Howard Goldman

Howard Goldman’s 35-year career as a land use attorney has ranged from helping native Alaskan communities create coastline regulations to assisting developers navigate New York City’s complex land use process. Aspiring to work for the Natural Resources Defense Council or the Sierra Club, Goldman in 1972  received an ad hoc degree in environmental and pre-law studies from SUNY at Buffalo. Goldman stayed on to earn a law degree, and after graduation he joined Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo representing indigent clients in civil matters. While perusing the organization’s magazine, Goldman noticed a job posting under the “Alaska” section. Thinking it would present an opportunity to practice environmental law, he made a telephone call and soon after was on a plane to work for Neighborhood Legal Services in Juneau, Alaska.

One year later, Goldman joined the Alaska Office of Coastal Management where he drafted regulations to help the state secure federal Coastal Zone Management Act funds. After the regulations were approved Goldman entered private practice, where he made his first foray into land use and zoning law assisting cities, towns, and indigenous communities,  including the North Slope Borough, to adopt land use controls to manage local coastline activities. (read more…)

Meenakshi Srinivasan

Meenakshi Srinivasan’s background in architecture and urban planning serve her well as chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals. With a staff of 20, including five commissioners, BSA reviews 400 to 500 applications per year, including appeals of final decisions made by the Department of Buildings, applications for variances from the zoning resolution, applications for certain special permits, and vested rights claims.

A native of India, Srinivasan’s early interest in art, science, and mathematics led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in architecture from New Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture. Srinivasan practiced for a year as an architect in Delhi before expanding her interests to large-scale urban design and planning. Interested in examining how physical space impacts the public realm, Srinivasan came to the United States in 1986 to earn her master’s degree in city planning, urban design, and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. (read more…)

Kenneth J. Knuckles

Kenneth J. Knuckles, vice chair of the City Planning Commission and CEO and president of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, has worn many hats during his career; a community advocate, student of architecture, lawyer, deputy borough president, public servant, and business leader. After serving in the United States Army, Knuckles in 1968 joined the Architects’ Renewal Committee of Harlem (ARCH). The Committee pursued two principal goals: advocating for urban renewal and socialequity in Harlem, and encouraging minorities to study architecture and urban planning. As a member of ARCH, Knuckles advocated for the defeat of Columbia University’s 1968 proposal to build a massive gym in Morningside Park that would have included separate entrances for students and the Harlem community. The following year, Knuckles enrolled in the University of Michigan’s architecture program.

Knuckles eventually realized that the socio-political/planning issues he had been exposed to both at ARCH and Michigan would be better understood through a legal education. After earning a degree in architecture, Knuckles enrolled in the Howard University School of Law where he was exposed to the regulatory mechanisms that govern land use. Knuckles returned to the City and began his legal career as counsel to the Department of Personnel and later the City Civil Service Commission where he worked on disciplinary appeals. In 1985, he joined the Department of Housing Preservation and Development as an assistant commissioner under Mayor Edward Koch. (read more…)

Carol E. Rosenthal

Land use attorney Carol E. Rosenthal is able to combine her appreciation of architecture, government, and law all in a day’s work as a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. After contemplating a major in art, Rosenthal graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in political science. She then earned her law degree from New York University School of Law and began her legal career as a clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Citing a desire to work on something “concrete,” Rosenthal entered private practice as a transactional real estate attorney.

A major turning point in Rosenthal’s career occurred when she left private practice to become assistant counsel to the New York City Department of City Planning. She based the decision on her longtime interest in government and policy, and desire to have an impact on the City’s future. One of Rosenthal’s major projects while at Planning was helping to create the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program. She recalls the uncertainty at that time about the legal issues related to zoning incentives and how closely the benefits needed to be related to the impact of a proposed project in order to withstand judicial scrutiny. Rosenthal and her colleagues structured the program to require that the developer build the affordable housing geographically close to the development receiving the floor area bonus. This promoted the creation of heterogeneous mixed-income neighborhoods. (read more…)

Douglas Durst

Douglas Durst, Chairman of The Durst Organization, originally planned to join the U.S. Foreign Service as a career path. Today, Durst is charged with leading one of New York City’s most respected real estate development companies. He represents the third generation of the Durst family to chair the company that was founded by his grandfather in 1915.

Born in New York City, Durst graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966 with a degree in economics. He returned to the City to study at New York University’s Graduate School of Public Administration. Durst eventually joined the family business in 1970, and he became president in 1990. Durst’s first major project as president was the Condé Nast Building at 4 Times Square, a major component of the redevelopment of Times Square and the nation’s first large-scale office building to incorporate green building principles.

In July 2010, Durst stepped down as co-president, a position he shared with his cousin, Jonathan “Jody” Durst, to assume the role of company chairman. Although not as active in the day-to-day operations of the company, Durst explains that he has been more involved with their One World Trade Center project than he anticipated. (read more…)