Tuesday, March 29, 2011

New York City

A 20 segment panoramic image of the New York M...Image via WikipediaSomebody from the tech fraternity/sorority has to do it at some point. If you think about it Bloomberg is also a member.

This Guy Jack Dorsey

Jack Dorsey has gone on record saying his dream job is to become Mayor of New York City. More than being Chairperson of Twitter or CEO of Square, he wants to become Mayor. I don't blame him. There are about 50 billionaires in the city, I know the name of only one of them.

7 Point Agenda For New York City
New York City For Barack Obama 1-10
Give Me A Huge Rally In This City Before Summer Is Over
My Third World People Don't Get To Vote In This City

(1) Voting Rights For Everyone

If you live in the city, you get to vote in the city elections. You should not need a green card, let alone a US citizenship. The Irish had that arrangement in Boston over 150 years ago. The Global South people need that arrangement in New York City today.

The city is going to be the epicenter of human life in this century. The vast majority of humanity will live in cities. Cities will talk to each other. They will not go through the nation state. And New York City has the option to become the model city. It gets to do that by respecting its number one strength: its cultural diversity. Otherwise they have shinier trains and skyscrapers in Shanghai.

(2) Expand The Subway

Look at the map at the top of this page. This city has to be made multi-polar like the world is. The Manhattan centrism has to end. That centrism stems from half of the city being denied voting rights in the first place.

The subway has to be vastly expanded and modernized. New Jersey, Westchester, Connecticut and Long Island need better integrations.

The subway is one place where the city really comes together, more so than Central Park. Sean Parker's home in the city has subway car walls.

(3) One Gigabit Per Second Universal Broadband

I don't know if fiber is the best way or there are good wireless options. Maybe both are needed. But this might be more important even than the subway. This has to be worked upon like they worked on the subway more than a century ago. If they could do all that then, I mean.

(4) Clean Cabs

100% electric. The air in Manhattan is not right. That is one element where the outer boroughs have a huge advantage, especially elevated locations like Ridgewood.

(5) Education, Health

Most of this stuff is federal, but the city has to figure out ways to really deliver on its own as well. There are things only the city can do. Universal robust high school education is the number one thing to do to keep the crime rates low.

Health Care As A Spectrum

(6) Pick Up The Garbage

Focus on the fundamentals.

(7) Policing

You need boots on the ground. That's it. Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime. I don't care if you had a lousy childhood, don't mess with the city.

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