City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden spoke about design in the city at the 2011 Municipal Arts Society Summit. For more information about the summit, visit the Municipal Arts Society’s website and watch the video of Commissioner Burden at the summit here.

On October 14, Mayor Bloomberg recognized the winners of the Customer Service Excellence Awards at a special ceremony at the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank. As part of this ceremony, Wendy Niles, City Planning’s Records Access Officer, was recognized as an outstanding example of dedication to customer public service. Congratulations Wendy!

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Parks & Recreation and the Department of City Planning today launched a contest that will give New Yorkers the opportunity to leave a mark on a piece of the city by proposing a name for the new open space at Queens Plaza in Long Island City. Thanks to more than $45 million in roadway, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, Queens Plaza now offers a refuge for commuters, workers, residents, and cyclists. The plaza’s eastern end, at the site of the former John F. Kennedy commuter parking lot, has been transformed into a new, sustainably designed 1.5 acre open space – including wetlands, plantings, millstones and artist-designed benches – but the space lacks a name. New Yorkers should consider names that reflect the site history, local neighborhood, natural environment, and location and submit their suggestions by October 26. The new name will be unveiled on a permanent sign during an official ribbon-cutting event when the Queens Plaza project is completed.  Read the full press release. For more information about the contest, visit EDC’s website.

From September 12 to September 20, City Planning participated in the Institute for Urban Design’s first Urban Design Week (UDW). UDW is a public festival intended to engage New Yorkers in the public realm and public spaces through a series of tours, discussions, screenings and workshops. Department staff members lead a number of workshops throughout the week. On September 12, City Planning’s Chief Urban Designer Alex Washburn hosted an Urban Design Pecha Kucha, an evening of rapid-fire presentations on important urban design projects of the moment with presentations from Bronx Director Carol Samol and other leading figures in New York Urban Design. On September 19, Washburn, Deputy Chief Urban Designer Jeff Shumaker and Urban Designers Skye Duncan and Thad Pawlowski lead an urban design “drawing boot camp” which they called “Drawing the City.” On September 20, Commissioner Burden spoke on a panel at the premiere of Urbanized, a feature-length documentary about the issues and strategies behind city design. The Commissioner also appears in the film.

Alexandros Washburn, City Planning's Chief Urban Designer, spoke at the Center for Architecture's symposium "Planning for the Future: Integrating Art & Architecture into a Digital Cultural Landscape." Washburn and the other speakers – Sherri Bruggeman, manager of the City of Albuquerque’s Public Art Program, Jason Kambitsis, Senior Planner of the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning and moderator Bill Menking, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Architect’s Newspaper -- discussed how mapping and digital technologies are being used to integrate art and architecture into city plans. Read more about the event on eOculus.

On July 14, Mayor Bloomberg, Assembly Speaker Silver, Deputy Mayor Steel, Commissioner Burden, EDC President Pinsky, along with other officials opened the first section of the new East River Waterfront Esplanade in Lower Manhattan.  The first section is part of a larger $165 million esplanade and pier improvement project that will transform the Lower Manhattan and Lower East Side waterfronts into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly new public open space destination with sweeping views across the East River and New York Harbor. For more information, visit DCP’s website.

Special Assistant to the Commissioner Cecilia Kushner spoke at the Atelier Projet Urbain in New York City. She presented and participated in a panel discussion called "Regulations, Zoning and Architectural Creativity” with Michael Sillerman and Christian de Porzampac. To learn more about the conference and her presentation, visit the conference’s website

Commissioner Amanda Burden presented City Planning’s latest initiatives to a group of 150 French planning leaders including Mayors, directors of planning agencies from the entire country and architects. Commissioner Burden focused on City Planning’s citywide rezoning effort and discussed the design approach the department has spearheaded for the last nine years.

City Planning's Michael Marrella, project director for Vision 2020, presented the City's waterfront plan to the Boston Harbor Association at the group's conference "A Clean Boston Harbor: What's Next?" The Boston Harbor Association is the leading harbor advocacy group working to promote a clean, alive, and accessible Boston Harbor. For more information, visit the association's website.

City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden attended the launch of the new East River Ferry Service with Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn and other officials. The new ferry service is a key component to the City's comprehensive waterfront plan. The new service will provide year-round ferry transportation between East 34th Street and Pier 11 in Manhattan, Long Island City in Queens, Greenpoint, North Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, and DUMBO in Brooklyn, and, in the summer, to Brooklyn Bridge Park (Fridays only) and Governors Island (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only).

City Planning’s General Counsel David Karnovsky participated in a panel discussion at the Municipal Art Society’s program “The Zoning Resolution at 50: Addressing the Challenges of the Next 50 Years” at the Scandinavia House in Manhattan. The panel also included Philadelphia’s Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Alan Greenberger, and Michael Parley who helped craft the rules for the development of Midtown. Karnovsky provided context from the City’s perspective about the purpose and evolution of the Zoning Resolution and how it adapts to the policy goals of the changing city.

On June 7, Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Commissioners Burden, Benepe, Tierney, EDC President Pinsky, along with other officials and the Friends of the High Line, unveiled section two of the High Line, the famous elevated park in West Chelsea. Running between West 20th and West 30th Streets, the new section of the High Line is one-half mile long, doubling the length of the public park. The Department of City Planning’s 2005 West Chelsea rezoning helped transform the around the High Line to encourage development while protecting the neighborhood character, existing art galleries, and the High Line. The combination of the rezoning and the park has helped to create one of the fastest growing and most vibrant neighborhoods in New York City.

To learn more about the opening, read the full press release and watch the CBS News Morning Show segment about the park’s opening. For information about visiting the High Line, visit www.thehighline.org.

City Planning’s Population Director Joseph Salvo and the entire population division were recognized by the New York Immigration Coalition for their tremendous work on the Census and for their remarkable contributions to the study of demography and immigration. The population division received the award, which was presented by City Planning’s Executive Director Richard Barth, at the New York Immigration Coalition’s seventh annual Builders of the New New York Awards at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom.

Commissioner Amanda Burden attended AIA New York’s Fit City 6 at the Center for Architecture. She served on a panel about active design in New York City and promoting healthy lifestyles with Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David Burney, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Deputy Commissioner Andrew Goodman and Department of Transportation Assistant Commissioner Wendy Feuer.

The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance held its Floating Conference Follow-Up aboard Entertainment Cruises' Spirit of New Jersey. City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden attended the conference and served on a panel about waterfront and harbor governance. Commissioner Burden spoke about DCP’s recently released Vision 2020: NYC Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. The panel was moderated by Bob Yaro of the Regional Plan Association, and other panelists included Chris Ward, Executive Director of the NY/NJ Port Authority; Ann Beier, Director of the Office of Healthy Working Rivers for the City of Portland; Marshall Foster, City Planning Director for Seattle's Department of Planning and Development ; and Will Travis of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. For more information, visit the MWA's website.