APA New York Metro Chapter's Annual Conference Highlights WTC Planning Efforts
By Leonard Garcia-Duran

Metro Chapter President Janice Jijina opened the chapter's annual conference on December 6th with the reminder that this year's gathering was dedicated to the spirit of all New Yorkers, as we move forward with "New Visions" for our city in the wake of the tragic events of September 11th. Almost 200 people attended the 2001 conference, which was held at Baruch College in Manhattan.

APA Executive Director Paul Farmer - one of the featured speakers at the conference - discussed some of the actions undertaken by the national office since 9-11:

• The national web site was re-vamped and includes a moderated discussion forum on "Planning after September 11." The forum is open to all APA members.
• Planning Magazine will continue reporting on the activities of individual planners, organizations, and chapters coping with the long-term impacts of the terrorist attacks.
• Dr. Edward Blakely, Dean of the Milano Graduate School at the New School University, was invited to be a keynote speaker at the APA's National Conference in Chicago in April. Developing ideas first articulated in his book Fortress America, Dr. Blakely will reflect upon the implications of 9-11 for American cities. Will the terrorist attack usher in an era of fear and fortification?

Farmer also noted that the perception across the country is that New York City has already received a federal check for $20 billion. In reality, Congress only approved a fraction of that amount before the close of the last session, and the fate of future funding is uncertain. APA will continue its efforts to highlight the needs of Lower Manhattan and will lobby the federal government to appropriate the maximum possible funding.

Lower Manhattan Planning Update

Planning efforts and public outreach for the WTC site have been initiated by a number of groups, including the Regional Plan Association's (RPA) Civic Alliance, the Municipal Arts Society, the NYC Infrastructure Task Force, the NYC Partnership, and the Empire State Transportation Alliance. Metro Chapter has joined forces with the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, along with other professional groups, under the umbrella of "New York New Visions." The Port Authority of New Jersey and New York and the World Trade Center's leaseholder, developer Larry Silverstein, have also initiated planning efforts.

Ethel Sheffer, Metro Chapter Vice-President for Programs and Conference Chair, identified the common challenge for all the groups: "The Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation has just been appointed by the Governor and Mayor. These eleven individuals now believe they have all the power and control to make decisions affecting downtown. How can we work with them?" The response from Plenary panelist Marilyn Jordan Taylor, FAIA, summarized everyone's hopes, by calling for a unified voice and a common message among professionals. "We have to do something very un-New York-like," she said. "Many organizations have to approach this new [Redevelopment Corporation], simultaneously and repeatedly, with the same message."

While a common message was not agreed upon at the December 6th conference, the same themes were repeated throughout the day:

• Do not settle for replacing what existed before. The transportation infrastructure that existed prior to September 11th was not working.
• Think outside the box. Aspire to the extraordinary. As noted by Bob Yaro, RPA's Executive Director, "we are building the next great city of the world."
• The public must be involved. Any solutions will have to be long-term, and successful implementation will require sustained support from the public.
• Remember the rest of New York City. Michael Kwartler, FAIA, noted that we cannot ignore the rest of the city's crucial issues while planning for downtown. Housing shortages, for example, will continue to be a major concern throughout all of the city's neighborhoods for years to come.
• All planning efforts should be guided by an economic development strategy to revitalize Lower Manhattan.
• The WTC site is sacred ground. Christopher Ward of the Port Authority said that the site would continue to draw visitors throughout the redevelopment process. Metro Chapter Administrator Michael E. Levine stated that planning and construction must accommodate the public need to visit the site and reflect on the events of 9-11.

Transportation

One of the biggest planning issues at the WTC site is transportation. More specifically, how large a role should ferry service play in the new transportation network? Prior to 9-11, WTC relied most heavily on the PATH system and the NYC subway. With the destruction of the underground rail stations and the closing of the tunnels and bridges on the day of the attack, ferries became a critical back-up system for people needing to travel back to New Jersey. In the days after the attack, several new ferry lines and terminals were constructed to replace train service. Ferry ridership almost doubled in the 90 days between mid-September and mid-December, and the introduction of high-speed ferries is expected to attract even more users. Additional transportation proposals that were discussed included the Second Avenue Subway line; a multi-modal transit hub; commuter rail access to Lower Manhattan; and a single fare card for all regional transit entities.

Security

Several speakers cautioned against racing into quick security solutions for public spaces. Robert Ducibella, President and Managing Director of one of the oldest security consulting and engineering firms in the country, suggested that planners should not depend upon technology alone and should focus on visible means of guaranteeing public safety (i.e., visible police patrols). Raymond Gastil, Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute, noted that great public spaces have always been policed, albeit through more subtle and democratic means, like Jane Jacob's "eyes on the street".

Public Outreach

Finally, several groups have already taken on the role of soliciting public input and building consensus. Metro Chapter, through New York New Visions, has conducted a series of discussion groups to identify public outreach methods for the memorial planning process. The Municipal Arts Society has initiated a public input process, scheduled to start in spring 2002, with the goal of creating a sense of public ownership over any long-term redevelopment solutions. Another opportunity for public input is being coordinated by the Civic Alliance, a group of 85 civic, academic, and environmental groups coordinated by the RPA. A daylong forum is scheduled for January 29th, in conjunction with New York University's Center for Excellence in New York City Governance, to discuss the principles that should guide WTC redevelopment.

Other Conference Workshops

While the main focus of the Chapter's annual conference was the WTC site, workshops and discussion forums were also devoted to Conflict Management, GIS Applications, Public Financing Tools, Strategic Visioning Tools, and Increasing Diversity within the Planning Profession. Highlights from these sessions can be summarized as follows:

• Sam Casella, AICP President, presented a primer on Tax Increment Financing and why it hasn't been used in New York City.
• Lisa Schreibman, New York City Coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, called upon planners to change the way State and federal governments fund transportation "megaprojects". Arbitrary state quotas/caps for federal assistance should be removed, and more flexibility should be allowed in how federal transportation money is used.
• Leo Vasquez released his study of Ethnic Diversity within the Planning Profession. The study found that although while the planning profession became more diverse over the course of the 1990s due to greater numbers of Asian-Americans entering the profession, Latino and African-American planners were increasingly underrepresented. Other significant findings were that the private sector of the profession is less diverse than the public sector, and that APA membership is less diverse than the profession at large