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Press Releases

For Immediate Release
September 20, 2017

Contacts:
Rachaele Raynoff, Joe Marvilli - (212) 720-3471

CITY PLANNING LAUNCHES NEW AND IMPROVED COMMUNITY PORTAL

The user-friendly web tool provides interactive snapshot profiles of each of the city’s 59 community districts

September 20, 2017 - The Department of City Planning (DCP) today launched a new and improved online Community Portal. This web tool enables users to learn more about their immediate neighborhoods through interactive graphics and maps that illustrate each district’s built environment, and socio-economic and demographic characteristics.
It is a valuable tool for city residents, community boards, urban planners, budget analysts, researchers, elected officials, students, journalists, non-profit organizations, grant writers and anyone else who is interested in finding out more about the city’s diverse community districts.

“Whether you want to get involved with your community, propose a new program to address local needs, or simply learn more about your neighborhood, the new DCP Community Portal is an invaluable tool, putting a wealth of information at the fingertips of civic activists and everyday New Yorkers,” City Planning Director Marisa Lago said. “By aggregating information from a variety of public sources into a single user-friendly website, we hope to enhance our planning collaborations with neighborhood residents, community boards, and the non-profit, business and academic communities.”

Key Features:

  • Easily find your community district by entering a specific address or your neighborhood
  • View indicators such as access to parks, educational attainment and rent burdened households in user-friendly charts
  • Explore interactive maps of land use, zoning, public facilities, and the floodplain, with links to additional information resources
  • Access land use applications and information on neighborhood studies, conveniently arranged by community district
  • Learn about community needs as identified by community boards
  • Download information in various formats, including a one-page community district summary suitable for printing

The updated profiles on the Community Portal will assist community boards in analyzing conditions and quantifying needs in their districts as they prepare their annual Statements of Need and Budget Requests. The Community Portal was built in-house using open source platforms by the Department of City Planning. Its architecture allows for automatic updates of datasets from various sources that become publicly available at different times of year, meaning that the Community Portal will remain up-to-date.

Sample screenshots:

City Planning's Community Portal
City Planning's Community Portal

Department of City Planning
The Department of City Planning (DCP) plans for the strategic growth and development of the City through ground-up planning with communities, the development of land use policies and zoning regulations applicable citywide, and its contribution to the preparation of the City’s 10-year Capital Strategy. DCP promotes housing production and affordability, fosters economic development and coordinated investments in infrastructure and services, and supports resilient, sustainable communities across the five boroughs for a more equitable New York City.

In addition, DCP supports the City Planning Commission in its annual review of approximately 450 land use applications for a variety of discretionary approvals. The Department also assists both government agencies and the public by advising on strategic and capital planning and providing policy analysis, technical assistance and data relating to housing, transportation, community facilities, demography, zoning, urban design, waterfront areas and public open space.