Daniel C. Walsh on the City’s Efforts to Clean Up Brownfields

Daniel C. Walsh is the former Director of the City office of the Superfund and Brownfield Cleanup Program for the State Department of Environmental Conservation. Walsh studied the geochemistry of New York City landfills as a doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Rockland County native has spent his professional career studying and helping to resolve environmental problems in and around the City.

WA day not so far off. Walsh recalls reading Mayor Bloomberg’s … <Read More>


Council Member Jessica Lappin on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Site Safety

Council Member Jessica Lappin represents Community District 5 in Manhattan, which includes parts of Midtown and the Upper East Side. She also chairs the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses. A New York native and graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Georgetown University, Lappin was raised in a landmarked house in Gramercy Park. Well-regarded by preservation advocates, she has garnered accolades from the Friends of the Upper East Side and the Historic … <Read More>


Alessandro Olivieri: Continuing a Family Tradition of Public Service

It should come as no surprise that Alessandro Olivieri, General Counsel for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, decided to leave private practice for public service. When asked about the career change he made a decade ago, Olivieri credited some of his most important role models — his family members. Pointing to a commemorative piece on his office wall containing photographs of the Hudson River and his maternal grandmother, Frances “Franny” Reese, … <Read More>


Andrew Dolkart: Teacher, Author, Advocate

When Andrew Dolkart, Director of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, was asked to characterize what it means to be a historic preservationist, he found the question difficult to answer. Upon further reflection, Dolkart described it as “a varied field” based on a value system that “honors the physical fabric of our communities.” Originally intending to pursue a PhD in art history, Dolkart turned to historic preservation, spurred by … <Read More>


Lynn Kelly on the Future of Coney Island

Ever since Lynn Kelly was appointed President of the Coney Island Development Corporation [CIDC] last year, she knew that time was of the essence. Her mission: restore Coney Island to its former prominence, and do it quickly, or lose the opportunity forever.

Kelly, a former Deputy Director of the City’s Art Commission, joined the New York City Economic Development Corporation in 2001. Over the next six years, she managed a portfolio of development projects and … <Read More>


Morris Adjmi on Landmarks, Historic Districts, and Sustainable Architecture

Morris Adjmi knew from an early age that architecture would be his calling. At age five, he designed his first masterpiece: a pyramid of coffee tables and chairs covered with blankets. Just as his mother arrived for the unveiling, the pyramid fell to the floor and injured young Morris, striking him above the eye. Despite the initial setback, he was hooked. A native of New Orleans, he found an abundance of architecture, especially in the … <Read More>