Ryder Kessler and Catherine Vaughn, co-heads of Abundance New York, dive into the pressing political landscape of New York City. They discuss the challenges of soaring rents and homelessness, advocating for innovative community organizing. The duo shares insights on motivating local politics, the importance of engaging marginalized voices, and the influence of community boards. They highlight how grassroots movements can reshape the narrative around prosperity and promote effective housing and transit reforms.
47:54
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
NYC Crisis Spurs Abundance Movement
New York City faces urgent crises including skyrocketing rents, homelessness, and frequent weather emergencies.
Abundance New York aims to counter scarcity and status quo bias by promoting growth and dynamism in local politics.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Ryder's State Legislature Run
Ryder ran for the state legislature against a 30-year incumbent to challenge old-fashioned, status quo politics.
He found many politically homeless New Yorkers who fit neither establishment nor progressive camps.
insights INSIGHT
Change vs Stasis Axis
The core political conflict in NYC is not left versus right but change versus stasis.
Status quo-oriented community boards often oppose new housing and transit improvements, blocking growth.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
This book is a monumental biography of Robert Moses, who was the single most powerful man in New York City and State during his time. It explores how Moses accumulated and wielded power, shaping the city through his public works projects, including highways, bridges, and parks. The book delves into Moses's early life, his idealistic beginnings, and his transformation into a powerful figure who dominated New York's politics without ever being elected. It also highlights the social and environmental impacts of his projects and his eventual fall from power. The biography is renowned for its detailed and nuanced portrayal of power dynamics in urban politics[2][4][5].
Abundance
Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
Abundance has become the word of the year in politics, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s book and a slew of articles and podcasts trailing in its wake. Everyone loves growth and prosperity of course, but what ultimately matters in local politics is organizing. To build the future in America’s cities, you’ve got to secure petitions, representation and votes, and that’s the subject of today’s show.
Joining host Danny Crichton and Riskgaming director of programming Laurence Pevsner are Ryder Kessler and Catherine Vaughn, the two co-heads of Abundance New York. They’ve built up a decentralized organization of several thousand locals looking to expand New York’s prosperity in the 21st century by developing a slate of programming including meetups, petition drives, political endorsements and more. Ryder was formerly a founder of a tech startup, and Catherine built an organization to elect state legislative candidates across America.
The four talk about the crisis facing New York City, why the status quo bias is so heavy, how Abundance New York is changing the narrative around prosperity, what it’s like to organize a community centered on local issues, what’s it like to serve in local politics, and finally, how to grapple with the historical legacy of Robert Moses.
Riskgaming 
