If a few more Democratic state lawmakers could recognize that, hopefully we can stop it.

the "popular college town" is Princeton btw www.nj.com/mercer/2025/...

A new bill up in the NJ statehouse would establish a 'historic diners' list and provide sales tax exemptions and tax credits for family-owned diners that had been in operation for 25 years or more. Diner owners say it is getting harder and harder to stay open. www.nj.com/politics/202...

Well, @nyreviewofarch.bsky.social sure got some clicks there! Not sure the response was what anybody was hoping for though!

New Jersey's "Target Zero" initiative to eliminate road deaths deserves to be taken seriously, because it contains actionable recommendations for new policies and legislation, not just platitudes. www.nj.com/news/2025/12...

Hoes Lane in Piscataway NJ. It is effectively a multi-lane highway, an extension of NJ-18. A pedestrian bridge was built to cross it, but as of yesterday, it was marked "stairs closed". That means there is no lawful way for a pedestrian to cross the road.

We gotta pump these numbers up even more, but Governor Murphy at least recognizes that New Jersey needs more housing.

Just going to drop this here, incase any one wants to see more trains in NJ, admittedly a bit south of Rocky Hill though.