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One City/One Future: A Blueprint for Growth That Works for All New Yorkers

Report last updated April 16, 2009

This Blueprint for Economic Development is the product of four years of collaboration by civic leaders, neighborhood advocates, community development organizations, labor unions, local development corporations, environmentalists, and others to make economic development work for New Yorkers -- to improve economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and the quality of life in our city.

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Building in Good Jobs

Report last updated December 7, 2006

In cities around the country, private sector development and public sector support have combined to create building booms in places that only a few decades ago were in seemingly irreversible decline. However, both working poverty and chronic unemployment in central cities remain disturbingly high.

Workforce "linkage" policies present an opportunity to help people make a lasting exit from poverty by tying economic development projects directly to the creation of quality jobs and training opportunities for people struggling to get ahead.

PrattCenter-Building_in_Good_Jobs_Report.pdf

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City Charter Revision: Where Land Use Fits In

Issue Brief last updated March 10, 2010

Mayor Bloomberg has announced the appointment of a City Charter revision commission. While its review of term limits may initially grab the most attention, the commission will be looking at something else just as vital to the city’s future: land use and the process through which property owners, residents and the government decide what gets built in New York City.

The new Pratt Center issue brief "City Charter Revision: Where Land Use Fits In" outlines the major land use challenges the new commission must confront: 

  • The City Planning Commission has ceased to plan
  • The City Charter's aspiration to community-based planning has not been fulfilled 
  • Attempts to promote "fair share" of burdens have fallen short
  • Side agreements to land use decisions have proliferated without disclosure or enforcement

A renewed and independent role for the City Planning Commission, substantive support for community-based planning, an updating of fair-share to meet current realities, and disclosure and enforcement for side agreements are all essential measures for the new City Charter commission to implement.

PrattCenter_CharterBrief.pdf

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The Perfect Setting: Economic Impact of the Diamond and Jewelry Industry in New York City

Report last updated August 2, 2011

New York City is the undisputed center of the diamond and jewelry industry for North America and much of the world. While New York’s diamond and jewelry businesses are located in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, a single block on West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in midtown-Manhattan is the epicenter of these two industries. These businesses generate over $24 billion in economic activity and employ over 22,000 people. This report focuses on this economic activity and the impact of this extraordinary block that is New York’s Diamond District.

The report offers an assessment of the industry’s needs based on government data and interviews with local businesses. It represents a renewed call to City and State government to help maintain the competitiveness of the diamond and jewelry sectors through financial and technical assistance.  Additionally, it presents strategies that the 47th Street BID can pursue immediately in order to address some of the issues on the street as well as help businesses plan for the future.

diamondstudy_revised.pdf

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Coney Island Rezoning

Testimony last updated March 30, 2009

Testimony to Brooklyn Borough President on Coney Island Rezoning
March 30, 2009

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Economic Development Incentive Packages

Testimony last updated December 19, 2006

Testimony to New York City Council Committee on Economic Development Oversight Hearing on Economic Development Incentive Packages

Marnie McGregor
Policy and Communications Specialist, Pratt Center for Community Development
December 19, 2006

Chairman White, Jr. and Committee members, my name is Marnie McGregor from the Pratt Center for Community Development.

First we would like to commend the Committee for convening this oversight hearing, and the leadership of Speaker Quinn. We particularly applaud the Council for passing Local Law 48 last year which significantly helps policy makers and the public better understand the fiscal and employment impacts of economic development deals negotiated outside of the budget process by the IDA & EDC.

In addition, many improvements have been made by the IDA over the past year to make the public process for subsidy proposals more meaningful. In addition, stronger clawback provisions now generally require commercial companies to meet job growth targets in order to receive subsidies.

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Jamaica Rezoning

Testimony last updated May 23, 2007

Testimony to the City Planning Commission on the Jamaica Plan

Pratt Center for Community Development
Brad Lander
May 23, 2007

Chair Burden, members of the City Planning Commission, thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today. My name is Brad Lander and I am the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a university-based center that works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers by helping communities to plan for and realize their future.

The Pratt Center was honored to work with Community Board 12's Ad Hoc Committee on the Jamaica Plan. We have deep respect for their work, and all of the time, research, and passion they have put into this effort. We encourage you to give serious consideration to their position, which we believe reflects strong sentiments within the community. Our testimony today, however, is our own.

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Tax-exempt bonds for Yankee Stadium

Testimony last updated January 15, 2009

Statement in Opposition to Additional Proposed Tax-Exempt Bonds for Yankee Stadium
Testimony to the New York City Industrial Development Agency

Joan Byron
Pratt Center for Community Development
January 15, 2009
The Pratt Center joins Good Jobs New York, and the South Bronx-based organizations testifying here today, in opposing the issuance of $371 million in new tax-exempt bonds to cover additional construction costs for Yankee Stadium.

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Hunts Point Rezoning

Testimony last updated June 17, 2008

Testimony to the City Council Committee on Zoning and Franchises Special Hunts Point District, Bronx (C080248ZMX)

Joan Byron
Director, Sustainability and Environmental Justice Initiative
Pratt Center for Community Development
June 17, 2008

My name is Joan Byron; I am the Director of the Sustainability and Environmental Justice Initiative of the Pratt Center for Community and Environmental Development. The Pratt Center works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers, by empowering communities to plan for and realize their futures. We are especially proud to have supported the work of Hunts Point and other South Bronx organizations since the early 1990s in the many battles they have fought for environmental justice; Hunts Point bears more than its share of the burdens of the infrastructure and land uses that make New York City's density and vitality possible, to the daily cost of the people who live, work, and breathe in the shadow of highways, electric power plants, sewage treatment and sludge pelletization facilities, and dozens of waste transfer stations and waste handling facilities.

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