The day before CityLand met with Manhattan Community Board 9’s Pat Jones, Borough President Scott Stringer announced his recommendation in support of Columbia University’s expansion plan—the same plan Community Board 9 rejected because it conflicts with the proposed development plan Ms. Jones helped draft. While most people would be deflated by such a turn of events, Ms. Jones remained calm and focused, as she sat down with CityLand to discuss the future of Manhattanville.

Raised in Corona, and a graduate of Flushing High School, Ms. Jones has only left the city for the four years that she attended Michigan State University. She returned to New York to work for JP Morgan, eventually becoming a Managing Director. After settling into a brownstone in the Hamilton Heights Historic District, Ms. Jones volunteered to work at her community board in 2002. In addition to her position as Vice-Chair for Community Board 9, Ms. Jones is the Chair of the West Harlem Development Corporation and a board member of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. (read more…)