The NYC Development Hub was created following the success of the Department’s Get it Done. Together. pilot program. Launched in May 2010, the pilot program was designed to streamline the construction project approval process by bringing city officials together after normal business hours to meet with industry members and approve projects. As a result, approvals increased by 52% in the first month.

In October 2011, Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Holloway and Commissioner LiMandri opened the state-of-the-art NYC Development Hub to integrate the successes of the Get It Done. Together. program into the daily operations of the Department. The Development Hub allows design professionals to submit plans electronically and work in a virtual environment with Department experts and representatives from other City agencies to review plans and develop solutions to resolve issues with proposed projects. The six other City agencies who are participating at the Development Hub are the Fire Department, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Department of Transportation, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Parks and Recreation. 

NYC Development Hub Members 

Fred Mosher, R.A., is the Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Building Development who oversees operations at the NYC Development Hub. Deputy Commissioner Mosher also supervises the five Borough Commissioners and leads the Department’s efforts to further streamline plan review procedures, both internally and with other City Agencies.  Before joining the Department, he served as a Senior Technical Architect at Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Deputy Commissioner Mosher has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the New York Institute of Technology and is a member of the American Institute of Architects. 

Edwin Tang, R.A., is the Executive Director of the NYC Development Hub. Prior to joining the Development Hub, he served as the Technical Advisor to the Department’s First Deputy Commissioner and facilitated the Zoning and Code Task Force for the Technical Affairs division. Mr. Tang joined the Department in 2007 as a Plan Examiner in the Queens Borough Office. Before joining the Department, he worked as an architect on commercial, residential and institutional projects in the private sector. He received his architectural degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his Master’s degree in Public Administration from The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU. 

Lisa Fan is the Director of the NYC Development Hub. Before joining the Development Hub, she worked in the Department’s Manhattan Borough Office as a Project Advocate and as Lead Coordinator of the High-Rise Plan Examination Unit.  Ms. Fan is a Business Degree graduate of Queens College. 

Jed Weiss is the Development Hub’s Chief Zoning Specialist in addition to maintaining his role as Executive Zoning Specialist for the Department of Buildings. Prior to his service at the Department, he was the Senior Plan Examiner at the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals and a City Planner at the Department of City Planning. Mr. Weiss is a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, MA and holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. 

Nashat Atalla, P.E., is the Plan Exam Manager for the NYC Development Hub. He has served as a Plan Examiner in the Brooklyn Borough Office Plan Examination Unit. Prior to joining the Department, he has worked for New York City since 1988, including positions at the School Construction Authority, Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Environmental Protection.  Mr. Atalla holds a Bachelor’s degree from Minia University in Egypt and a Master’s degree from City College of New York, both for Mechanical Engineering. 

Shauqat Shaikh is one of the NYC Development Hub’s Code Specialists. He is a mechanical engineering graduate of Farleigh Dickinson University and has worked at the Department since 1990, serving as an Assistant Plan Examiner on the Zoning and Code Task Force in Technical Affairs and as a Senior Plan Examiner in the Manhattan Borough Office’s High-Rise Plan Examination Unit. Prior to joining the Department, he worked as a mechanical engineer for Precision Control Inc. and Technology Dynamics Inc. 

Damian Titus is one of the NYC Development Hub’s Code Specialists. Prior to joining the Development Hub, he served as an Assistant Plan Examiner on the Zoning and Code Task Force in the Technical Affairs Division and as a Senior Plan Examiner in the Manhattan Borough Office’s High-Rise Plan Examination Unit. Prior to the Department, he worked in the Infrastructure Unit at the NYC Department of Design and Construction.  Mr. Titus holds a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from the New York Institute of Technology.

Leandro Dickson, RA, is one of the NYC Development Hub’s Plan Examiners. Prior to working at the Development Hub, he served as a Plan Examiner in Department’s Asbestos Technical Review Unit and the Staten Island Borough Office. Before joining the Department, he practiced as an architect on commercial, residential and institutional projects in the private sector.  He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Pratt Institute. 

María Teresa Fernández is one of the NYC Development Hub’s Assistant Plan Examiners. Prior to joining the Development Hub, she served as an Assistant Plan Examiner on the Zoning and Code Task Force in Technical Affairs. She also served as a Supervisor in the Construction Division in the Queens Borough Office, in the Queens Borough Office Plan Examination Unit and on the Rapid Assessment Team for emergency responses related to the 9/11 attacks. She also performed rapid assessments for emergency response to the 1999 earthquake in her native homeland of Colombia. Before joining the Department, she worked in the private sector in Colombia and New York City. She has a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from the New York Institute of Technology. 

Warren Fray, RA, LEED AP, is the Sustainability Plan Examiner of the Solar and Green Roof Tax Abatement Unit in the NYC Development Hub. Prior to joining the Development Hub, he served as a Plan Examiner in the Special Enforcement Program. He also worked as an architect in the private sector in Bermuda, California and New York City on projects ranging from interiors to skyscrapers. Mr. Fray received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Pratt Institute and a Master of Architecture degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). 

Clara Gomez is one of the NYC Development Hub’s Assistant Plan Examiners. Prior to joining the Development Hub, she served as an Assistant Plan Examiner on the Zoning and Code Task Force in Technical Affair and in the Brooklyn Borough Office’s Plan Examination Unit. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the City College of New York. Before joining the Department, she worked in the private sector on commercial, residential and institutional projects. 

Cristian Petreanu is one of the NYC Development Hub’s Assistant Plan Examiners. He joined the Department in 1999 as a Construction Inspector in the Quality of Life Unit. Since 2003, he worked as an Assistant Plan Examiner in the Queens Borough Office Plan Examination Unit. Mr. Petreanu received his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Timisoara in Romania. 

Natarsia Joye is the Senior Coordinator of the Solar and Green Roof Tax Abatement Unit and also serves on the administrative team at the NYC Development Hub. Prior to joining this unit, she worked as a Coordinator in the Code Development Unit in Technical Affairs. Before joining the Department, she served as a Coordinator for the Family Assistance Center created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Ms. Joye graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Public Administration. 

Ezra Ramsey is the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Building Development and also serves on the administrative team in the NYC Development Hub. Prior to joining this unit, she was the Coordinator in the Customer Service Unit and also served in the Licensing and Legal Divisions. Prior to joining the Department in 2003, she worked in construction administration in the private sector. Ms. Ramsey is a Business graduate of Monroe College. 

Lyudmila Yakovleva is a Development Coordinator for the NYC Development Hub. Prior to joining the Development Hub, she was the PENS Coordinator in the Plan Examination Unit in the Brooklyn Borough Office. Before joining the Department in 1998, she worked as an Electrical and Electronics Engineer in her native homeland of Russia. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree from the Electrical Engineering College in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia. 

Yarnell Williams is a Development Coordinator for the NYC Development Hub. She has been a member of the Department since 2007, working in the Manhattan Borough Office Central Inspection Unit. Ms. Williams received her architectural degree from the City College of New York.