New piece out in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social on what will happen to NYC politics (and urban politics generally) if the murder rate keeps falling www.vitalcitynyc.org/nyc-declinin...

America’s governance crisis is rooted in weak state and local capacity, so reformers should target state and local elections, procedures, and budgets, argue @profschleich.bsky.social of Yale Law School and @nbagley.bsky.social of @umichlaw.bsky.social. www.theregreview.org/2026/04/15/h...

"Boosting pensions “would do something” to keep workers, said David Schleicher, a Yale Law School professor who studies state fiscal systems, “but it’s not clear to me that it is the most or even a mildly efficient method for doing so.”

✨Schrödinger’s Crosswalk ✨, joint work with a terrific interdisciplinary team, under submission to law reviews now. It’s a bit unconventional (6,600 words, including a table, plus maps) but, we hope, appealing for the right journal.

Michelle Wu seems like kind of a disaster for housing in Boston – very little progress on land use reforms, and supporting a quite draconian statewide rent control regime (rent hikes that can be below inflation, vacancy controls, only a 10-year exemption for new construction)? Yikes

this is so embarrassing. why is @justinbrannan.bsky.social endorsing our fuelgrannie retweeting local NIMBY gadfly for city council when she literally stood with Vickie Paladino and Curtis Sliwa at a protest against the affordable housing ballot measures

This is potentially a huge deal for construction costs @brianpotter.bsky.social @stephenjacobsmith.com www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...

Probably some random variation in this, but NYC's murder rate continues to decline quickly this year, following last year's big decline. It's *70%* lower than at this time last year www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/...

Every homeowner should be barred from future votes on housing since the potential for gain is far higher than Jesse Zwick's piddly ass nonprofit salary.

Getting to do this lecture -- which sought to provide a structural explanation for why urban public services in America struggle despite the high productivity of our private sector -- was such a thrill! law.yale.edu/yls-today/ne...

OPINION TODAY featured podcast — @samuelmoyn.bsky.social and @profschleich.bsky.social speak with @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social about his new book, The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. (Digging a Hole) opiniontoday.substack.com/i/177452350/...

A new pod episode! Come for the nudist beach scenes from the 1920s—stay for fights over the material foundations of 20th-c liberalisms.

🚨🚨New Pod!! 🚨🚨 We have @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social on the pod!!! @samuelmoyn.bsky.social and I talk with John about his amazing and must read new book, The Radical Fund podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

Lol, @profschleich.bsky.social was so real for pointing out a lot of housing in New York is ancient (and often kind of shitty): NYC actually does a GREAT job preserving (old as hell) housing!

I really appreciate the point from @profschleich.bsky.social that focusing on modest reduction in ULURP process length is misguided, as difficulty and time to prepare for ULURP is determined by the requirements of the process. The charter amendments will improve the full approval process.

Really excited to deliver this lecture on political and structural explanations for the (lack of) quality of big city government services and regulations. Open to the Yale community. On October 27th, register now! law.yale.edu/yls-today/ne...

With proper link - i wrote this www.slowboring.com/p/eric-adams

Slow Boring forecast that Eric Adams might accomplish good things or housing or might devolve into an orgy of corruption. Turns out it was both. www.slowboring.com/p/the-path-f...

Our Latest Podcast: Won't You Take Me To YIMBYTown? Recorded before a live audience at @yimbytown.bsky.social 2025! With @profschleich.bsky.social @andrewdfine.bsky.social & Ari Bargil of @ij.org! ij.org/podcasts/sho...

🚨New Pod!!🚨Sam Moyn and I kick off a new season of Digging a Hole by talking with the great Bob Bauer about the law and politics of executive power podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

Who isn't at those community board meetings where people line up to oppose developments? @profschleich.bsky.social explains why NIMBYism is so successful: it's about who attends versus who is actually impacted. This is democracy meets housing policy. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/loc...

Out today: The Fall of Affirmative Action, by Justin Driver www.amazon.com/Fall-Affirma...

Justin Driver's new book is out today -- as smart and spicy a set of arguments as you'll find anywhere. One of our most essential public intellectuals. A must, must, must read. www.amazon.com/Fall-Affirma...

"This brazen gambit should fail — for two reasons. First, the ballot language is plenty clear. Second, the BOE has no power to reject proposed charter revisions."

I think the commonwealth desperately needs procedural simplification to help upzoning stick in addition to the legal perseverance @profschleich.bsky.social recommends: www.theargumentmag.com/p/yimbys-bea...

The complex interpretations of the NBA Constitution, evidentiary issues, and concerns about bias make the case for taking interpretative responsibility out of the hands of the Commissioner and putting it in the hands of a private-Court like institution papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

I have a new column out in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social about the forces and people who will make or break a Mamdani administration www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/mam...

I have a new column out in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social about the forces and people who will make or break a Mamdani administration www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/mam...

Gross. It is far, far, far easier to understand what these ballot measures will do than it is to know anything relevant about city council candidates!

Also, two more examples for @profschleich.bsky.social www.bisnow.com/washington-d... citybuildernc.org/p/raleighs-m...

This morning, OG YIMBY @profschleich.bsky.social argues that the pro-housing movement needs to focus more on the problem of state trial court judges.

I have a new essay @theargument.bsky.social on the increasingly challenging problem of NIMBY state trial court judges.

Filtering happening in real time in Jersey City

Someone just asked about this piece of mine about how land use regulations will limit and shape the benefits of self-driving cars and other transportation technologies. It's nearly 10 years old, but I think it holds up!! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Local government has been on HTC’s side so hard that one mayors ago NYC banned basically all new hotels at their request, the current mayor with a pretty different ideological disposition hasn’t tried to end the ban, and now we’re getting a third who probably won’t either!

My latest scholarship roundup up for @statecourtreport.org covers interesting new work on state constitutions, state courts, federalism, and more. (Sorry to report that it’s the back-to-school edition!) statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Really interesting @alonlevy.bsky.social essay trying to explain not only the explanations for high infrastructure costs, but the underlying reasons for them...

🚨New Paper🚨I have a new paper out today, discussing how Congress can reduce the costs of building infrastructure, despite the huge political roadblocks to doing so. Meet "The Priority List." It's a @brookings.edu @americanenterprise.bsky.social project. Hope you enjoy! www.aei.org/research-pro...

@cselmendorf.bsky.social and @profschleich.bsky.social are two of my faves and this is right. But voltsman worries too much in his thread, imo. It is not a hard political line to draw to say that we can talk aesthetics once we have the space to, which necessitates legalizing more housing.

Honest to goodness trying to figure out what “corporate power” is supposed to mean in this context

Short Circuit is coming to @yimbytown.bsky.social! A live podcast recording w/ @profschleich.bsky.social @andrewdfine.bsky.social Ari Bargil & @ijsanders.bsky.social in New Haven, CT on Sept 15. We'll highlight recent housing cases & where courts are on allowing people to build housing. yimby.town

This is bizarre framing since Essex Street Market is not a city run or city owned grocery store. It’s a bunch of private vendors operating on city controlled property gothamist.com/news/zohran-...

What a weird framing! “Limits on entry help incumbent firms” www.wsj.com/real-estate/...

Would love to hear more about this from people who know Montgomery County. As I understand it, its rent control doesn't apply to units until they are 23 years old. montgomeryperspective.com/2025/07/11/m...

I thought this Brian Potter essay on selling federal land for housing production--tldr, most federal land can't/wouldn't be built on even if it was sold, but there are a few places where it makes sense--was very sensible and well argued (with handy maps) www.construction-physics.com/p/should-the...

Just posted: new Essay for the state con law club. It examines the states that actually enabled takings for *private use* in the late 19th century, and some of the interesting themes that emerge from debates over the provisions (on "necessity," on nonlawyer drafters) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Leaving aside this woman’s absurd catastrophizing, let us note that this building’s attractive and understated design, which fits with the local vernacular building style, did not prevent the neighbors from going all out in their attempts to block it.

Shame on Governor Ned Lamont for vetoing this excellent pro-housing bill. Housing costs are the number one issue facing Nutmeggers. His veto of HB 5002 lets the crisis fester for yet another year.

Great, substantive discussion of the policy issues in the NYC mayoral race with @profschleich.bsky.social, Jamie Rubin and Ed Glasser. Spoiler free summary: they weren't too impressed with any of the candidates' platforms. Spoilers in the summary 🧵below

I have a new essay about the Charter Revision Commission report in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social. Check it out! www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...