Author: Jessica Sheridan Assoc. AIA LEED AP

The South Bronx holds 40% of NYC’s waste, 100% of the Bronx’s waste, four electrical power plants, a sewage treatment plant, a sewage pelletizing plant, and sees more than 60,000 trucks pass through daily. These statistics, presented by Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) Founder and Majora Carter Group President Majora Carter at a recent talk at the Museum of the City of New York, brought to light for me the importance of thinking holistically when it comes to sustainable design.

“No community should harbor the burden of environmental waste while not getting any benefit from sustainability,” Carter argued, adding that if dumping grounds were placed in wealthy neighborhoods there would be no need to go green. Those communities would have found a way to keep their districts clean long ago.

By spreading both the wealth and the burden, the whole nation could potentially lower its emissions and perhaps improve the overall state of the environment. Currently, Carter is proposing to use the national grid to harvest sun and wind (“it is always sunny and windy somewhere in the nation”), and deliver green energy throughout the country, preferably via highways to avoid disrupting existing communities. I can see how remote towns would be directly connected with major cities; the coasts would be able to use inland resources usually unavailable to them, and vice versa. Instead of politics, nature could unify the U.S.

Whether it is with PlaNYC or the stimulus package, we need to start thinking beyond specific proposals and individual communities. Sustainable planning in a larger, global sense would create environmental justice — by improving the environment, creating jobs, and educating the nation — unparalleled to what we have seen before. Carter praised President Obama’s ideals, but claimed it is the responsibility of the nation to get involved with changing the world. She ended her talk with an Obama acronym that speaks beyond the man and to our future actions: “Officially Behaving as Magnificent Americans.”

With no operating money for the island in Governor Paterson’s proposed budget and no new capital money in sight, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) is preparing to shut down the island, unless the state legislature can push through funding, which the city will match. Governors Island Alliance (GIA) members are meeting with legislative leaders on February 27, launching a postcard drive to the Governor, Mayor, and legislators, planning a press conference, and testifying at hearings. “Being the eternal optimist, I am hopeful that we will indeed have a summer season on the Island and the historic district will be protected,” says GIA executive director Rob Pirani. “But it’s going to take all of us to see this happen.” Click here to send a “Keep the Island Afloat” postcard to the Governor.

Event: Info Session: How to Join a Community Board
Location: Helpern Architects, 01.23.09
Speakers: Shaan Khan — Director of Community Affairs and Constituent Services, Manhattan Borough President’s Office; Margery Perlmutter, AIA — AIANY Public Director & Former Community Board 8 Member; David Helpern, FAIA — Principal, Helpern Architects & Community Board 8 Member
Organizer: David Helpern, FAIA

Governmental reform in NYC’s community boards is needed. There are a high number of vacancies, unbalanced representation, a highly politicized appointment process, unreported conflicts of interest, and many are unaware that community boards exist. The urgency is apparent, as this comes from Shaan Khan, the director of community affairs and constituent services at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. “Participation is the first step to reform,” Khan stated at a recent discussion encouraging design professionals to join community boards.

There are 600 members in Manhattan’s 12 community boards. With staggered two-year terms, members are residents, work in the area, or otherwise have a significant interest in the neighborhood. Full boards meet once a month, and sub-committees meet more regularly. The boards’ roles range from reviewing land-use proposals, monitoring city services, influencing policy issues, and controlling some of the NYC capital and expense budget. Community boards are the first step in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process as well as budgeting in the city. They have major say in what buildings get built and what changes are made to zoning regulations.

Margery Perlmutter, AIA, was a member of Community Board 8 for six years. She joined after witnessing board members “abusing” architects who were presenting their projects. “Most members have no idea about zoning, buildings, or planning. They make big decisions for people who don’t have a background.” Perlmutter used the Atlantic Yards debacle as an example of the naiveté of board members. This is why it is important for those who have experience and expertise — architects, engineers, and design professionals — to get involved with their neighborhoods, she said.

While the government may be working on de-politicizing the application process, Perlmutter had some words of wisdom for those considering applying. “Filling out the application is just the beginning. You have to jockey for position among the many cliques.” She recommends making appointments with council members, becoming a non-voting public member of sub-committees, making acquaintances with members, and using all of your personal connections to vie for a position.

David Helpern, FAIA, a member of Community Board 8 who cites Perlmutter as integral to his appointment on the board, spent time marketing himself to his board. He kept after council members to meet with him. He made sure the Borough President knew him, asked that committee heads consider him, went to as many community board meetings as possible, and made friends with as many members as possible. When his application came through, the board was already familiar with his qualifications and him, personally.

While the process to get on a community board may be intensive, there are many benefits to sitting on one. They can be used to leverage a future in politics. As the chair of CB 8’s landmarks committee, Perlmutter used her position to vie for and become the commissioner of the Landmarks Commission. Ultimately, the more informed and knowledgeable people in board positions are, the better it is for communities, she stated. Even if the deadline for this year has passed, now is the time to start getting involved to make a significant difference.

With NCARB’s launch of Version 4.0 of the Architect Registration Exams (ARE), designers seeking licensure are turning more and more to online discussion groups and chat rooms for advice from recent test takers. While it is worth celebrating all means of communication used to prepare future architects, a recent breach of the exam’s “Confidentiality Agreement” prohibiting dissemination of exam content, as well as violations of the U.S. Copyright Act, has created a rift in the system.

Several ARE candidates have been accused of posting exam questions and answers to online forums. Some of the individuals have received warnings, while others have been referred to the NCARB Committee on Professional Conduct (PCC). According to the NCARB website, “Depending on the severity of the disclosure, these candidates may have their exam score cancelled and/or all of their eligibilities suspended for six months to three years or more.”

Other than punishments awaiting the individuals, the violations are impeding the ARE process overall. NCARB and Prometric are undertaking quality control checks. This is delaying the process to alert candidates whether or not they have passed their exams. I know of someone who took an exam last November and has yet to hear if she passed. Also, NCARB is threatening to extend the six-month wait period to retake a failed division to protect the pool of questions (a test taker should never see the same version of a division). The organization may increase test costs to make up increased development and operational costs. It may even stop delivering entire divisions for a “significant period of time” to protect the tests’ content if it determines that too much information was released.

NCARB acknowledges the fine line between “helping” and “cheating.” In a profession that prides itself on responsibility and morality, I find it extremely disappointing that the line has been crossed. Surely, we are better than that.

To read the official statement made by Erica Brown, AIA, ARE Director at NCARB, click here.

A new online forum has been developed to imagine a collective vision of the future of the built environment. The project/online exhibition, Vision 2020, collects perspectives from architects, critics, students, leaders, and the public with the intention to provide a clear and holistic picture of what an architect needs to be, think, act, and do to be relevant in the future. Vision 2020 was developed by Andrew Caruso, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, and Tony Vanky, Assoc. AIA, who both served as president and vice president of the American Institute of Architecture Students in 2007-2008. They grew frustrated with the lack of long-range visioning of the architecture discipline and envisioned the project as a means to create a holistic understanding of the problems and opportunities facing humanity because of the built environment.