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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.

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Willets Point

Project posted April 16, 2009

Community Planning for Economic Development

As the City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) moves to redevelop Willets Point, an industrial area nestled between Corona and Flushing north of Flushing Meadows Park, the Pratt Center for Community Development facilitated a series of workshops to identify and prioritize the concerns of area residents, business owners and workers.

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Protecting New York's Threatened Manufacturing Space

Issue Brief posted April 16, 2009

When Mayor Bloomberg came into office in 2002, New York City had 12,542 acres of land where manufacturing businesses could legally operate. Today, thanks to zoning changes, it has fewer than 10,746, and another 1,800 acres would be converted to other uses under proposed rezonings. This Pratt Center Issue Brief assesses the loss of manufacturing land, looks at its impact on local businesses and job opportunities, and recommends measures for preserving what's left.
 

 

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

Report posted 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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Economic and Workforce Development

Project posted April 6, 2009

Planning for Jobs and Training Opportunities

The Pratt Center has been in the forefront of efforts to make sure that New York City's land use and development policies and programs promote strong employment and training opportunities, and link major economic development projects with nearby residents and workers.

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Coney Island for All

Project posted April 6, 2009

Residents and Workers Weigh in on Rezoning

A coalition of community, labor and housing organizations concerned with the future of Coney Island has joined in support of Coney Island for All: A Platform for Equitable Development, on which the Pratt Center for Community Development served as a key advisor. As a rezoning plan for Coney Island proceeds through the city's land use process, the platform outlines measures to ensure that new development in the beloved seaside area helps meet the area's deep needs for good jobs, affordable housing, retail services, preservation and expansion of the historic amusement area, and other community benefits.

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One City/One Future

Project posted April 6, 2009

Making Growth Work for All New Yorkers

One City/One Future is the product of four years of collaboration by civic leaders, neighborhood advocates, community development organizations, labor unions, affordable housing groups, environmentalists, immigrant advocates, and other stakeholders to make economic development work for all New Yorkers.

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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

I’m Vicki Weiner, Director of Planning & Preservation at the Pratt Center for Community Development. Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today.  The Pratt Center is a university-based non-profit organization that works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers by helping communities to plan for and realize their future.  For decades, Coney Island has been a haven for working class New Yorkers. A century ago, it was the first place that working people could reach, and afford, for a break from their daily grind in sweatshops. It has remained for decades a place that people of every walk of life can get to by subway, and yet feel they have gone to another world. As the City of New York proposes to redevelop Coney Island, it must ensure that Coney remains a place that creates opportunity for working New Yorkers. 

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Kingsbridge Armory

Testimony last updated March 5, 2009

Testimony to IDA Board on Kingsbridge Armory

Joan Byron
Director, Sustainability and Environmental Justice Initiative
March 5, 2009

The Pratt Center joins the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance in asking the IDA board not to vote for the package of tax deferrals and subsidies being requested by the Related Companies until Related enters into a binding agreement committing that the project will create the benefits to the community and to the city’s economy that justify the public investment this project is demanding. You are being asked to vote on $13 million in tax breaks, but there is much more on the line here.

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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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