• About
  • Adam Hengels
  • Emily Hamilton
  • Michael Lewyn
  • Salim Furth
  • What Should I Read to Understand Zoning?
  • Contact

Market Urbanism

Liberalizing cities | From the bottom up

MARKET URBANISM PRESENTS:

CULTURE OF CONGESTION

by Sandy Ikeda

  • Economics
  • housing
  • planning
  • Zoning
  • Urban[ism] Legends
  • Book Reviews

Let’s Talk About Soundview

January 6, 2025 By Michael Lewyn

In New York City, one common argument against congestion pricing (or in fact, against any policy designed to further the interests of anyone outside an automobile) is that because outer borough residents are all car-dependent suburbanites, only Manhattanites would benefit.

For example, film critic John Podhoretz tweeted: “Yeah, nothing easier that taking the subway from Soundview or Gravesend or Valley Stream.”

Evidently, Podhoretz thinks these three areas are indistinguishable from the outer edges of suburbia: places where everyone drives everywhere.

But let’s examine the facts. Soundview is a neighborhood in the Southeast Bronx, a little over 8 miles from my apartment in Midtown Manhattan near the northern edge of the congestion pricing zone. There are three 6 train subway stops in Soundview: Elder Avenue, Morrison Avenue, and St. Lawrence Avenue.

Soundview zip codes include 10472 and 10473. In zip code 10472* only 25.7 percent of workers drove or carpooled to work according to 2023 census data; 59.6 percent use a bus or subway, and the rest use other modes (including walking, cycling, taxis and telecommuting). 10473, the southern half of Soundview, is a bit more car-oriented- but even there only 45 percent of workers drive alone or carpool. 41 percent of 10473 workers use public transit- still a pretty large minority by American standards, and more than any American city outside New York. In the two zip codes combined there are just 45,131 occupied housing units, and 24,094 (or 53 percent) don’t have a vehicle. In other words, not only do most Soundview residents not drive to work, most don’t even own a car.

Gravesend, at the outer edge of Brooklyn over 12 miles from my apartment, is served by three subway stops on the F train alone: Avenue P, Avenue U and Avenue X. It is also served by numerous N train stops (Kings Highway, Avenue U, and 86th Street). Finally, the D train (Bay 50 St.) runs on the neighborhood’s eastern edge.

Gravesend mostly overlaps with zip code 11223. As one might expect from a zip code this far from Manhattan, most households own cars. But even here, 39 percent of households do not- a pretty high number compared to Anysuburb, U.S.A..

Furthermore, many of these drivers don’t use them as intensively as suburbanites do. In 11223, only 36 percent of workers drive alone or carpool. 38 percent use public transit, and the rest walk, cycle, work from home or use taxicabs. In other words, most Gravesend residents (even a large minority of those who own cars) don’t drive to work.

Valley Stream, by contrast, is a Long Island suburb and therefore not served by the New York subway. So there, car ownership is far more common. (In fact, only 6.4 percent of households are carless).

But even Valley Stream is served by the Long Island Rail Road. And they use it, too. Even in Valley Stream, 20 percent of workers commuted by public transit in 2023- higher than in most central cities outside New York. (By contrast, in my home town of Atlanta, only 5 percent of city residents did so). Moreover, this number includes residents who work in car-dependent suburbs in Long Island- so the transit mode share among New York City workers or Manhattan workers is probably far larger.

In sum, even suburbs and outer borough neighborhoods far from Manhattan have plenty of transit riders and (in the latter case) carless households. So the claim that residents of these places can’t take the train is generally false.

*Technically, “zip code tabulation area” since that’s what the Census Bureau has data for.


Tweet

Filed Under: Culture of Congestion, MUsings, planning, Policy, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, Urban[ism] Legends

About Michael Lewyn

Michael Lewyn is a Professor at Touro Law Center, where he teaches property, land use, trusts and estates, and environmental law. Originally from Atlanta, he graduated from Wesleyan University and received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His books include "Government Intervention and Suburban Sprawl: The Case for Market Urbanism." In addition, he has published dozens of articles, most of which are available at works.bepress.com/lewyn.

Comments

  1. BEST XNXX says

    January 9, 2025 at 3:17 pm

    XNXX in Hindi: https://hi.xnxx.now

  2. XNXX NOW says

    January 9, 2025 at 5:32 pm

    XNXX in Russian language: https://ru.xnxx.now

  3. BEST XNXX says

    January 9, 2025 at 5:38 pm

    XNXX in Hindi: https://hi.xnxx.now

  4. XNXX NOW says

    January 9, 2025 at 7:04 pm

    xnxx is now no ads at https://xnxx.now

  5. BEST XNXX says

    January 9, 2025 at 7:22 pm

    xnxx is now no ads at https://xnxx.now

  6. Daily Free Premium Videos says

    January 9, 2025 at 8:03 pm

    Squid game JAV https://mythav.com/dass-534-uncensored-leak

  7. Daily Free Premium Videos says

    January 9, 2025 at 11:42 pm

    uncensored and English sub JAV https://mythav.com/

  8. XNXX NOW says

    January 9, 2025 at 11:50 pm

    XNXX in Russian language: https://ru.xnxx.now

  9. Chinese AV says

    January 10, 2025 at 2:30 am

    Chinese AV https://mythav.com/site/21/madou/

  10. Myth AV says

    January 10, 2025 at 9:59 am

    Squid game JAV https://mythav.com/dass-534-uncensored-leak

  11. influencersginewuld says

    January 24, 2025 at 6:29 am

    I was recommended this website by my cousin I am not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty You are wonderful Thanks

  12. yearlymagazine says

    January 27, 2025 at 8:18 am

    Hi Neat post There is a problem along with your website in internet explorer would test this IE still is the market chief and a good section of other folks will pass over your magnificent writing due to this problem

  13. yearlymagazine says

    January 28, 2025 at 7:05 am

    hiI like your writing so much share we be in contact more approximately your article on AOL I need a specialist in this area to resolve my problem Maybe that is you Looking ahead to see you

  14. yearlymagazine says

    January 28, 2025 at 8:45 am

    I have been browsing online more than three hours today yet I never found any interesting article like yours It is pretty worth enough for me In my view if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before

Listen in

  • Abundance
  • Conversations with Tyler
  • Densely Speaking
  • Ideas of India
  • Order Without Design
  • UCLA Housing Voice
  • Yeoman

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Market Sites Urbanists should check out

  • Arpitrage
  • Cafe Hayek
  • Center for Building in North America blog
  • Construction Physics
  • Conversable Economist
  • Environmental and Urban Economics | Matt Kahn
  • Erdmann Housing Tracker
  • Foundation for Economic Education
  • Marginal Revolution
  • Marginal Revolution University
  • Parafin
  • Propmodo
  • Rent Free
  • Time & Space
  • Urbanomics

Urbanism Sites capitalists should check out

  • Caos Planejado
  • City Density
  • Cornerstone
  • Granola Shotgun
  • Important Readings in Urbanism
  • Kartografia Ekstremalna
  • Metropolitan Abundance Project
  • Pedestrian Observations
  • Planetizen
  • Reinventing Parking
  • Skynomics Blog
  • StreetsBlog USA
  • Strong Towns
  • The Corner Side Yard | Pete Saunders
  • YIMBY Alliance

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2025 Market Urbanism