Breakfast links: Build that housing

Permit effects on housing

Permitting delays could be a big factor in how much new housing gets built in cities, and therefore how affordable that housing is. Long delays make building new housing more risky for developers. (Post)

H Street’s newest connection

In the 1980s, developers built the suburban-style H Street Connection strip mall as a response to crime in the neighborhood. Now the strip mall will give way to a mixed-use development with ground-floor retail and over 400 apartment units as the neighborhood again changes shape. (Post)

Mixed income with a community pool

Plans for a multigenerational mixed-income housing development in Silver Spring will include a community pool to help promote interaction between the general public and residents. (Bethesda Beat)

Development east of the Anacostia

There is a lot of development planned for east of the Anacostia River, with office space, ground floor retail, and a big mix of affordable and market rate housing. (UrbanTurf)

Maryland Ave NE road diet

The long-awaited plans for a road diet for Maryland Ave NE are inching forward. The project will likely begin construction in mid-2017. (TheWashCycle)

Fight over Metro firing

After the fatal January 2015 smoke incident, Metro fired an employee who had lied about performing maintenance on a nonfunctioning tunnel fan involved in the event. Metro’s biggest union fought and won a case to reinstate the employee, but Metro is fighting back. (WTOP)

Uber surges and SafeTrack

Uber is subsidizing how much it pays its drivers to keep up with demand during SafeTrack without high surge prices for customers. (WAMU)

Open gangways for NYC’s subway

MTA will purchase new railcars with open gangways for the New York City subway system. The railcars increase capacity by making it easy for riders to walk between cars on the train. (MTA, Richard B)  (Tip: Richard B)