Rafael Salamanca. Image Credit: www.salamanca.nyc
The New Year brought new leadership to City Council committees and subcommittees. On January 11, 2018, new City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, announced the New York City Council committee chairs and leadership. City Council has 35 standing committees, which including the Committee on Land Use and Committee on Housing and Buildings.
Brad Lander
Council Member Brad Lander, chair of the City Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, draws from his experience as a public policy advocate when executing his duties.
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Lander in 1991 earned a liberal arts degree from the University of Chicago. He then earned a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at the University College London in the United Kingdom, where he worked with community groups to research how a controversial plan to redevelop the London Docklands would impact local maritime communities.
Lander in 1993 returned to the United States and joined the Fifth Avenue Committee, a Brooklyn community group that advances economic and social justice. During his tenure Lander earned a second master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute. In 2003 he was named director of the Pratt Center for Community Development. He was also involved in advocating for the use of inclusionary zoning, which allows developers to construct larger buildings in exchange for allocating a portion to affordable housing. The campaign helped spearhead the City’s use of inclusionary zoning in neighborhoods outside of Manhattan. (read more…)
