COMMENTARY: Joan Davidson and the J.M. Kaplan Foundation

If all the charitable foundations everywhere in the United States were lined up according to impact, the J.M. Kaplan Fund would be in the top ten. The J.M. Kaplan Fund was established in 1945 by Jacob M. Kaplan and was led for thirty years by J.M.’s daughter, Joan K. Davidson. Joan was a fixture in New York City’s political, charitable, and civic world, and she used her ideas and enthusiasms to make New York City … <Read More>




Op-Ed Response: Pandemic May Necessitate Mail-In Ballots

The following is an op-ed in response to Professor Ross Sandler’s Commentary regarding mail-in ballots and the election. To read that piece, click here

I think Ross Sandler makes some very good points in this editorial on mail-in ballots.  I think, however, that we have an exceptional situation with this year’s election.  Part of the problem in thinking about the mail-in ballot issue is that it takes a fair amount of time to undertake … <Read More>



COMMENTARY: Bike Safety: Engineering, Education and Enforcement

The City aggressively attacks unsafe conditions for bike riders on the City’s streets and avenues, but less successfully attacks unsafe behaviors of bike riders. Unsafe conditions can mostly be engineered away, but unsafe behaviors require changes of a cultural nature. The City in 2019 experienced 28 bike rider deaths and more than 4,000 bike injuries. So far 2020 has experienced more bike injuries than in 2019. To make the City safer for bike riders, the … <Read More>