Author: Emma Pattiz

Hundreds of passionate community members gathered at the Spruce Street School on 11.10.14 for a public forum on the future of the South Street Seaport. Co-sponsored by Save Our Seaport, the City Club of New York, and the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, the event was an opportunity for the public to hear from the Seaport Working Group (SWG), a committee of elected officials, nonprofits, local residents, and representatives of the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) tasked with creating a series of development guidelines and principles for the South Street Seaport Historic District. In addition, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and comment, view the short film South Street Seaport: Voices for a New Future, and hear a panel of distinguished experts and stakeholders discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with developing the Seaport.

The South Street Seaport Historic District has been an active marketplace and harbor since 1642. The Save Our Seaport Coalition formed out of fear that recent development proposals by HHC for Pier 17 threaten the civic and historic qualities of the area. After months of dialogue, public comment, and compromise, the SWG members largely feel that given the rapid and constant change in surrounding neighborhoods, the area is ripe for development. However, the development must be appropriate and contextual, and the planning process must include community participation. Continue reading “Planning the ‘Port: A Public Conversation on Development at the South Street Seaport”

On 10.23.14, the New York Building Congress released the New York City Construction Outlook 2014-2016, the organization’s annual forecast. According to the report, the industry should expect more than $100 billion in construction spending over the next three years. This upturn is the result of an increase in high-end residential construction and strong commercial and government sectors.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz opened the program with an enthusiastic embrace of the building industry. She informed the crowd that Queens is open for building and welcomes good development. The Borough of Queens is home to more than 2.3 million residents, representing more than 120 countries and speaking more than 135 languages. As the diverse population continues to grow, zoning can help create necessary housing throughout the borough, including in commercial centers like Long Island City, Downtown Jamaica, and Downtown Flushing, reflecting the latest development trends and projected future needs in those areas. Development, however, must match the built character of neighborhoods and prepare them for growth. The borough president is working to contextually rezone neighborhoods. Katz also addressed the shortage of senior housing in the borough. Continue reading “New York City: Open for Building”

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) program launched in September 2014 and gave 53,000 children in New York City access to free, full-day UPK. The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has begun planning for the 2015-2016 school year, when it plans to roll out the next wave of seats. To accommodate the additional students, New York City agencies, non-profit and community organizations, and architects must collaborate to create safe spaces that meet communities’ needs.

On 06.12.14, AIANY and the NYC Department of Design + Construction (DDC) hosted a charrette at the Center for Architecture that focused on creating UPK spaces in public branch libraries. Architects and representatives from DDC, DOE, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Public Library (QPL) spent the morning discussing common goals and designing potential classrooms in seven different libraries across five boroughs.

On 10.06.14, stakeholders came together again to continue the conversation. Speakers detailed the findings from the charrette, and reported on the work completed since then, including DDC’s work scouting and preparing classrooms, and how QPL has embraced the challenge. Speakers addressed questions from the charrette, including issues related to outdoor activity and space allocation, and presented suggestions based on work they have done in this area.  Continue reading “Branching Out: Next Steps for Universal Pre-Kindergarten Expansion in NYC Libraries”

On 09.16.14, the Historic Districts Council (HDC), the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), and the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School hosted “Affordable Housing/Historic Preservation: A Roundtable Discussion” at The New School. Moderated by GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman, the panel focused on the challenges associated with preserving affordable housing units in New York City.

Panelists included Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President; Rosie Mendez, NYC Council Member; Harvey Epstein, associate director and project director for the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center; Nadine Maleh, director of Inspiring Places, Community Solutions; and Rachel Meltzer, assistant professor of Urban Policy at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School. Speakers emphasized the importance of community participation in the planning processes, and debated how the city should structure inclusionary zoning policies. Continue reading “Taking On Housing Preservation”

On 09.03.14, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman addressed a crowd at Pace Law School at the “Beyond Gridlock: State Leadership on Energy and Environmental Issues” presentation. The event announced the release of a new report Current and Future Trends in Extreme Rainfall Across New York State by the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Attorney General’s Office. Schneiderman spoke about how the effects of climate change are already impacting our lives, and the case studies of extreme rainfall in the report personalize the challenges. The federal government is unable to take the action required to combat it. State governments and non-profit organizations must fill the voids. New York State was unprepared for Superstorm Sandy, but Schneiderman’s office wants the state to become the model of preparedness and resiliency for the country in the face of natural disasters. By working with utility companies and fellow policy makers, Schneiderman hopes to do some transformation politics and get people to see things differently. Continue reading “Attorney General and Gridlock: Addressing Climate Change in New York State”

On 08.20.14, Enterprise Community Partners held a resilience roundtable on ways to incorporate resilience measures into its Green Communities Criteria. Enterprise Green Communities aligns affordable housing investment strategies with environmentally responsible building practices, and the Green Communities Criteria were developed to provide a framework for building green, affordable housing developments. Developments must fulfill an adequate number of the criteria in order to receive Green Communities certification. After 10 years of successful implementation, Enterprise is updating the list of criteria with resilient building methods. For the New York region, the focus is on flooding issues.

Enterprise brought together a group of experts to suggest standards for the updated criteria. After opening remarks by Enterprise VP & Market Leader Judith Kende and a thorough introduction to the Green Communities Criteria by Enterprise Program Officer Michelle Mulcahy, there were keynote introductory remakrs by Alex Wilson of Resilient Design and AIANY Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA. An overview of the resilience work of Enterprise Community Partners was followed by participants breaking into four work groups. These were based on the criteria’s four existing categories: Location and Neighborhood Fabric + Site Improvements, Materials Beneficial to the Environment and Healthy Living Environment, Integrative Design and Operations & Maintenance, and Water Conservation and Energy Efficiency. Each group was encouraged to consider their assigned area in context and to think holistically about approaches to resiliently. Continue reading “Communities as Critical Systems: Building Resiliently”

The de Blasio Administration has proved that it embraces New York City’s current development surge, but the pressure is on to address high-priority issues such as resiliency, aging infrastructure, and universal design. City Council members are eager to hear from experts, such as AIANY members, about initiatives related to the built environment. In meetings over the past few weeks, three council members requested input on a few of their upcoming projects. Continue reading “Counsel for City Council”

On 07.22.14, AIANY President Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, and Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA, testified before the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) about One Vanderbilt Avenue. The proposed project, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and developed by SL Green, would sit just west of Grand Central Terminal. It necessitated review by LPC because of its retrieval of air rights from The Bowery Savings Bank building down the street and its close proximity to the 100-year-old landmark terminal. Although the design does not demonstrate what LPC customarily considers “harmonious” to its neighboring building, the group was largely in favor of the project and its relationship to Grand Central Terminal.

The conversation and testimonies at the hearing focused mostly on the glass-enclosed base of the building – a void-like contrast to the solid Grand Central Terminal. The dynamic façade also brought up discussion about whether tall buildings are meant to be in the background or the foreground of the city as it grows. One goal of the proposed building is to reveal new views of the southwest corner of Grand Central, currently hidden by the existing building. The new design steps back from the street while also gesturing towards the terminal. Continue reading “Three-Part Harmony”

On 07.02.14 a small group of architects, landscape architects, and engineers met with NYC Department of Design + Construction (DDC) Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora at the DDC offices in Long Island City. It was the second such roundtable discussion organized by AIANY, and part of the new commissioner’s “listening tour.” Also present were additional upper-level DDC staff members who have previously worked with many of the design professionals in attendance.

Commissioner Peña-Mora assured the group that Mayor de Blasio wants to make sure that DDC continues its Design and Construction Excellence program. The Design Excellence program has been around for 10 years, and there is a substantial body of work as a result. The commissioner, however, would like to improve upon it in a number of ways, and is enthusiastic about hearing from participants and prospective participants on how it can continue to grow. Continue reading “Policy Pulse: Design Excellent”