February 13, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

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Democratic Mayoral Candidates Would Plan from the Bottom Up  (August 2009)  The two Democrats seeking Mayor Michael Bloomberg's job hope to find votes in communities throughout the city where some residents feel the mayor's top down development policies have ignored the grass roots.

As Trade Center Plans Falter, City Could Have a Sense of Deja Vu  (July 2009)  As the main players in the redevelopment of the World Trade site seem locked in a never-ending drama, Tom Angotti cautions that New Yorkers face the possibility that what is eventually built at Ground Zero will echo the worst attributes of the old trade center.

Chinatown Looks for a Way to Survive and Thrive  (April 2009)  Gentrification has come to the winding streets of the renowned neighborhood.

Bike Lanes Run into Opposition  (February 2009)  In the never-ending fight for space in the city, bike lanes run into opposition.

Queens Development Plans Approved  (November 2008)  After much debate and opposition, the City Council Thursday approved a plan to develop Willets Point, a polluted industrial area of Queens. To win support, the administration agreed to provide more affordable housing on the site and to protections for local businesses.

The McCain-Obama Mismatch on Urban Policy  (October 2008)  Barack Obama has an urban policy that extends beyond cities to entire metropolitan regions, while his opponent, John McCain, has largely ignored the issue.

Rebuilding Ground Zero: Long-term Costs of Short-term Planning  (September 2008)  The haste to develop Ground Zero after 9/11 has led to delays, mistakes and missed opportunities. Tom Angotti looks back at a flawed process.

Climate Change Could Threaten a Green Willets Point  (August 2008)  Over the objections of many in the community, the Bloomberg administration plans to build the city's first green neighborhood at Willets Points. But climate change could wash it all away.

Coney Island's Latest Roller Coaster Ride  (July 2008)  

The Bronx's Secret Shore  (July 2008)  

Can Planners Help New Yorkers Eat Better?  (June 2008)  As supermarkets shut down, millions of New Yorkers no longer have ready access to affordable, healthy food. Tom Angotti looks at tools for bringing good food to all neighborhoods.

The Blending of Church and Real Estate  (May 2008)  As fewer New Yorkers attend religious service many houses of worship are being reborn, changing the character of the buildings and the communities they once served.

Is the Long-term Sustainability Plan Sustainable?  (April 2008)  The problems Mayor Michael Bloomberg has encountered in enacting parts of his PlanNYC may have as much, if not more, to do with the way the plan was devised than the specifics of his proposals.

The Race to Develop a Toxic Waterway  (February 2008)  Real estate investors are rushing to the shores of the Gowanus Canal, one of the city's most polluted waterways. Can this development save an area known largely for its stench and contamination, or will all the new construction make things even worse?

Setting Standards for Green Neighborhoods  (January 2008)  Efforts to encourage a more environmentally friendly city have gone beyond individual buildings to setting standards for entire neighborhoods. Is this a marketing play by developers or a genuine effort to create sustainable communities?

Daniel Doctoroff's Legacy  (December 2007)  Looking back on Daniel Doctoroff's six year as deputy mayor, Tom Angotti finds Doctoroff was no Robert Moses but that he did have a major effect on development and planning in New York -- for better or worse.

Greening City Schoolyards  (November 2007)  Hundreds of school playgrounds remain off limits after school lets out. The administration wants to make them community parks, but will they be green oases or worn patches of artificial turf?

Burial Ground Bears Witness to a Segregated City  (October 2007)  The opening of the African Burial Ground Memorial serves as a reminder of residential segregation and displacement in New York.

Making Coney Island Green  (September 2007)  Despite its honky-tonk image, Coney Island could become a model of sustainable development -- if the city takes an active role.

The New Battle Against Gentrification  (August 2007)  Across the city groups are fighting to preserve diversity, character and history – one neighborhood at a time.

Albee Square: When the Mall’s No Longer Home  (July 2007)  One more piece of downtown Brooklyn, this time the 1980s hip-hop hangout of Albee Square, seems poised to become yet another luxury condo and retail development.

Atlantic Yards and the Sustainability Test  (June 2007)  The developer of the Atlantic Yards megaproject in Brooklyn promise is will be environmentally friendly. But does it truly pass the sustainability test?

A Sustainability Test at Willets Point  (May 2007)  The mayor’s plan for Willets Point, the Iron Triangle of Queens, raises questions about the city’s vision of sustainable development.

Sunnyside Fights Over What to Preserve  (April 2007)  A dispute over whether to make part of Sunnyside a historic district is partly an argument over what in the area deserves to be protected.

Atlantic Yards: A “Done Deal?”   (March 2007)  Is Atlantic Yards inevitable? A new movie, Brooklyn Matters, “uncovers a deepening vein of displeasure with the project that spans a wide political spectrum,” writes Tom Angotti, who explains how, and why.

Plan NYC 2030  (February 2007)  The mayor has announced plans for a unique planning effort for a more populated New York of 2030. But, Tom Angotti asks, is the plan itself sustainable beyond 2008, when voters will elect a new mayor?

Congestion Pricing: An Incomplete Solution  (December 2006)  Tom Angotti argues that what is missing in New York City isn’t just congestion pricing – charging drivers for entering the most traffic-clogged parts of the city -- but long-term planning for traffic reduction

Obesity, Asthma, and Public Health: What Can Planners Do?  (November 2006)  Tom Angotti explores how urban planning – better building codes and zoning codes -- could create a healthier environment. For example: “the Zoning Resolution restricts the location of sex shops in the city, so it could also limit the location of fast food outlets, keeping them away from schools.”

Long-Term Planning At City Hall  (October 2006)   With the creation of a new Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and a report envisioning a New York in 2030 with 400,000 new apartments, City Hall has an ambitious agenda for future growth, says Tom Angotti.

Inclusionary Zoning  (September 2006)  It has now become an “accepted norm throughout the city” Tom Angotti writes, to create “inclusionary zoning,” which allows real estate developers to construct bigger buildings in exchange for allocating a portion of them to people with modest incomes.

City’s New Waste Plan and the Neighborhoods  (July 2006)  Tom Angotti takes a look at the newly passed solid waste management plan, which in many ways follows a plan generated by neighborhood groups.

Zoning Versus Planning in Manhattanville  (June 2006)  Community residents and Columbia students opposed to the university’s massive expansion plans have their own proposals for the neighborhood.

Jane Jacobs and New York  (May 2006)  Tom Angotti looks at the legacy of Jane Jacobs, “one of the greatest advocates of New York City’s urbanism” who died last month at the age of 89.

Willets Point: A Defense  (April 2006)  Tom Angotti argues against the city’s plan for a “multi-billion dollar project” at Willets Point, Queens, in the shadow of Shea Stadium, saying that the proposal would destroy “the kind of bustling business district that economic development experts across the country keep trying to re-create.”

Livable Streets (For People, Not Cars)  (February 2006)  Tom Angotti explains a new campaign to make the city’s streets and cities more “livable,” by focusing on the needs of pedestrians and bicycles, rather than cars.

Yankee Stadium Without Tears  (January 2006)  Tom Angotti (an old Dodgers fan) puts aside his Yankees-bashing and judges the proposed new Yankees stadium in terms of “21st century New York and its needs.”

Bronx Terminal Market And The Subverting Of The Land Use Review Process   (December 2005)  If the City Planning Commission approves the conversion of the Bronx Terminal Market into a huge shopping mall and the eviction of its 23 ethnically diverse merchants, as it is expected to do this month, it will be the latest example, Tom Angotti argues, of City Hall's undermining of the land use review process.

Providing Fresh Food, and a Sense of Accomplishment  (November 2005)  The East New York Farms! Farmers' Market has expanded from a single stand in 1999 to a bustling weekly event. Now its organizers look to take the next step. (Read More...)

Atlantic Yards: Through The Looking Glass  (November 2005)  In the Looking-Glass World of the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, Tom Angotti argues, everything has been done backwards – with planning coming last.

Overdevelopment: Planning, Not Rezoning, Is The Answer  (October 2005)  With neighborhoods throughout the city complaining of “overdevelopment” and pushing to change zoning in order “to preserve neighborhood character,” Tom Angotti argues that the solution is not rezoning but community-based planning.

9/11: Will The Lessons Learned Help New Orleans?  (September 2005)  Tom Angotti looks at five major lessons in planning learned from September 11th, and whether they can be applied to the rebuilding of New Orleans

Campaign 2005: Mayoral Candidates’ Plans On Planning  (August 2005)  The mayoral candidates still seem to see zoning and planning as coming from the top, rather than from communities, argues Tom Angotti, but, he says, there are distinctions in their approaches, with Bloomberg focusing on up-zoning and down-zoning and Ferrer on mandatory inclusionary zoning.

Eminent Domain: What The Supreme Court Ruling Means To NYC  (July 2005)  Brad Lander looks at the Supreme Court’s recent decision on eminent domain and explains what it means for New York City, including the proposed Nets Arena in Brooklyn, Columbia University’s new campus, and the new headquarters of the New York Times.

NASCAR, The Largest Proposed NYC Sports Stadium Of All  (June 2005)  Even if the West Stadium had triumphed, it would not have been the largest new sports stadium in New York. That accolade – or curse – is reserved for the ''noise and speed and glory and death'' that is the proposed NASCAR racetrack on Staten Island. Brad Lander explains

Zoning Instead of Planning in Williamsburg and Greenpoint  (May 2005)  The massive rezoning of Greenpoint and Williamsburg that the City Council just approved,” Tom Angotti writes “bears little resemblance to the community plans” that came out of hundreds of meetings over more than a decade.

The Anti-Moses And The First Community-Based Plan  (April 2005)  Tom Angotti details the life and work of Walter Thabit – “New York’s anti-Moses” -- as a compelling antidote to all the recent big-project hoopla.

Big Projects And Bad News  (March 2005)  A BJs in the Bronx and a Wal-Mart in Queens were killed; the Jets in Manhattan and the Nets in Brooklyn are facing new roadblocks. But even if these big projects are having trouble, Tom Angotti argues, the city’s zoning rules mean new ones will take their place.

Not Ready for Wal-Mart  (February 2005)  The promise of New York City’s first Wal-Mart superstore has provoked intense opposition and, Tom Angotti writes, revealed how poorly equipped city government is in dealing with such big box projects.

Summit Calls For Community Planning Reform  (December 2004)  The planners and community people who attended the Summit on Community-based Planning in New York City, Tom Angotti says, heard from mayors who are doing community planning the right way – unlike New York.

The Filtration Plant Deal in the Bronx: Flawed Planning, Environmental Injustice  (November 2004)  The $243 million "payoff" for Bronx parks to gain public acceptance for a water filtration plant, "is deeply flawed as public policy," argues Tom Angotti.

Rezoning Proposals Squeeze Out Affordable Housing From Both Ends  (October 2004)  Two proposed changes to the zoning code, Tom Angotti argues, have the effect of squeezing out the possibility of affordable housing from both ends.

The Governors Island Plan: Last Chance to Get It Right?  (September 2004)  Tom Angotti attends a planning meeting for Governors Island, leaving him to wonder: In what could be the city's last chance to get planning right for a major chunk of city land accessible to the entire metropolitan region, will the city finally get it right?

Rethinking Environmental Impact Statements  (July 2004)  Three decades after federal, state and city law started requiring "environmental impact statements" for proposed major new construction projects, Tom Angotti writes, many people now realize that environmental review is not working as well as it should. "It is time to review environmental review."

Ikea And Red Hook's Racial Divide  (June 2004)  On the surface, Ikea's proposal to build a new superstore in Red Hook looks pretty good, at least compared to the plans of other developers. But, writes Tom Angotti, "before giving any civic awards to Ikea, consider what they're NOT doing."

Residential Segregation  (May 2004)  Neighborhoods, not just schools, remain deeply segregated in New York City. Tom Angotti argues that the city's policies may be responsible in some measure for this segregation and the inequalities that go along with it.

The Nets Arena Is Not The Real Issue In Development Of Downtown Brooklyn  (April 2004)  In the argument over the proposed changes in downtown Brooklyn, Tom Angotti charges, the public's eye has been forced onto the proposed basketball arena, when there are more fundamental issues at stake.

Long Commutes and Lost Opportunities for Planning  (March 2004)  Why does the city with the largest mass transit system in the country have the longest commutes? Tom Angotti offers a few answers – and lost opportunities for planning.

Waterfront 'Access' May Actually Keep Public Out  (February 2004)  The city's plans to provide access to the waterfront, argues Tom Angotti, will do the exact opposite.

The Plans For Downtown Brooklyn Ignore Both People And Public Spaces  (January 2004)  City officials who back the creation of more than 60 million square feet of new office space in NYC "are acting more like cheerleaders for local real estate than custodians of the quality of life in our neighborhoods," writes Tom Angotti, who looks in particular at the new rezoning plan for downtown Brooklyn.

The Sidewalks of New York  (December 2003)  New York City's 12,000 miles of sidewalks, Tom Angotti writes, "are its best public spaces," but the city has no overall policy or plan for their use and enjoyment. He offers one of his own.

The West Side Stadium: No Arena for Good Planning  (November 2003)  “The fixation with putting a football stadium on the west side of Manhattan,” Tom Angotti writes, “is blocking good planning – for the Olympics and for the neighborhood.”

Variances: How To Undermine Zoning and Make a Profit  (October 2003)  Tom Angotti explains the way variances in the zoning law, bestowed by a little-known city agency, undermines the whole concept of zoning and planning while allowing private developers to pursue a greater profit.

Noise Pollution: A City Planning Problem  (September 2003)  If the city really wants to reduce the noise afflicting neighborhoods, they'll have to do a lot more than a ticket blitz, writes Tom Angotti, who makes some suggestions for a sustainable, long-term strategy.

The Lesson Of The Blackout Is NOT More Power Plants  (August 2003)  Tom Angotti argues against using the blackout to push for more power plants, such as one on the waterfront in Williamsburg.

Greenpoint/Williamsburg Zoning Changes  (July 2003)  Tom Angotti looks at the recent proposal to rezone large sections of Greenpoint and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and asks: Is zoning the right tool at this time to make the necessary changes to these waterfront neighborhoods, or will it make things worse.

"As-of-Right" Development: An Invitation to Ethical Breaches?  (June 2003)  Tom Angotti asks whether a recent private project to build a store, movie theater and parking facilities in Brooklyn's King Plaza Shopping Center illustrates how the city is encouraged by current procedures to "ignore or evade community input and become too cozy with developers."

Zoning To Kill Manufacturing, and the Assault on Greenpoint  (May 2003)  Tom Angotti says that the New York City Department of City Planning's new plan to rezone large areas of industrial land to promote housing may be bringing the city to "the brink of what could be a great urban planning disaster." He focuses in particular on possible disastrous consequences for the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.

Zoning To Protect Manufacturing  (April 2003)  Adam Friedman of the New York Industrial Retention Network argues why the city should use zoning to protect manufacturing.

New York City's Big Planning Projects: Avoiding the Public?  (March 2003)  "Some of the most important decisions about the future of the city are being made behind closed doors," writes Tom Angotti, who says that many of the exciting new plans for the city intend to bypass the normal process set up to allow for the public to participate.

Midtown West Side Story: A Conversation With Robert Moses  (February 2003)  Tom Angotti imagines what long-dead and long-reviled master builder Robert Moses would say about the city's current plan for "Midtown West," which would "basically bring an end to Hells Kitchen, the neighborhood where West Side Story took place, where generations of immigrants lived, where tens of thousands of New Yorkers still make their home."

Lots Of New Plans; Any New Visions?  (January 2003)  More people are engaging in more long-range planning for the future of New York City -- plans for housing, for Ground Zero, for solid waste, for the Olympics, etc. -- than at any time since before the fiscal crisis of the 1970's. Tom Angotti wonders whether the vision behind many of these plans is too limited.

Why Zoning Reform IS Important  (January 2001)