I co-founded @cayimby and @housingdefense to make California affordable and accessible for everyone. Support pro-housing candidates: https://xitter.cf/t.co/BmPeKo0a7D
San Francisco, CA
Joined May 2010
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The California legislature has the power to break the NIMBY stranglehold on cities.
Donate to the California YIMBY Victory Fund.
Support legislators who fight to build a California for everyone.
secure.actblue.com/donate/ca…
Brian Hanlon retweeted
When we pass housing laws allowing people to build new homes, we mean it.
We spent $600B - $1.2T in real dollars fixing Y2K. It was a huge effort!
The lack of major problems from Y2K was more a result of solid preparation than misplaced fears.
Brian Hanlon retweeted
There’s a clear choice in this race: I’ve fought to build the homes we need to lower costs. My opponent has only blocked them.
Brian Hanlon retweeted
It could not be more stark, according to the data. You could have the hardest-working, most prodigious Congressional representative or the most obstructive.
“Based on 84 votes she cast on land use since she joined the board in 2021, Chan was second only to former Board President Aaron Peskin in amassing a record consistently opposed to liberalizing housing regulation.”
“From Wiener’s first session in the state Senate in 2017-2018 through the 2025-2026 session, he authored the most bills of any legislator in the chamber, at 186. Of those bills, 97 passed and were signed by the governor — the second-most over that period.”
sfchronicle.com/politics/art…
Brian Hanlon retweeted
This video has over 1 million views, and I think it’s important to explain what I hope people take away from it. I'm not sharing it to shame the individual. He believes he's acting rationally and in the best interests of his organization within a system that has rewarded this behavior for decades.
I'm sharing it to show how our housing permitting system works, where the levers of power are, and how they're used to block the housing we need.
The problem isn't just the people pulling these levers. It's a broken system that makes blocking housing so easy.
It's time to completely reform Massachusetts' housing systems and eliminate the levers of delay that have been abused for so long.
Really impressed by what Devon and her team have achieved.
I can’t wait to visit Esmeralda!
Brian Hanlon retweeted
We know how to make our streets safer, so we did it 600 times.
Red light cameras reduce red light running by 80% and T-bone crashes by 65%. Most importantly, they help New Yorkers get home safely.
That's why we installed new red light cameras at 600 intersections across the five boroughs to help stop dangerous driving before tragedy strikes, and make our streets safer for everyone who walks, rolls, drives, or takes the bus.
nydailynews.com/2026/10/21/n…
Brian Hanlon retweeted
We tend to talk about poverty in terms of what people earn. We need to talk more about what it costs to keep a roof over their heads.
This research reinforces it: reducing housing costs could lift millions out of poverty. Any serious affordability agenda must start with housing.
"The housing shortage in the United States not only drives up rents, it is also a significant driver of poverty." The @nytimes summarizes my collaboration Pew, which quantifies how high housing costs lead to higher poverty rates for 10 U.S. states. nytimes.com/2026/09/29/reale…
Brian Hanlon retweeted
Congress has more appetite for housing action than when BMHNT Act was written: Next Congress, on top of land use scoring tweaks, we should explore a Builder's Remedy to waive local restrictions that physically preclude building to the density promised by the locality to the FTA when a project is scored & funded
When a locality wins the CIG grant competition & signs a contract with the federal government, and the feds release a grant on reliance of the allowed densities in the land use plan, it's only fair to enforce that contract on the back end.
Localities shouldn't be allowed to win federal funds on a fake promise of allowing certain height, bulk (FAR), & units per acre...only to use obscure poison pills to undermine that promise or renege on the promise altogether
Thrilled to announce today @RepScottPeters, @RepBlakeMoore, @brianschatz, & @Jim_Banks are reintroducing the bipartisan Build More Housing Near Transit Act!
The bill protects taxpayers & transit riders alike from federal transit grants to cities that ban housing near transit👇
Brian Hanlon retweeted
Rents ate 78% of the growth in California's food aid since 1989. More aid without more homes just ends up as rent.
Are local rock shows just for us olds now?
I went to the Rickshaw Stop last night to see abracadabra, an Oakland band.
About 4 people under the age of 35 who weren’t performing attended; plenty of gen-xers.
The bands were all local and featured young performers.
SF already provides childcare subsidies for families of 4 making up to $324,200.
There is no solution* to family affordability without massively increasing homebuilding, thereby bringing down housing costs.
Mayor Lurie has no viable plan to scale homebuilding.
Yesterday, the Board of Education took an important step toward ending the public school lottery and giving families the certainty they need to put down roots in our city.
Starting in the 2028–29 school year, families will know which neighborhood public elementary school their children are assigned to based on their home address, while retaining choices that reflect the incredible diversity of San Francisco.
I am also pleased that this direction includes a commitment to ensuring our schools have the resources they need, so parents can feel confident that whichever school their children attend, they will find a welcoming environment where they can learn and thrive.
I want to thank the Board of Education and SFUSD leadership, including School Board President Phil Kim and SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su, for helping make San Francisco a city where more families can build their futures.
Brian Hanlon retweeted
"Wiener is the hardest working and most effective politician I’ve covered in my seven-newspaper, 25-year career as a California journalist." sfstandard.com/opinion/2026/…
Brian Hanlon retweeted
I’m very glad we have a cocktail column in Works in Progress. The rise of teetotalism in places like San Francisco is dangerous to civilization; this feels like a small stand against it. Hopefully we will add non-pretentious writing about wine at some point too.
The new issue of @WorksInProgMag both looks and feels fantastic (they are now using a matte paper instead of glossy).
Featured cocktail in this issue: Hanky Panky
Brian Hanlon retweeted
People who post BART's cost per unlinked trip "explosion" purport to be fiscally literate watchdogs, but it's the opposite: They don't understand businesses with high fixed & low marginal cost
BART spending hasn't spiked; lower ridership just mechanically raised cost per trip
Brian Hanlon retweeted
CA housing donors often approach CG for informal advisory research on how we still value CAYIMBY's zoning agenda
There's more to do, plus SB79 takes full effect in 2031-32; defense til then is essential. The SB1123-684 starter home package is in effect but needs defense too👇
SB 1090 pauses SB 1123 small-home projects in Altadena until early 2030.
CA YIMBY's Matthew Lewis says owners who can't afford to rebuild and need SB 1123 must now carry their empty lot for three more years, which may push them to sell.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0…
Brian Hanlon retweeted
Ballots hit mailboxes soon, and a few hundred doors knocked now can decide close races for pro-housing candidates.
Join a YIMBY Day of Action on Oct. 10 or 17 to knock, text, or call and help elect people who will end the housing shortage.
cayimby.org/daysofaction/
I’ve been making the same argument for a decade in California - these dyspeptic advocates represent nonprofit and foundation staffers, not a mass constituency.
Democrats - the only thing they can hurt is your feelings, and only if you let them!
