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Willets Point Redevelopment Plan

Testimony last updated May 1, 2007

Testimony Regarding Draft Scope of Work for Environmental Impact Statement

Mercedes Narciso, R.A.
Senior Planner, Pratt Center for Community Development
May 1, 2007

Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today. The Pratt Center for Community Development is pleased to submit comments on the Draft Scope of Work for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Willets Point Development Plan. My name is Mercedes Narciso and I am a Senior Planner with the Pratt Center for Community Development, a university-based center that works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers by helping communities to plan for and realize their future. We are also members of Queens for Affordable Housing (QFAH), a coalition of community-based organizations that was formed in 2005 to ensure that new residential development in the borough creates housing that is truly affordable to a diverse mix of Queens residents.

We believe that the Willets Point Redevelopment Plan has the potential to generate growth in an equitable manner. However, it is essential to recognize that this project -- rooted in large-scale eminent domain & the displacement of 250 businesses, estimated to provide more than 1,000 blue-collar jobs -- must have very substantial benefits for low-income, working-class, and moderate-income Queens residents. We believe the plan should incorporate the following recommendations:

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Jamaica Rezoning

Testimony last updated May 23, 2007

Testimony to the City Planning Commission on the Jamaica Plan

Pratt Center for Community Development
Brad Lander
May 23, 2007

Chair Burden, members of the City Planning Commission, thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today. My name is Brad Lander and I am the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a university-based center that works for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city for all New Yorkers by helping communities to plan for and realize their future.

The Pratt Center was honored to work with Community Board 12's Ad Hoc Committee on the Jamaica Plan. We have deep respect for their work, and all of the time, research, and passion they have put into this effort. We encourage you to give serious consideration to their position, which we believe reflects strong sentiments within the community. Our testimony today, however, is our own.

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Tax-exempt bonds for Yankee Stadium

Testimony last updated January 15, 2009

Statement in Opposition to Additional Proposed Tax-Exempt Bonds for Yankee Stadium
Testimony to the New York City Industrial Development Agency

Joan Byron
Pratt Center for Community Development
January 15, 2009
The Pratt Center joins Good Jobs New York, and the South Bronx-based organizations testifying here today, in opposing the issuance of $371 million in new tax-exempt bonds to cover additional construction costs for Yankee Stadium.

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Gowanus Summit: Responsible Development

Past Project last updated June 3, 2009

The Pratt Center has helped  convene the Gowanus Summit; a coalition of civic, housing and community development, manufacturing, and labor groups to establish ground rules for the area surrounding Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. Our work there aims to make sure that new development meets the needs of area residents and sets high standards for local quality of life.

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Roads to Nowhere: Public Works in a Time of Crisis

Event on February 22, 2011

Michael M. Grynbaum leads a discussion on York's public works during a time of fiscal crisis with panelists Joan Byron and Jeffrey Zupan.

New Yorkers living in the midst of economic crisis are getting mixed signals about the future of public works. Will the No. 7 subway line be extended to New Jersey? Will the Second Avenue subway ever be finished? When will real work on Moynihan Station get started? What is the fate of New York's public works given the fiscal crisis in Albany and the economic stranglehold of "The Great Recession"?

Event Details

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Museum of the City of New York

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