Anika Singh Lemar
@anikasinghlemar.bsky.social
Some of my thoughts on what community development means and my affection for New Haven here: https://bit.ly/3AawrCb
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
In any event, any talk of aesthetics-driven NIMBYism requires a shout out to Connecticut's own Arnold Karp: “I’ve driven by a lot of these peoples’ homes,” he said. “How do I say it? I don’t think they’re the arbiters of design in New Canaan.” www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/r...
A Wall Divides a Connecticut Town (Published 2019)
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:22 AM
In any event, any talk of aesthetics-driven NIMBYism requires a shout out to Connecticut's own Arnold Karp: “I’ve driven by a lot of these peoples’ homes,” he said. “How do I say it? I don’t think they’re the arbiters of design in New Canaan.” www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/r...
Idk, I am pretty sure that thinking it's your business whether someone else's house is ugly is NIMBYism.
NEW PAPER w/ @cselmendorf.bsky.social & @jkalla.bsky.social:
An under-appreciated reason why voters oppose dense new housing, especially in less-dense neighborhoods: they think it looks ugly and want to prevent that, even in other neighborhoods.
Some of what we think is NIMBYism might not be!
An under-appreciated reason why voters oppose dense new housing, especially in less-dense neighborhoods: they think it looks ugly and want to prevent that, even in other neighborhoods.
Some of what we think is NIMBYism might not be!
November 26, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Idk, I am pretty sure that thinking it's your business whether someone else's house is ugly is NIMBYism.
gift link: Amid housing shortage, CT spends millions managing homelessness other ways
Amid housing shortage, CT spends millions managing homelessness other ways
Amid a housing shortage, Connecticut is spending millions managing homelessness through foster care, jails and ERs. Lawmakers say the issue can be solved.
www.ctinsider.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:43 PM
gift link: Amid housing shortage, CT spends millions managing homelessness other ways
I am reading the written testimony in support of Downtown for All, an upzoning of downtown New Haven supported by all three of its city council people and, yay, New Haven, honestly, your (our!) idealism and hospitality and just basic desire to make life better are so needed here in Connecticut.
November 4, 2025 at 9:13 PM
I am reading the written testimony in support of Downtown for All, an upzoning of downtown New Haven supported by all three of its city council people and, yay, New Haven, honestly, your (our!) idealism and hospitality and just basic desire to make life better are so needed here in Connecticut.
"Why can't blue states build housing?" asks USA Today in an article about Lamont's veto of 5002.
Connecticut housing crisis persists as Governor Lamont vetoes reform bill
A law that would have encouraged new housing in Connecticut failed after local opponents mounted a campaign, leaving many advocates frustrated.
www.usatoday.com
October 11, 2025 at 10:23 AM
"Why can't blue states build housing?" asks USA Today in an article about Lamont's veto of 5002.
The idea that there are talented and gifted 4 and 5 year olds is bonkers. Nothing makes people crazier than becoming parents.
October 3, 2025 at 12:24 PM
The idea that there are talented and gifted 4 and 5 year olds is bonkers. Nothing makes people crazier than becoming parents.
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
Justice Kavanaugh: “If the person is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully
in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”
in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”
September 28, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Justice Kavanaugh: “If the person is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully
in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”
in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”
There is a real conversation to be had about YIMBYism and race and it's not that "the vibes are off." It's that it's taken YIMBYs a minute to connect their work to the racial justice movement that understood exclusionary zoning as a problem 75 years ago, decades before YIMBYs came to it.
September 16, 2025 at 3:47 PM
There is a real conversation to be had about YIMBYism and race and it's not that "the vibes are off." It's that it's taken YIMBYs a minute to connect their work to the racial justice movement that understood exclusionary zoning as a problem 75 years ago, decades before YIMBYs came to it.
"The capacity of government to deliver is really important for all the flavors of abundance." Stephanie Pollack speaking to @yimbytown.bsky.social
September 16, 2025 at 1:28 PM
"The capacity of government to deliver is really important for all the flavors of abundance." Stephanie Pollack speaking to @yimbytown.bsky.social
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
The good news here is that the governor knows there's a crisis and is laser-focused on getting a housing bill passed that will start to take on some of these systemic issues.
right?
Homelessness rises in CT as federal funding remains in flux ctmirror.org/2025/09/11/c...
right?
Homelessness rises in CT as federal funding remains in flux ctmirror.org/2025/09/11/c...
Homelessness rises in CT as federal funding remains in flux
There were 3,735 people living in shelters or outside in CT in January 2025, compared to 3,410 in January 2024. That’s nearly a 10% increase.
ctmirror.org
September 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The good news here is that the governor knows there's a crisis and is laser-focused on getting a housing bill passed that will start to take on some of these systemic issues.
right?
Homelessness rises in CT as federal funding remains in flux ctmirror.org/2025/09/11/c...
right?
Homelessness rises in CT as federal funding remains in flux ctmirror.org/2025/09/11/c...
Unexpectedly, North Dakota Gov Kelly Armstrong just told @yimbytown.bsky.social to advocate for forming state banks to finance affordable housing.
September 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Unexpectedly, North Dakota Gov Kelly Armstrong just told @yimbytown.bsky.social to advocate for forming state banks to finance affordable housing.
Yep, I am in a standing only room, at a session on building codes, @yimbytown.bsky.social. No one call the fire marshal, please.
September 14, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Yep, I am in a standing only room, at a session on building codes, @yimbytown.bsky.social. No one call the fire marshal, please.
Love hearing from @billmckibben.bsky.social talking to @yimbytown.bsky.social about how it takes months to install solar panels in the US rather than days in Europe, Australia...15,000 America. municipalities, each with its own regulations and inspectors... sounds familiar!
September 14, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Love hearing from @billmckibben.bsky.social talking to @yimbytown.bsky.social about how it takes months to install solar panels in the US rather than days in Europe, Australia...15,000 America. municipalities, each with its own regulations and inspectors... sounds familiar!
Like 150 people just booed and hissed Ned Lamont, pretty sure most of them had no idea who he was six hours ago. Totally well deserved. @yimbytown.bsky.social #yimbytown
September 14, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Like 150 people just booed and hissed Ned Lamont, pretty sure most of them had no idea who he was six hours ago. Totally well deserved. @yimbytown.bsky.social #yimbytown
Zoning receivership is a phrase I have never heard before. Like it. @yimbytown.bsky.social #yimbytown
September 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Zoning receivership is a phrase I have never heard before. Like it. @yimbytown.bsky.social #yimbytown
Hearing from a Montana community land trust, originally focused on low and moderate-income households, that got YIMBY-pilled when they started getting pressure to build subsidized housing for families at 200% of median income. Sounds very familiar here in CT. #yimbytown @yimbytown.bsky.social
September 14, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Hearing from a Montana community land trust, originally focused on low and moderate-income households, that got YIMBY-pilled when they started getting pressure to build subsidized housing for families at 200% of median income. Sounds very familiar here in CT. #yimbytown @yimbytown.bsky.social
"One of the major reasons why housing is so expensive in New York City is because so little housing is being built in its suburbs...To the extent that housing costs have moderated in Austin, it’s the result of the sum of urban and suburban production, not Austin’s growth alone."
To sprawl or not to sprawl
But is that really the question?
thesapiensproject.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 5:35 PM
"One of the major reasons why housing is so expensive in New York City is because so little housing is being built in its suburbs...To the extent that housing costs have moderated in Austin, it’s the result of the sum of urban and suburban production, not Austin’s growth alone."
Connecticut's sortof prominent here. Not a good thing.
I am shocked -- shocked! -- to learn that housing prices fell the most in metros where inventory of homes increased by a lot. via @harvard-jchs.bsky.social
www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-pr...
www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-pr...
September 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Connecticut's sortof prominent here. Not a good thing.
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
The shooting of Charlie Kirk was the 46th school shooting of the year. The 47th one happened moments afterwards. www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/u...
At least 2 students shot at a Denver-area high school, authorities say | CNN
At least two students have been shot at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
www.cnn.com
September 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The shooting of Charlie Kirk was the 46th school shooting of the year. The 47th one happened moments afterwards. www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/u...
When the thing that makes you angry is the affordable housing plan, rather than the affordable housing crisis, you should be finding time to meet with your therapist, not screaming your head off at a planning and zoning hearing.
September 10, 2025 at 1:21 PM
When the thing that makes you angry is the affordable housing plan, rather than the affordable housing crisis, you should be finding time to meet with your therapist, not screaming your head off at a planning and zoning hearing.
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
For anyone who cares to pay attention, the fact that major developers are lining up behind the NIMBY mayoral candidate tells you a lot about real-world housing politics and who the real shills tend to be in local YIMBY/NIMBY fights. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/n...
Wealthy New York Developers Hold Meeting to Plot Mamdani’s Defeat
www.nytimes.com
September 9, 2025 at 3:10 PM
For anyone who cares to pay attention, the fact that major developers are lining up behind the NIMBY mayoral candidate tells you a lot about real-world housing politics and who the real shills tend to be in local YIMBY/NIMBY fights. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/n...
Yes. "I would encourage municipal leaders to take time to review CCM's advocacy role and compare the benefits of membership with its messaging efforts opposing policies that could help them. The results could be striking." www.ctinsider.com/politics/art...
Connecticut leaders push for deal on affordable housing amid ongoing stalemate
"Listen: Bring us to the table. Let's knock out things we can agree on," said state Rep. Tony Scott, R-Trumbull.
www.ctinsider.com
September 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Yes. "I would encourage municipal leaders to take time to review CCM's advocacy role and compare the benefits of membership with its messaging efforts opposing policies that could help them. The results could be striking." www.ctinsider.com/politics/art...
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
"While anti-housing politics can win in public meetings where land-use decisions are made by a small group of similarly minded people, state-level policymakers who reform this system have maintained & gained popularity by representing a broader... constituency."
www.governing.com/urban/what-m...
www.governing.com/urban/what-m...
What Montana Can Teach Us About Housing Reform
Two years ago, lawmakers in the Big Sky State passed one of the most comprehensive state-level housing reform packages in the country. This year, they doubled down on their success.
www.governing.com
September 3, 2025 at 12:06 PM
"While anti-housing politics can win in public meetings where land-use decisions are made by a small group of similarly minded people, state-level policymakers who reform this system have maintained & gained popularity by representing a broader... constituency."
www.governing.com/urban/what-m...
www.governing.com/urban/what-m...
Reposted by Anika Singh Lemar
LMAO - straight villainy
“I grew up here and …. I don’t want to have 1,000 more people in town but at the same time, I do want affordable housing” - From a person who serves on Ridgefield's P&Z
For context: 1,000 more people would be a 4% population increase
www.newstimes.com/news/article...
“I grew up here and …. I don’t want to have 1,000 more people in town but at the same time, I do want affordable housing” - From a person who serves on Ridgefield's P&Z
For context: 1,000 more people would be a 4% population increase
www.newstimes.com/news/article...
Ridgefield developer proposes affordable housing after townhomes plan is killed
The developer's attorney said the site could make a "substantial dent in the town’s significant affordable housing shortage."
www.newstimes.com
September 2, 2025 at 6:02 PM
LMAO - straight villainy
“I grew up here and …. I don’t want to have 1,000 more people in town but at the same time, I do want affordable housing” - From a person who serves on Ridgefield's P&Z
For context: 1,000 more people would be a 4% population increase
www.newstimes.com/news/article...
“I grew up here and …. I don’t want to have 1,000 more people in town but at the same time, I do want affordable housing” - From a person who serves on Ridgefield's P&Z
For context: 1,000 more people would be a 4% population increase
www.newstimes.com/news/article...