Queens

After Sandy, NYC Will Undertake Unprecedented Reshaping of Neighborhoods

Over the weekend it was announced that New York City will need to demolish hundreds of homes damaged during Superstorm Sandy. The complicated process for determining what will be rebuilt has yet to begin.

November 19, 2012 - The New York Times

As Northeast Casino Boom Continues: NY Gambles with Possibility and Risk

Large casino resorts in Atlantic City and Connecticut take a hit, as new, smaller and local casinos, attract gamblers from the surroundings areas. New York state officials are paving the way for more casino proliferation, despite some skepticism.

October 27, 2012 - The New York Times

Will Development Squeeze the Life Out of Queens' Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

Shaped by two World's Fairs, the long-neglected, but intensely used, park is targeted for redevelopment. City officials plan for a new mall, a soccer stadium, and more parking, upsetting some in the local community.

October 4, 2012 - The New York Times

An Historic Preservation Horror Story

A movie location scout fell in love with a turn-of-the-century Victorian in Queens, but ended up not using it for the TV show they were scouting. Years later, they returned and found that something horrible had happened.

July 3, 2012 - Scouting New York

Falling in Love With One of the Filthiest Creeks in the Country

Steven Stern explores New York's Newtown Creek through the eyes of Mitch Waxman, a self-taught historian and unlikely devotee of the aquatic wastedump-turned-Superfund site.

June 25, 2012 - The New York Times

Plan for Willets Point Comes into Focus

Unveiled earlier this week by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the area around Citi Field in Queens is due to become "the site of historic private investment," as a result of a deal reached with developers Sterling Equities and Related Companies.

June 17, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Cuomo's Convention Center Plan Goes Poof

Thomas Kaplan and Danny Hakim report on the collapse of New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's $4 billion plan to create the country’s largest convention center and a casino in Queens.

June 4, 2012 - The New York Times

NYC Bike Share Gets a Sponsor, a Name, and a Price

Announced on Monday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, America's largest bike share program will be named Citibike, for its lead sponsor Citibank, reports Branden Klayko.

May 8, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Rooftop Farm Company Expands Into Brooklyn Industrial Park

Rich Calder reports on Brooklyn's newest urban-garden-in-an-industrial-park, and the environmental benefits it will offer.

March 25, 2012 - New York Post

Tracking Artists and the Next Big Neighborhood

The days of creeping gentrification are over. Contance Rosenblum reports on the New York artists who "rush about pell-mell in search of fresh terrain to colonize" and blows the cover on three of their up and coming territories.

March 18, 2012 - The New York Times

Cuomo Unveils Economic Development Plan for New York

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposes closing the Javits Center and opening a bigger, convention center to spur economic development. Other proposals included new power transmission lines and Las Vegas-style casinos.

January 6, 2012 - Streetsblog

For NY Governor, Javits Center is Out

The 80s-era convention center on the far west side of Manhattan would be turned into a mixed-use development and a Malaysian gambling company would instead redevelop the Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens.

January 6, 2012 - Bloomberg

New Yorkers Can't Get to New Jobs

A new report from the Center for an Urban Future says that Manhattan's boroughs have been booming but transit hasn't caught up, leaving a lot of residents without access to jobs.

November 26, 2011 - Streetsblog

NYC Removes Trash Bins in Subway to Curtail Litter

Greenwich Village and Queens subway stations have had their trash bins removed for the past two weeks. This counterintuitive plan was initiated 3 months ago by officials due to an "epidemic of unsightliness and malodor," writes Michael Grynbaum.

October 25, 2011 - The New York Times

Waterfront Development Plan for Queens, NYC Revealed

Phase One of the Hunter's Point South waterfront development is set to begin as Mayor Bloomberg unveils details of the plan.

February 23, 2011 - Gothamist

Teenager Helps Save Queens-Manhattan Express Bus Route

A Queens 16-year-old teamed up with a Brooklyn entrepreneur to save the route after turned down by state legislators. The route was among three dozen others eliminated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as austerity measures on June 26.

July 6, 2010 - New York Daily News

Illegal NYC Commuter Vans Could Become Legitimate

Private transit in the form of livery vans are now sanctioned as part of a year long pilot pushed by Mayor Bloomberg that will compete with public bus and taxi for areas not well-served by the city's extensive, but hard-hit transit network.

June 28, 2010 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Front Yards Are For Lawns, Not Cars, City Says

Queens and Brooklyn homeowners may soon be prohibited from converting front yards into parking pads if a set of regulations is approved. The loss of street parking from new curb cuts was cited as a reason, along with aesthetics.

November 23, 2009 - New York Times-N.Y./Region (blog)

Controversial $3 Billion Queens Redevelopment Plan Clears Hurdle

It's known as the Iron Triangle, though some call the sewerless 13-block collection of auto junkyards just east of Shea Stadium an eyesore and disgrace. A controversial application of eminent domain is at the heart of the $3 billion makeover plan.

July 7, 2008 - Queens Chronicle

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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