He might be an outsider to some New Yorkers, but Mitchell Silver is one of the most recognizable and respected planners in the country. For his new job as New York’s parks commissioner, Silver will oversee 29,000 acres of parkland and 1,900 parks.
Lisa Foderaro reports on a big hire in New York City—Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided to bring in Mitchell Silver to lead the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
To planners, Silver is well known as the (soon to be former) chief planning and development officer and planning director for Raleigh, North Carolina and as the former president of the American Planning Association.
Foderaro’s coverage for the New York Times is also quick to mention Silver’s roots in New York: “He went to high school in Brooklyn and earned a bachelor’s degree from Pratt Institute and a master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College.”
If you’d like to see some of the news Silver has made over the years, please visit Planetizen’s archive of articles.
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