MNY Abundance Roundup #1
Plaudits // Events // Writing // RFEs and RFWs and General Requests // Jobs
What’s going on in the world of New York City Abundance? A lot! It’s a growing ecosystem, and there’s never been a more fascinating time to jump into politics. In this roundup, I have some plaudits to award, events to recommend, and events and writing to request. If you don’t see something here you think should be here, DM me here or drop a comment. If you did something awesome, tell me about it. Next one comes out in a week!
Plaudits
🏆
, for hosting his first political fundraiser and writing about how it went. He has since inspired many other fundraisers, and is an example of how one person can have positive ripple effects on a political ecology. Do things, and then write about them!🏆
for running her 2025 primary bootcamp. Tons of people are experiencing the political system for the first time. You can join today and start earning points!🏆 Tom Laurino-Hanson hosted a reading salon in his beautiful home, and 10 people read Theodore Roosevelt’s 1893 speech The Duties of American Citizenship aloud together. It’s a wonderful way to become inspired, motivated, and optimistic about American politics.
🏆 Tyler Butler and Puneet Lath co-hosted a meet-and-greet with Jess Coleman, the abundance city council candidate in district 1. They provided others with the chance to meet the candidate and hear his vision for the city directly.
🏆
launched NYCuriosity, and you can read the first post here: “Where did all the sidewalk cafes go?” I look forward to seeing this publication reach 100 posts :)🏆 Inclusive Abundance has done the hard work of mapping out the Abundance ecosystem.
Events & Things to Do
🗓️ Here are some calendars you can subscribe to:
📖 There are two book discussion meetups happening this Thursday, April 24, to discuss Abundance (I will be at the Montauk Club, maybe see you there!):
👑 I’m helping to organize Abundance Queens, which you’ll hear more about in May. If you live in The World’s Borough and want in on the ground floor, send me an email (daniel@maximumnewyork.com), a Substack DM, or drop a comment.
🗽 The Foundations of New York City applications are open for one more week for the Manhattan section (Monday nights 6:30-8:30pm, May 5 through June 30). The Brooklyn section starts this week!
🎓 The Maximum New York Lyceum will launch early this summer, with more details coming soon. You will select a New York policy area of choice, and become an expert in it by the end of the year (this involves reading at least five books about it, for example). But that’s not all—you will help bring good policy change into the world! If this sounds exciting, but you’re not sure how you’d do it, don’t worry. I and others will be on hand to help establish and guide your research. The group will be no larger than 20, and you will work together to level each other up, even as you dive deeper into your various areas of research. You can suggest your own research area, but some already on the table: expanding Manhattan via land reclamation, and NYC’s rent regulation system.
Writing & Media
- announced more endorsements!
- wrote “What is an Abundance Democrat”
Ben Max interviewed the founders of Abundance New York! Listen on Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.
I wrote “Call It Blue Tape”
Read Inclusive Abundance’s “Abundance Landscape Analysis”
RFEs: Requests for Events
Knitting together social fabric is one of the most high-value things someone can do for the political future of New York. Here are some events I would like to see. If someone wants to host these, I would help get them off the ground and would love to attend. If you haven’t hosted an event like these before, no problem! You’ll be a pro in no time, and at the center of a healthy, growing political ecosystem.
Host a salon to read Theodore Roosevelt’s The Duties of American Citizenship aloud with your friends. It’s my favorite American political speech, and there’s something transformative about reading a speech aloud with your friends—after all, that’s how speeches are supposed to be experienced! I can supply pamphlets, and will be happy to help discuss the larger historical and political context of the speech, which was delivered in 1893. TR was a great New Yorker, and had a whole history in New York City before he went on to the presidency.
Host an evening where you and your friends (or your company!) review city and state bills relevant to your industry/interest. Are you a technologist? Invite your friends over and see what AI bills are pending at the city and state level. Do you want more housing to be built? Are you interested in criminal justice, criminal procedure, and what’s going on at Rikers? Well, get the gang together and see what the evolving policy landscape looks like, and see what you want to do about it. I’ll help you find all the legislation, and will help you read/interpret it too. Just make sure to have snacks.
Suggest your own! Ask for help!
RFWs: Requests for Writing
Create and publish the definitive guide to SEQRA. This would be a bibliography of relevant statute, case law, and more to understand New York State’s environmental review law. Create a guide that could quickly onboard any smart, interested person. Reforming SEQRA is vital for New York’s future, and an important part of that reform is teaching people what it is. You can become the expert! You don’t even have to produce it in one go. You can write it as a long series of blog posts first, in easy, manageable chunks.
General Request: Someone with money fund a 501c3 to do research and policy work on SEQRA
Many issue advocacy groups touch on reforming environmental review laws (a primary roll of blue tape) in New York State. I don’t think any of them own it, so the spear doesn’t have a tip. I’d love to help someone sharpen one. FAI’s state permitting playbook doesn’t include NYS at the moment because there isn’t enough movement to warrant investigation. Among other things, we need to perform so well that
adds NYS to that document.
Abundance Jobs
Are you working in the Abundance space? Do you need to hire someone excellent? Well this newsletter has many such people in its audience. Send me your listings, especially if they relate to New York City and State.
Thanks for the shout-out! Anyone curious about hosting a fundraiser for an abundance-minded candidate is welcome to get in touch with me for pointers!