Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced three community conversations to gather ideas from New Yorkers to inform the Earth Day 2011 update to PlaNYC. The community conversations are the final three in a series of community conversations that are a component of the community outreach strategy for the 2011 PlaNYC update, which has given New Yorkers in all five boroughs an opportunity to share their ideas on how to create a greener, greater New York. For the 2011 update, the PlaNYC team has engaged more than 200 organizations and thousands of New Yorkers. Local Law 17 of 2008, sponsored by the Administration and signed by the Mayor, requires regular updates to PlaNYC. Released on Earth Day 2007, PlaNYC was designed to accommodate a projected population growth of one million New Yorkers over the next 20 years while enhancing the quality of life, protecting public health and the environment, creating economic opportunities, and combating climate change. 

“On Earth Day 2011, we will release the first update to PlanNYC since its launch four years ago,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The best suggestions on how to improve our communities and make them more sustainable invariably come from residents of those communities, so I encourage New Yorkers to participate in the three remaining Community Conversations.”

“We have gathered hundreds of ideas from New Yorkers about improving quality of life and public health in our City and are currently looking them over carefully,” said David Bragdon, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. “We have a lot to learn about the best ways that the City, the neighborhoods, and individuals can all work as partners in achieving the goals of PlaNYC. We look forward to hearing hundreds more ideas in South Brooklyn, Eastern Queens, and Upper Manhattan. These remaining community conversations are a unique chance to shape next year’s update to PlaNYC, which will be our guide to making sustainable decisions to improve neighborhoods for years to come.”

Community Conversations on PlaNYC have already been held in North Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, Western Queens, and Lower Manhattan. The final three community conversations will be held in Eastern Queens, Upper Manhattan and South Brooklyn in December. In addition, those interested in providing input who are unable to attend the public forums, can do so online at www.nyc.gov.

Upper Manhattan:
Monday, December 6^th, 2010
7:00  PM – 9:00 PM
State Office Building, 2nd Floor Gallery
163 West 125^th Street, (enter on 126^th Street)

Eastern Queens:
Thursday, December 9^th, 2010
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Bayside High School
32-24 Corporal Kennedy Street

South Brooklyn:
Thursday, December 16^th, 2010
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
St. Michael’s RC Church, 352 42^nd Street
Enter through auditorium on 43^rd  Street