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Community Projects
The Center grew out of community-based projects undertaken by Hunter faculty and students in the Department of Urban Affairs & Planning, where the Center is hosted.
The 2011 New York City Vacancy Survey
In 2011, Picture the Homeless (PTH), a homeless advocacy organization, and CCPD partnered to conduct the New York City Vacancy Survey - The first-ever count of vacant buildings and lots throughout the five boroughs. CCPD is currently working on developing a methodology that can be implemented annually to inventory vacant lots and buildings. In preparation for the survey, CCPD indentified 20 target areas where there are high proportions of vacant buildings and land, using existing citywide data from various city departments as well as from volunteer reports. Drawing on the organizing expertise of PTH and support from other partner community agencies, the two organizations have mobilized volunteers to conduct a block-by-block and door-to-door survey to verify and correct this data. Later on in the year, the results of the survey will be presented to community-based organizations and city officials as a way of launching discussions about community-based planning and citywide strategies for addressing housing issues.
Read the Bronx Press Release for the Project
Read coverage of the project in the Daily News
Walmart Impact Study
In January 2011, CCPD along with New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, jointly released a study based on evidence from researchers across the nation showing that Walmart's entry into new markets generally undercuts local economies and kills more retail jobs than creates. Later in the year, a follow‐up study was conducted that examined the potential impact of a Walmart superstore in the Gateway Estates II development, in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood. The study suggests that if a Walmart should locate in the area it would most likely have the same negative impact on the local economy that Walmart has had in other large cities.
2011 Studio Report -- "Beyond the Backlash: Equity and Participation in Bicycle Planning"
In 2011, Hunter College Master of Urban Planning students reported their findings from a yearlong research project. The team of students worked with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Bicycle Program to recommend improvements to the planning, implementation and location of bicycle infrastructure in New York City. Dr. Tom Angotti, Director of CCPD, served as faculty advisor for the group of students. The studio focused on determining how cycling infrastructure in New York City can best serve the needs of current and future cyclists, and how its longevity can be secured into the future.
The report highlights issues within the city's current bike plan including the lack of infrastructure in traditionally underserved areas outside of the core of Manhattan and northwest Brooklyn and the vulnerability of new bike lane infrastructure in light of incomplete transportation.
The suggestions offered in the report are geared at assisting the DOT Bicycle Program in its implementation of bike lanes and other infrastructure. The report provides numerous recommendations on how the community involvement process can be improved within the current program. The report also provides an in-depth discussion on the issue of transportation justice and how bicycle infrastructure can be more equitably distributed in New York.
Read coverage of the report in Streetsblog
PROPOSAL FOR A CHINATOWN/LOWER EAST SIDE SPECIAL DISTRICT
CCPD is currently working with a coalition of Chinatown and Lower East Side community groups to craft a proposed Special Zoning District for Chinatown and the Lower East Side. The Special Zoning District is a plan for a contextual rezoning designed to protect the neighborhood from super-sized luxury residential and hotel development and preserve existing affordable housing and small businesses.
Chinatown/LES Special District Zoning Proposal
EAST VILLAGE / LOWER EAST SIDE REZONING
CCPD prepared an analysis/critique of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that was issued in 2008 by the New York City Department of City Planning for a proposed 111-block rezoning of the East Village and Lower East Side. This would be the third largest rezoning since the city's adoption of the 1961 Zoning Resolution. The analysis identifies several important flaws in the DEIS methodology and conclusions, especially in regard to the potential disparate impacts of the proposed rezoning on low-income, working class residents and people of color who live in and around the study area. The rezoning would impact neighboring communities in Chinatown, the Bowery, the Lower East Side and NYCHA public housing, all of which are experiencing tremendous development pressures in spite of the troubled housing market.
SUNSET PARK REZONING CHALLENGE
CCPD Director Tom Angotti worked with South Brooklyn Legal Services and a coalition of organizations in Sunset Park to provide information and expert testimony challenging a proposal by the New York City Department of City Planning to rezone a large portion of Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
Tom Angotti Affidavit in Sunset Park Rezoning Case
FLUSHING COMMONS -- AN ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
In June 2010, CCPD worked with the Flushing Coalition for Responsible Development to examine the potential impact of the Flushing Commons development on small businesses in the neighborhood. Detailed field surveys of Downtown Flushing found that the project's EIS undercounted Flushing's small businesses by 57%. The Flushing Commons project proposes 300,000 square feet of national chain retail, which will likely have a serious negative impact on local business, undermining decades of hard work by local Flushing entreprenuers to create a uniquely vibrant and diverse commercial district by displacing many small businesses through competition and rising rents.
Flushing Commons -- An Analysis of Impacts on Local Business
COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS (CBN): ATLANTIC YARDS
http://councilofbrooklynneighborhoods.web.officelive.com/default.aspx
For up to date information regarding the Atlantic Yards project click here
In 2007, CBN and CCPD presented the UNITY plan as an alternative to the Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards development plan. With lawsuits pending and serious questions regarding benefits and costs appearing almost daily, the Atlantic Yards project is far from a "done deal." The UNITY plan is based on community endorsed development principles and realized by a team of professional designers and city planners. The Plan provides a set of guidelines for realistic and sensitive development that encourages both growth and respect for the surrounding neighborhoods. The Plan is based on the results of the UNITY workshops held in 2007 and is being updated based on workshops held in 2008.
CCPD also organized a team of professionals to work with CBN in response to the Atlantic Yards draft Scope of Work, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Final Environmental Impact Statement, and Revised Project Plan.
STABLE BROOKLYN
In the spring of 2005 residents of the Stable Brooklyn neighborhood in Brooklyn came together because they were concerned about a rash of new residential buildings that many considered to be inconsistent with the existing scale of development. They began to meet and held a walking tour of the area with elected officials and their staff. They successfully modified a developer’s request to upzone a parcel of land, but expressed continuing concern about the potential for future out-of-scale development. At the same time, residents of this seven-block area sandwiched between Windsor Terrace and Kensington developed a greater awareness of and identity with the area, and were anxious to have a say in planning for the future.
This planning document summarizes the results of the two workshops and includes specific proposals developed by our planning team at the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development. These are presented in the interest of stimulating further discussion and action by city agencies, elected officials, communitybased organizations, and residents.
WILLETS POINT
This study was undertaken with support from the City Council Member Hiram Monserrate through the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. The purpose of the study is to survey and map land use patterns and businesses in the Willets Point area in Queens, New York. Willets Point has been the subject of numerour recent proposals for redevelopment. The City's Economic Development Corporation released Requests for Expressions of Interest in November 2004 and recently qualified a small group of developers to present proposals for redevelopment of the area. The information and maps provided by this study will hopefully serve as background for discussions about the area. It was not within the scope of this study to evaluate existing proposals or develop alternative proposals. However, we have offered some preliminary assessments of current conditions and ideas that could serve as a foundation for more in-depth study of future opportunities. Willets Point Study
OTHER PROJECTS INCLUDE:
