Kate Ascher, head of Happold Consulting’s U.S. practice, has perhaps become better known for her popular books on how cities work. Ascher received her masters and doctorate degrees from the London School of Economics, where she focused on the interface between the public and private sectors. She previously worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the City’s Economic Development Corporation, and Vornado Realty Trust. Currently, Ascher teaches at Columbia University’s Graduate … <Read More>
Search Results for: City Planning Department
Alternative fueling station for Hunts Point approved
- Proposed alternative fueling station in Hunts Point. Image: Courtesy of Atlantis Management Group WXY Architecture.
Public facility within Hunts Point Food Distribution Center would provide alternative fuel pumps and maintenance bays to retrofit and convert conventional fuel engines. On November 30, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the Department of Small Business Services’ proposal to allow the Atlantis Management Group to redevelop a City-owned lot within the Hunts … <Read More>
BSA Commissioner Susan M. Hinkson Discusses Her Varied Career
Susan M. Hinkson serves as one of the five Commissioners on the Mayor-appointed Board of Standards and Appeals. Hinkson, who is trained as both an architect and an attorney, was born and raised in the Bronx. Her father served as a justice in the Bronx County Supreme Court and her mother was a musician in the theater. Hinkson said her mother probably thought she would also go into theater, but around age fourteen Hinkson declared … <Read More>
Commission approves Brooklyn skyscraper district
Questions raised about Planning Commission’s authority when reviewing landmark designations. On November 16, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved Landmarks’ designation of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in downtown Brooklyn. The district comprises 21 buildings along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets, and is within the boundaries of the Special Downtown Brooklyn District established by the City in 2001.
At Landmarks’ public hearing on the proposed district in February 2011, residents of a … <Read More>
Brooklyn’s Special 4th Avenue District approved
Special district created to eliminate blank walls and curb cuts and promote pedestrian uses. On November 29, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to establish the Special 4th Avenue Enhanced Commercial District in Brooklyn. The special district encompasses portions of 56 blocks along 4th Avenue between Atlantic Avenue and 24th Street in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and South Park Slope neighborhoods.
The 4th Avenue commercial corridor was historically characterized by … <Read More>
Coney Island street-grade changes approved
Street grade elevation will connect West 21st Street to the boardwalk. On November 3, 2011, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning and Taconic Investment Partners’ proposal to raise the grade of two streets in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The plan will raise the elevation of West 21st Street between Surf Avenue and the Riegelmann Boardwalk. Taconic owns the landmarked Childs Restaurant on the west side of West 21st and a vacant parcel … <Read More>