Whether there are hundreds of thousands of comments or tens of thousands of comments for the OMB to review, office staff are facing a daunting challenge, said Stuart Shapiro, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, in an interview. “OMB’s never had a rule that had this volume of comments before,” Shapiro said, noting that OMB’s staff are already “very, very busy people.”
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NJ flooding to get worse, says new study. See areas to be hit hardest
A new research brief by Jonathan Delura, Senior Research Specialist, Center for Urban Policy Research for the New Jersey Climate Change Research Center details a novel approach for estimating the extent and depth of roadway inundation using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) derived roadway surface elevations. A desktop analysis was conducted utilizing this approach to provide a first order assessment of coastal flooding impacts under current and future flood scenarios for New Jersey.
Super-rich complain but experts welcome Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax
“In the context of the city doing everything it can to get housing construction happening, the idea that we would be having empty units is hard to justify,” said James DeFilippis, a professor of planning and public policy at Rutgers University.
Freedom House and Rutgers Democracy Lab Announce New Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Democracy and Freedom Online
“This partnership enables the Rutgers Democracy Lab’s Technology and Democracy Research Hub to bring students and leading researchers together to understand threats that come from a global resurgence in authoritarianism,” said Nicholas Longo, Director of the Rutgers Democracy Lab. “It will build young people’s ability to be engaged democratic citizens.”
Ashley Caldwell (PP ’26), Honored at Sheila Y. Oliver Foundation Annual Legacy Brunch
The Foundation honored the following women leaders for their outstanding contributions to public service, education, healthcare, advocacy, economic development, and community empowerment: Ashley M. Caldwell | Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Graduate; Member, New Brunswick Board of Education
New Jersey Can’t Wait: We Need a Multisector Plan for Aging
Roberto Muñiz, President & CEO of Parker Health Group and a Senior Health Administration Fellow at the Bloustein School, argues that New Jersey urgently needs a Multisector Plan for Aging (MPA) to address housing, healthcare, transportation, and economic security as the state’s senior population grows fast. New Jersey has led the nation in outbound migration for years, he notes, with many older residents leaving due to high costs, and that more than half of seniors in the state don’t earn enough to cover basic needs.
Flood of comments on White House grantmaking overhaul is largely negative, analysis shows
“Public comment periods and regulations are not a plebiscite, they’re not a vote. So it doesn’t officially matter whether it’s 80-20 one way or 70-30 or 51-49. One thing I can assure you, the administration, any administration, will not count up and let those totals affect their final decisions,” said Stuart Shapiro, the dean of the Rutgers School of Planning and Public Policy and a former OMB official who has written about the role public comments play in shaping regulation.
New Jersey’s New E-Bike Law Sparks Debate Ahead of July 19 Rollout
Von Hagen said many New Jersey residents who are neurodivergent or have disabilities are unable to obtain a driver’s license. She believes this law will stop them from riding e-bikes.
How NYU Langone’s planned Melville hospital would change Long Island healthcare
Cases for higher, or lower, prices
Older hospitals may buy expensive new equipment and other technology to better compete, in some cases leading to duplication of services, said Soumitra Bhuyan, executive director of health administration programs at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Combined with NYU Langone’s investment in the new hospital, that could help push up prices for patients — although competition among hospitals also could potentially help lower prices, he said.
In addition, an academic medical center like the proposed Melville hospital generally charges more than community hospitals, he said.
Studies show that initial hospitalization costs for academic medical centers are higher, although other research indicates that, long-term, costs can be lower, possibly because of fewer complications after an initial hospital stay at an academic medical center.
New Jersey economy expected to trail U.S. growth for next 2 years, Rutgers report says
Authors Will Irving and Tarun Arasu, both of Rutgers, expect employment growth to rebound to 0.5% in 2027 and eventually outpace the national rate over the medium term.