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May 10, 2006
PRESS RELEASE: COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS HIRES LEAD CONSULTANT FOR EIS ANALYSIS
Community Organizations Join Together to Participate in the Environmental Review of the proposed Atlantic Yards project
The COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS (“CBN”) today announced they have retained Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates to act as the lead consultant coordinating the CBN review of the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) currently being prepared on behalf of the Empire State Development Agency, the New York State agency charged with the environmental review.
In December 2005, CBN issued a Request For Proposals to top environmental planning firms to assist in the review of the DEIS, which is expected to be extremely technical and thousands of pages long. CBN recognized early on that the communities would require expert assistance to ensure effective public participation in the review process. The response to the RFP brought forward dozens of firms and organizations anxious to assist CBN in accomplishing its sole purpose. PPSA will be coordinating the efforts of this impressive team of experts.
John Shapiro of PPSA described the challenge:
"This job is about making a complex project understood by the people most affected by it, and thus allowing THEM to be the best advocates for their own interests and concerns -- whether that is in support, opposition or simply expressions of concern.. I have worked on a number of large-scale projects, but I can't think of any that has a larger impact on my home borough than this."
"We are excited about the brain power and talent that is engaged on this. Pratt Center is the original advocacy technical assistant for neighborhood groups; the newly created Hunter Center; the Simulation Center, the Project for Public Spaces, the City College Center, individual experts on the team with extensive knowledge of Brooklyn neighborhoods, and other team members are all the best at their particular disciplines. Plus there is a wealth of talent lodged in the CBN membership, including architects, planners, engineers, computer simulators, and more. Our challenge will be how to best organize and tap this talent."
Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, New York City’s largest independent planning firm, is a planning and real estate consulting firm based in New York City with offices in central New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Founded in 1968, the firm specializes in zoning and land use regulation, real estate advisory services, market and feasibility analyses, comprehensive and community planning and expert testimony. Its expertise is in zoning and economic development; and its portfolio of work is regional, not local. The firm’s work has earned many awards, including the nation’s top planning award for advocacy planning for five South Bronx community development corporations.
The COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS is a coalition of recognized diverse community groups active in Community Boards 2, 3, 6, and 8. CBN is comprised of 40 community organizations that have joined together to ensure meaningful community participation in the environmental review of the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. As a group, CBN has experience in civic advocacy, transportation planning, neighborhood preservation, urban planning, the development of affordable housing, safety and security improvement, quality of life promotion, and business development. CBN’s collective background enables them to represent the concerns of the area communities.
For more information please contact CBN at 718-408-3219 or via email at cbrooklynneighborhoods@hotmail.com.
Posted by lumi at May 10, 2006 2:50 PM