NYC planner will speak here

Howard Slatkin, an expert in urban planning with the New York City Planning Commission, will speak at the Central Waterfront Advisory Group meeting Jan. 8 at the WHYY Independence Foundation Civic Space, 150 North 6th Street. To register to attend, click this link http://www.tiny.cc/signup

Slatkin will talk about the work New York City has done and is envisioning in Greenpoint-Williamsburg. In November, the advisory group benefited from a presentation by Slatkin about the issues of scale of construction and building height. These components of development are so important that the NYC Planning Commission mandates specific placement and orientation of buildings to ensure residents behind those developments don’t lose their waterfront views.

See video1, video2, video3

The presentation on Jan. 8th, which begins at 8 a.m., will give specific details of a process that in many ways has similar applications with our Central Delaware project. The talk is free and open to the public.

Slatkin is a Team Leader with the Department of City Planning. As project director for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning, an innovative City-initiated plan for the redevelopment of two miles of former industrial waterfront, he helped take the plan from its early formulation through an extensive community outreach process and its adoption in May 2005.

In addition to a role in implementation of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg plan, and other planning projects on and near the Brooklyn waterfront, he is also the Department’s coordinator for its recently expanded Inclusionary Housing program.

He received his master’s degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.

 “I am inspired by the level of professionalism, optimism and excellence that the planning commission in New York City shows,” said Harris Steinberg of PennPraxis, the lead consultant in developing a new vision for the Delaware River waterfront. “Amanda Burden’s staff has done some heavy lifting, and the designs respond to the needs of specific neighborhoods. The Greenpoint-Williamsburg work is quite applicable to what we will be doing.”

Click on the NYC Planning Commission site for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Plan.