Imagine Flatbush 2030

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IMAGINE FLATBUSH 2030

A Community Visioning Project of
in partnership with the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC) and with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation

IMAGINE FLATBUSH 2030
A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 A Community Visioning Project of The Municipal Art Society of New York in partnership with the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC) and with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation

Table of Contents

1 About Us 2 Introduction A Flatbush at a Glance B General Findings 3 Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda 4 Project Background A Jane Jacobs and PlaNYC 2030 B Sustainable Indicators 5 Flatbush Profile 6 Imagine Flatbush 2030 Process A Advisory Board Meeting B Stakeholder Meeting C Workshop 1 D Workshop 2 E Workshop 3 F Follow-up Meeting G Community Board 14 Presentation 7 Findings (Goals, Indicators, Measurements) A Economy i. i. Economic Well-Being B Environment Local Environment ii. Public Health iii. Recreation iv. Neighborhood Character

4 6 6 7 8 22 23 25 27 49 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 61 62

C Society i. Youth and Educational Attainment ii. Housing Access iii. Civics iv. Neighborhood Diversity v. Mobility

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8 Working With PlaNYC 2030 Opportunities 9 Appendices A Assets and Challenges/11-19-07 Stakeholders Meeting B Quality of Life Issues/12-12-07 Workshop C Final Goals/01-24-08 Workshop D Measures and Actions/02-28-08 Workshop E Handout/Designing Sustainable Measures F Handout/Glossary G List of Participants 10 Resources (Data Sources)

66 69 70 73 75 77 87 88 89 93

Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

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1/ About Us

The following information is brought to you by the Municipal Art Society (MAS), in partnership with the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC) and with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. It describes a joint initiative that took place over the course of six months, beginning in November of 2007 and culminating in May, 2008. Each of these organizations has a different mission but came together on this pilot project to begin addressing issues of sustainability at the neighborhood level.
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS.org) is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote a more livable city. Since 1893, the MAS has worked to enrich the culture, neighborhoods and physical design of New York City. It advocates for excellence in urban design and planning, contemporary architecture, historic preservation and public art. Flatbush Development Corporation’s (fdconline.org) mission is to enhance the quality of life for all segments of the Flatbush community. FDC identifies and responds to neighborhood needs and concerns, proactively creating programs and campaigns that work towards a healthy, safe and vibrant community. Their economic development, housing, youth, and immigration programs serve the exceptionally diverse needs of our constituents. The Rockefeller Foundation (rockfound.org) was established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., to “promote the well-being” of humanity by addressing the root causes of serious problems. The Foundation works around the world to expand opportunities for poor or vulnerable people and to help ensure that globalization’s benefits are more widely shared.

Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

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1/ About Us

Imagine Flatbush 2030 debuts at the 2007 Flatbush Frolic

Acknowledgements
A very sincere thank you to the Flatbush Development Corporation for their partnership and for the dedication of FDC staff members Mannix Gordon, Robin Redmond, and Aga Trojniak. Thanks also to former FDC Executive Director Susan Siegel.

special thanks to the Center for the Study of Brooklyn and to Gretchen Maneval for her leadership, sustained participation, and expertise. (See Appendix G for a full list of participants.)

We want to express our gratitude to the staff members and volunteers who shared their skills and time including Chaka Blackman, Willemine Dassonville, Kody Emmanuel and Thank you also to advisory committee members State Senator Public Allies, Eddy Disla, Jasper Goldman, Cheryl Herber, Keenan Hughes, Lisa Kersavage, Michele Luc, Alexis Meisels, Parker, State Assemblyman Brennan, State Assemblywoman David Parrish, Genevieve Sherman, Hans Yoo, and Kate Zidar. Jacobs, New York City Council Member Eugene, Lucretia John of Senator Parker’s office, Kevin Parris of Brooklyn Most importantly we would like to acknowledge the work of Borough President Marty Markowitz’s office, Lindsey Lusher the Flatbush community members who participated in this of Transportation Alternatives, Gretchen Maneval of the project, lending us their time over a series of four workshops Center for the Study of Brooklyn, and Anne Pope of Sustainand sharing their thoughts, ideas, and enthusiasm. able Flatbush for sharing their thoughts and insight. A special This project was made possible through the generous support thanks to Ryan Buck and Mitzu Adams of Brooklyn College of the Rockefeller Foundation. for the generous use of their space. We also want to extend
Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 5

2/ Introduction

• A detailed socio-economic description of Flatbush, Imagine Flatbush 2030 is a demonstration projBrooklyn. ect launched in November, 2007 by the Municipal • The participatory process used to build reciprocal unArt Society in partnership with the Flatbush derstanding by neighborhood stakeholders of traditional Development Corporation (FDC) and with fundconcepts of sustainability; of PlaNYC 2030; and of sustaining from the Rockefeller Foundation. ability defined as the overlapping of economic, environThe basic idea was to test an approach to sustainable developmental, and social concerns. ment that builds on local knowledge, emphasizes consensus, • The priorities that emerged from neighborhood workand identifies ways to assist local stewardship of sustainabilshops; ity through measurable goals. • A suggested agenda that is offered by the Municipal Art Imagine Flatbush 2030 builds on Mayor Bloomberg’s 2007 Society as a collection of action steps for Flatbush resiPlaNYC2030—a citywide sustainability agenda that lays the dents and organizations to use to engage the city around groundwork for achieving and maintaining affordable housthe priorities in Flatbush. ing, open space, good transportation, clean air, water, and land A/ Flatbush at a Glance and reliable energy. The objectives of Imagine Flatbush were to use PlaNYC as a framework that allows communities to col- We worked with multiple organizations and resources to lectively generate their own sustainability goals; create their identify the generally-accepted boundaries of the neighborown measures for progress toward those goals; and develop hood of Flatbush: Parkside Avenue to the north; the railroad and manage the data sets that will be used for these measures. cut just below Avenue H to the south; roughly, Coney Island During the course of the project another objective emerged: Avenue to the west, and Bedford Avenue to the east, with the need for a set of action items as a platform for further some meandering east and west south of Ditmas Avenue. The community engagement on the issues identified during work- primary land use is residential, with concentrations of comshops. The overall goal of the project was and is to provide mercial uses along Coney Island Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, the neighborhood organizations, residents, business people, Church Avenue, Cortelyou Road, Foster Avenue, Avenue H, local elected officials, and city agencies with information Newkirk Avenue, and Newkirk Plaza. about community priorities as they related to sustainability, generated through a community-based and consensus-driven This area is divided into thirty-one census tracts. According to the 2000 census, there were a total of 148,737 people living process. in these tracts. Young people are the largest group: those aged As the next step, the creators of Imagine Flatbush 2030 5-17 make up 21 percent of the population. The largest groups have produced a report that provides information about the are: African-American (53 percent of the total population), background and purpose of the initiative, a detailed socioWhite (21 percent), and Hispanic (14 percent). The median economic profile of Flatbush, the process by which information on community goals and measures of progress toward household income in Flatbush is $32,103. Most people rent; those goals was gathered, and how the information gathered only 16 percent are owners. might be used in the future by both the community and by The neighborhood is served by one major open space: the government agencies. This report provides information on: Parade Grounds to the north, primarily given over to ball • What methods were used to develop the initiative and fields. There are four historic districts: Albermarle Kenmore how this process relates to comparable efforts elsewhere Terraces Historic District; Prospect Park Historic District; in the United States and abroad. Fiske Terrace-Midwood Park, and Ditmas Park Historic
Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

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2/ Introduction

District which cover parts of the area containing historic detached Victorian-style homes. Brooklyn College, a part of the City University of New York system, is in the southern part of the area. There are eight public schools serving the area.

• Energy inefficiencies, and lack of education about energy efficiency • Public safety concerns • Concentrated poverty in some parts of neighborhood • Lack of community meeting space • Lack of community centers • Insufficient supermarkets • Lack of bike paths • Disengaged youth • Lack of space for artists • Lack of retail diversity
(See Appendix A for full listing of Assets and Challenges)

B/ General Findings
Throughout meetings and workshops, special attention was paid to maximizing and documenting all community input. The framework of sustainability allows for much discussion about the interconnections among issues and while discussions of sustainability are often reduced to concerns about the physical environment, people in the Flatbush workshops were encouraged to think about the interconnections among issues. For example, housing affordability relates to supply of housing (a question, often, of development) but also relates to wages and the purchasing power of prevailing wages. The state of community health relates to air quality and opportunities for local recreation but also to food access, access to health care, and access to information, for example. When asked to identify key neighborhood assets that contribute to the quality of life in Flatbush, many people pointed to: • Diversity: cultural; socioeconomic; ethnic; religious • Access to Prospect Park • Well-served by subways • Affordable housing • Strong community institutions • Great schools • Abundant tree cover • Strong community character And when asked to identify key challenges, people often pointed to: • Traffic • Threats to affordable housing
Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

However, setting agendas means looking for common themes and much of the labor in the workshops was devoted to prioritizing issues and concerns. The predominant concerns to emerge were: • A supply of housing that suits a range of income levels and a range of household sizes; • Retail diversity to expand choice and provide opportunities for entrepreneurship; • Intensified civic engagement; • Space for public assembly; • Sustaining a diverse population; • Improving access to healthy foods; • Improving air quality and reducing noise pollution; • Promoting harmony between historic buildings and new construction; • More, and better, alternatives to traveling by car; • Improved community interaction.
(See Appendix C for full listing of Final Goals.)

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Participants in the Imagine Flatbush process made it known that in addition to the creation of neighborhood sustainability goals and indicators, they also desired that the Municipal Art Society compile a list of recom-mendations from workshop responses that could serve as a neighborhood action agenda and guide future participation in neighborhood affairs.
We present the following action agenda, distilled from workshop feedback and offer it as a set of suggestions for moving forward on the sustainability agenda. It is divided into the categories used during the workshop discussions. Action steps are further identified by what can be accomplished in the short-term (steps that can be accomplished within the next six months), mid-term (steps that can be accomplished within the next year), and long-term (steps that will take a year or more to complete).

Completing these action steps depends upon the participation of people like you!

Legend Society Environment Economy Short-term Mid-term Long-term

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Economic Well-Being
Action Step
Continue to develop leadership among business owners regarding the opportunities and challenges that affect this sector of the local economy to: • Track provision and training for small business owners. • Implement customer surveys, and encourage business owners to keep track and respond to local needs; immediate and long-term. • Assess local opportunities for cultural performance/exhibition space to service the local artistic scene. This is a mid-term action step.

Immediate opportunity to begin working
FDC has been organizing and supporting a merchants committee to discuss and implement the current and future needs of this sector of the economy.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
Evaluate participation of merchants in FDC’s umbrella group; track new businesses and how responsive they are to needs expressed through IF 2030 process.

Local businesses. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 9

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Local Environment
Action Step 1
Take a leading role in reviewing land use applications for compatibility with sustainability goals. Advocate that all future land use actions, whether publicly or privately sponsored, meet the following standards: • Safe, affordable, and diverse housing stock that incorporates Inclusionary Zoning to achieve 30 percent affordability, defined as at least 50 percent below the average regional income ($70,000), with a mix of housing units of different sizes. • Energy efficient buildings that respect neighborhood character. • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System (LEED)1 certification for new buildings. • Design guidelines that promote harmony between old and new buildings. This is a short-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
1) Present the standards above to Community Board 14, the Brooklyn Borough President, and City Council members and propose a motion for their incorporation as a) an energy efficiency evaluation checklist for reviewing land use proposals and b) a housing opportunity checklist for reviewing land use proposals. 2) Convene a meeting with representatives of the Department of City Planning (DCP) and present to them the standards above, in order to examine how well the proposed Flatbush rezoning responds to the sustainability standards established by IF2030, and how the rezoning proposal can maximize/maintain Flatbush’s potential as a Solar Empowerment Zone (see below).

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
Track incorporation of these standards 1) as a guideline used throughout the land use review process, and 2) as a part of the final, approved version of DCP’s rezoning proposal.

1. LEED certification is the U.S. Green Building Council’s nationally-accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance “green” buildings.

Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Local Environment
Action Step 2
Strengthen the neighborhood’s capacity to increase the energy efficiency of all buildings. This includes technical training to identify what structural changes can be made in the buildings to achieve this, the financial literacy required to finance these operations, and taking advantage of new citywide programs and policies. This is a long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity

1) A local group with Preservation Consultant Counselor status, such as FDC, can provide tenant and homeowner training. In particular, existing housing workshops can be expanded to provide financial training for home improvement—particularly, on how to apply for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) home improvement loan programs; such as the Article 8A Loan Program2, the Home Improvement Program (HIP)3 and the Participation Loan Program (PLP)4. 2) Promotion and awareness-building of HPD’s seminars on water/energy conservation, maintaining heat/hot water, and environmental health issues.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal

Track participation in FDC’s housing programs. Track successful local applications to HPD’s home improvement loan programs.

2. The Article 8A Loan Program provides rehabilitation loans to correct substandard or unsanitary conditions and to prolong the useful life of multiple dwellings in New York City. 3. HIP in cooperation with private banks provides loans, not exceeding $20,000, to help small homeowners improve their properties. 4. PLP provides low-interest loans to private residential building owners for the moderate-to-gut rehabilitation of housing for low-to-moderate income households.

Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Public Health and Safety
Action Step
Form a task force to examine public safety issues that include, but are not limited to: • Safe living conditions • Criminal activity, including drug dealing and gangs • Disaster contingency planning at the building level This is a long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
Work with Community Board 14’s Public Safety Committee to further refine and examine neighborhood public safety priorities.

Subway tracks side-by-side with housing. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 12

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Recreation
Action Step
Create a space for outdoor public assembly that can be used for recreation, civic activity, and public art exhibitions. This is a mid- to long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
The Department of Transportation is now accepting proposals for its Public Plaza Initiative. Entities who have demonstrated that they have consulted with the local community receive additional points on their application.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
Track how much open space has been added to the neighborhood (3.6 percent of land area in Community District 14 as of 2006).

School playground doubles as neighborhood open space Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 13

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Neighborhood Character
Action Step
Take a leading role in reviewing land use applications for compatibility with sustainability goals. Advocate that all future land use actions, whether publicly or privately sponsored, meet the following standards: • Safe, affordable, and diverse housing stock that incorporates Inclusionary Zoning to achieve 30 percent affordability, defined as 50 percent or lower of area median income (AMI) (currently $70,000 per year), with a mix of housing units of different sizes. • Energy-efficient buildings that respect neighborhood character. • Design guidelines that promote harmony between old and new buildings This is a short- to mid-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
1) Present the standards above to Community Board 14 and propose a motion for their incorporation as a) an energy efficiency evaluation checklist for reviewing land use proposals and b) a housing opportunity checklist for reviewing land use proposals.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
1) Track incorporation of these standards a) as a guideline in the community board’s land use review process, and b) as a part of final rezoning proposal for Flatbush. 2) Track the number of housing units produced annually.

Flatbush row houses on a tree-lined street. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 14

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Youth and Educational Attainment
Action Step
Create a central source of information on all training and programming opportunities that serve local youth by: • Assessing what organizations/groups offer educational, after-school trainings and recreational programs, as well as how to access them. • Making this information available to people through electronic and printed form so anybody in the community can access these listings. • Creating ways for employers looking for youth employees to post available positions. This is a mid-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
Request that the local City Council Member undertake an audit of youth services available in Flatbush, beginning with information from the Department of Youth and Community Development and the Citizens Committee for Children, but also augmenting existing data by surveying local faith-based groups and other social service providers that target youth.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
Identification of a local group to take the lead on this step.

Young Flatbush residents visit the 2008 Frolic booth. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 15

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Civics
Action Step 1

Incorporate the findings and recommendations of the Imagine Flatbush participants into Community Board 14’s agenda and priorities for the coming year. Community Board 14, which covers Flatbush and Midwood, plays an important advisory role in decisions made about the neighborhood’s quality of life: land use; service delivery; and share of the city’s budget, among other things. This is a short-term action step.

Immediate opportunity

Present to the board’s committees (such as Land Use and Public Safety, for example), and request a motion from each committee that all relevant items from the Imagine Flatbush list of sustainability goals be included into Community Board 14’s annual District Needs Statement, thereby becoming part of the document that serves as the community board’s guide in dealings with the city and private developers.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal

Track number of items included in the Community Board 14 District Needs Statement.

Action Step 2

Create a network of the groups involved in the Imagine Flatbush 2030 effort. Continue to meet as a group, under the leadership of a consortium of local organizations, with the goal of providing the information from the process to city agencies, elected officials, schools, and other community groups. This is a mid- to long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity

Present findings to local elected officials for use as they conduct their own reviews of land use actions.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal

Track whether local elected officials use the Imagine Flatbush land use recommendations to inform and guide their own reviews of projects.

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Civics
Action Step 3

Form an Advisory Task Force to work with Community Board 14 on the creation of a board website that includes information referenced in Imagine Flatbush and serves as a centralized source of information about all things related to Flatbush. This is a mid- to long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity

The Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, in conjunction with the Department of Information Telecommunications and Technology, offers free website creation assistance and website hosting to community boards.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
Secure agreement of Community Board 14 to form a website task force.

Action Step 4

Incorporate the findings and recommendations of the Imagine Flatbush participants into a long-term planning process for Community District 14 with the goal of producing a district-wide 197-a plan grounded in local ideas about sustainability. A 197-a plan (197-a refers to a section of the New York City Charter) is a community-generated plan that is meant to guide future development, growth, and improvement decisions in the neighborhood. This is a long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
Recommend to Community Board 14’s Executive Committee that the board assess its capacity to undertake a 197-a planning process.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal

Secure agreement from Community Board 14 to put the capacity assessment item on its Executive Committee agenda for consideration.

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Housing Access
Action Step
Strengthen access to affordable, safe, and comfortable housing for low-income households in the neighborhood, by: • Ensuring that information about the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)5 and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)6 are readily available and user-friendly; if necessary, produce one-page, community-friendly fact sheets. • Advocating for financial literacy forums and first-time homebuyer programs. • Ensuring that local financial institutions use multiple languages. This is a long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity
Support and participate in FDC’s housing workshops so they can become a local conduit to distribute all relevant materials and opportunities for sustainable home-ownership; in particular, those resources coming from the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, which address foreclosure issues at the individual and neighborhood level.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal
1) Use data available from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) website (or from www.dataplace.org) to track successful home mortgage loan applications by race and income, across the census tracts of the neighborhood; for private mortgage insurance companies (PMIC). 2) Track CRA ratings of local lending institutions.

5. HMDA requires lending institutions to report public loan data. 6. The CRA mandates that institutions that receive local deposits help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderateincome neighborhoods.

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3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Neighborhood Diversity
Action Step 1

Continue to develop the leadership potential of the diverse individuals who participated in the workshops. This is a mid- to long-term action step.

Immediate opportunity

FDC welcomes volunteers from the process to join their working groups: Economic Development and Community Revitalization; Housing and Immigration; Youth Services; and Neighborhood Associations. There are also opportunities to get involved in the community board and even to apply for community board membership (applications are generally collected in January: http://www.brooklyn-usa. org/pages/Community_Board/getinvolved.htm).

Ways to measure progress toward this goal

Track how well, over the course of time, community leadership in local organizations mirrors the demographic profile of Flatbush.

Flatbush youth participate in a workshop. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 19

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Mobility
Action Step 1

Convene a Task Force to discuss mobility (which was defined in the workshops as “getting around the neighborhood and getting into and out of the neighborhood”). This group will be responsible for clarifying the main transportation issues/ questions and determining specific opportunities in this regard. This is a short-term action step.

Immediate opportunity

1) Follow Transportation Alternative’s idea for organizing a meeting with the participants of IF2030, to engage members of Community Board 14 transportation committee into the conversation. 2) This group can take on the creation of a list of mobility concerns and present them to city/state agencies, such as the Department of City Planning, or any other relevant agencies. This presentation can be framed as a question to examine how well the type of development these agencies plan for the neighborhood responds to the community’s mobility concerns.

Ways to measure progress toward this goal

Extent to which the mobility committee is created, and the relevant concerns/questions are presented to the transportation committee of Community Board 14; the Department of City Planning; and any other relevant agency.

Cars, buses, and pedestrians compete for street space. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 20

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

Immediate Opportunities for Continued Involvement
Local groups are taking the findings of the Imagine Flatbush 2030 workshops and working with the agenda to make progress toward neighborhood sustainability. Here are ways for you to get even more involved:
Whether you are interested in joining a committee, committing to a special event, or even providing office support, FDC has a range of volunteer opportunities that will allow you to get more deeply involved in some of the agenda topics. Visit www.fdconline.org. • Housing and Immigration Committee (contact Aga Trojniak) • Youth and After School Committee (contact Shamar or Klein) • Flatbush Frolic Committee (contact Mannix Gordon) • House Tour Committee (contact Aga Trojniak) • Economic Development Committee (contact Mannix Gordon)

The Flatbush Development Corporation

Sustainable Flatbush

Visit them at their website: http://sustainableflatbush.org/ participate/

Top: Flatbush Development Corporation; bottom: Sustainable Flatbush. Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009 21

3/ Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda

4

Project Background
A/ Jane Jacobs and PlaNYC 2030 B/ Sustainable Indicators

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4 – Project Background

A/ Jane Jacobs and PLANYC 2030

A/ Jane Jacobs and PlaNYC 2030
In September 2007, the Rockefeller Foundation announced the winners of the first Jane Jacobs Medal, an award that honored the path-breaking urbanist and recognized two visionary practitioners whose work has helped to foster a more diverse, dynamic and equitable city. With the establishment of this annual award, the Foundation honored the work of one of the greatest thinkers in urban planning and used the occasion as the springboard for a major Jane Jacobs—inspired public education and civic-engagement effort. MAS was honored to be invited to partner with the Rockefeller Foundation in bringing New York closer to the kind of urban environment that Jane Jacobs helped us all to understand and envision more clearly.

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4 – Project Background

A/ Jane Jacobs and PLANYC 2030

Jane Jacobs is as relevant today as she was during the 1960s. More redevelopment is happening now in New York City— and in other cities across the globe—than at almost any time since the 1930s, but it is clear that the lessons of Jane Jacobs have not been absorbed. Jacobs espoused a common-sense approach to urban planning issues. She saw clearly that the urban renewal of the 1950s and ’60s was failing to create human-oriented places, instead creating sterile, automobilecentric new environments. Worse, they were destroying neighborhoods that had grown organically and functioned as safe, vibrant, successful human environments. Today, we are no longer bulldozing neighborhoods. Yet we are at times approaching city revitalization as if inspired by bad memories of the Robert Moses years, moving toward megadevelopments, such as the Atlantic Yards project, with little public input. On a positive note, we have a mayor who has demonstrated an interest in planning and, through his PlaNYC2030, has begun to take on the challenge of how to green the city even as it grows over the next twenty-five years. PlaNYC addresses three basic concerns—population growth; aging infrastructure; and climate change—by taking action on the creation of housing; reducing commute times; increasing parkland and open space; improving water, energy, and transit infrastructure; reducing carbon emissions; improving air and water quality; and cleaning contaminated land. The mayor’s engagement in planning is an unprecedented opportunity to broaden discussions of environmental sustainability to include lessons from Jane Jacobs of what elements make urban communities work. The city, however, has not given much thought, yet, as to how to solicit this input in a way that successfully engages communities and makes their needs part of the solution.

In light of the Mayor’s 2030 initiative, MAS believed that the most effective way to perpetuate the legacy of Jane Jacobs and have positive impact on the urban vitality of the city would be for the Rockefeller Foundation and the Municipal Art Society to ensure that, as the city plans for 2030, it genuinely engages communities in devising a truly urban and sustainable future for our city that survives well beyond the Bloomberg Administration. To this end, we set out to design an approach to neighborhood visioning, planning, and development that imparted the fullness of Jane Jacobs’ principles of livability into the Administration’s notions of sustainability. The important lesson from Jane Jacobs’ work is that urban planning is too important to be left to planners and politicians. If a writer-editor living humbly in Greenwich Village in the 1950s could see serious flaws in urban renewal that eluded the professional planners of the time, then all of us who live and work in New York are qualified to have a say in how the city is developed. MAS set out to address how a neighborhood could organize and collectively evaluate what makes communities livable; and to understand the level of public education and planning assistance required to help communities translate their interpretations of livability into planning goals, objectives, measures and strategies to be utilized to evaluate development proposals, react to plans and, ultimately, to create neighborhood plans. This community visioning project set out to define New Yorkers’ aspirations for a sustainable city based on local knowledge – in essence, broadening the Mayor’s terms of sustainability to incorporate more Jane Jacobs-style ideals of livability – and using the opportunity of PlaNYC2030 to engage New Yorkers in planning in a more meaningful way that ensures that communities are true partners with the city, and not merely sites for large-scale development.

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4 – Project Background

B/ Sustainable Indicators

B/ Sustainable Indicators
paved surface will increase stormwater runoff into nearby water bodies, polluting the water, limiting the water’s use for Sustainability is based on equilibrium, or balance, among the environment, society, and the economy. Activities in one area recreation, and affecting the marine life. Beach recreation and affect the others, and activities that benefit one aspect but are tourism also depends on water and air quality. Widening the road is not a sustainable solution to the problem because it harmful to another aspect are unsustainable. For example, a creates problems in other areas, and actually does very little community struggling with traffic congestion may look for ways to solve this problem. Widening the road to ease conges- to solve the true problem in the long run. Maintaining balance among the economy, ecology, and society is the ultimate goal tion is one obvious, immediate solution. But it is a temporary of sustainability. solution that creates problems in other areas. While the wider road may improve traffic flow temporarily, the added

Why an indicators project?

What is an indicator?
An indicator is something that helps you understand where you are, which way you are going, and how far you are from where you want to be. A good indicator alerts you to a problem before it gets too bad and helps you recognize what needs to be done to fix the problem. Examples: • grade on a report card
Where you WANT TO BE Where you WERE Where you ARE

• gas gauge

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4 – Project Background

B/ Sustainable Indicators

An indicator is a tool used to zero in on a particular issue or condition to describe how well the larger system is working. Indicators are used to help direct solutions to problems. Developing sustainability indicators for a community has a two-fold purpose: • To help a community articulate and prioritize what it values; and • To measure progress toward goals set by the community. For the purpose of raising awareness and beginning the conversation about sustainability on a community level, a list of indicators grouped by issue area is very useful in preparing the sustainability plan. Additionally, these indicators can be used when reviewing and providing feedback on plans for development in other neighborhoods, or can be altered and used to measure progress towards sustainability goals. Decisions about what items should go into a sustainability agenda, how they should be prioritized, and how people in Flatbush can go about measuring progress (through indicators) toward sustainability goals was the subject matter of community workshops.

A sustainable measurement for air quality would instead focus on the need for better integrated mobility in the neighborhood, to decrease usage of cars. Measurements would instead focus on the reason for extensive use of automobiles. This type of indicator should also examine changes in the use of alternative means of transportation, commuting distances, and other elements beyond fuel efficiency. It is important to distinguish what the actual problem is, the factors that are causing it (causes) and the potential actions that can be taken (responses).

Cause
Too many people driving cars

Problem
Air pollution

Responses
Standards for fuel Auto emissions standards Car pools

What is the role of indicators in planning for sustainability? (or, why measuring air quality
is not enough.) Sustainable indicators are the result of a planning process. They specify a problem, identify the cause of the problem, and establish some of the impacts that result from having/ solving the problem. For example: a common theme that arose during the workshops was the need to reduce air pollution caused by motor vehicles. Some standard techniques to measure air quality include monitoring the pollution emitted by automobiles, or counting the number of programs/policies that have been created to control the issue. However, this fails to address the underlying problem: the cause of automobile congestion in the community. In other words, measuring air quality is not enough.

How can indicators be put to work and used beyond the Imagine Flatbush 2030 process?
This document presents the sustainability agenda that has been discussed by the participants in the Imagine Flatbush 2030 workshops. The agenda comprises goals, and each of these goals is accompanied by a series of sustainability indicators that describe the current conditions of the community. This information is helpful data that is available to users of this report as an updated scientific portrait of various aspects of the community. These measurements can be used down the road to evaluate how much and in what ways future proposals (by the community, by the city, or by external private stakeholders) can contribute or deviate from the community’s vision for the future of the neighborhood.

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4 – Project Background

5

Flatbush Profile

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The study area for Imagine Flatbush 2030 encompasses an area of 767.46 acres in central Brooklyn. This area extends south from Prospect Park to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Bay Ridge Line, which runs east-west just north of Avenue I. With a minor exception in the southeastern corner, this section covers the northern half of Community District 14. The area incorporates an additional series of blocks along the railroad line between Flatbush and Brooklyn Avenues.

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Census Tracts

Census Tracts

This study area intersects 31 census tracts (units of population determined by the federal government for purposes of enumeration every ten years), which have been used to build the demographic and socioeconomic description of the area produced for this profile. Although some sections of these tracts extend beyond the boundaries of the catchment area, they have all been included in this analysis to show any trends in and around the boundaries of the study area. However, the location of these tracts in New York City indicate that Community District 14 and Kings County, in general, would be the most appropriate geographies to establish a comparison to understand these numbers in context with other neighborhoods and surrounding communities.

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Population

Population

According to the 2000 census, a total of 148,737 people live in these tracts. This number represents a five percent increase from 1990, when the total number of residents was 142,809 (percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number). This phenomenon follows an increasing trend experienced by Community District 14 that has been growing since 1980; although, at a decreasing rate of change (from 11 percent in 1990 , to 6 percent in the year 2000). The population is distributed in three main areas. The highest density is present in tracts 05080, 07960, 05160 and 05100, which together host 29 percent of the total population. At the same time, tracts such as 046002 and 05220 present a considerably lower density at 0.41 percent and 0.67 percent. The rest of the population tends to concentrate almost evenly across the rest of the study area (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Distribution of the Population by Census Tract in the Year 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Age

Age

As Figure 2 illustrates, the study area has a large population of young people – 5-17 year-olds constitute the largest age group, with 21 percent of the total population. The adult population of ages 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59 constitute the next-largest age groups, with slightly more than 15 percent, 15 percent, and 13 percent of the population, respectively. The age groups with the least population in the neighborhood are senior citizens, young children, and ages 18-21.

Figure 2: Age Distribution in the Year 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Race and Nativity

Race and Nativity

The racial/ethnic distribution of the community divides the population into three major groups. In 2000, Black/African-American residents accounted for a majority 53 percent of the total population. The other major ethnic groups are White (21 percent) and Hispanic (14 percent), which combined represent 35 percent of the total population. The remaining 12 percent breaks down into 6 percent Asian, 5 percent claiming two or more races, 0.69 percent claiming some other race alone, 0.11 percent American Indian/ Alaska Natives, and 0.06 percent Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Racial/Ethnic Breakdown in the Year 2000 (including Hispanic descent)
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Race and Nativity

The foreign-born population accounts for 52 percent of the total population. This group is distributed across the study area. Some of the tracts with the highest percentage of foreign-born residents were tracts 046001 at 67 percent, 048200 at 63 percent, and 07900 at 59 percent. With the exception of tracts 046002, 05220, 04780 and 05280, where this group drops from 38 percent of the population, all other areas oscillate between 40 and 58 percent (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Percentage of Foreign-Born Population in each Census Tract by 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Income

Income

The median household income (MHI) of the community living inside the study area is $32,103. However, there are considerable differences between the distinct census tracts. For example, some areas show individual MHI’s that are more than one-and-a-half times higher than others. This is the case with tracts 052800, 052400, 046002, or 05220; where in the MHI reaches $75,889, which is more than three times higher than those of the tracts with the lowest MHI. The tracts with the lowest MHI include 048200, 048000, 051000, 079200, and 051600, where the median household income can be as low as $22,265 (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Median Household Income per Census Tract by 1999
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Poverty

Poverty

The number of individuals that reported an income below 200 percent of the poverty level , which constitutes low income for the purpose of this study, follows another notable pattern. While this number is only considerably low (as few as 16 percent of the population) in tract 052200, in all other tracts it represents more than 29 percent of the total population. In tracts such as 051600, 079400, 048000, and 05080, more than 57 percent of the total population fell into this low-income category (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Percentage of Low-Income Population per Census Tract by 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Housing

Housing

In the year 2000, the census reported a total of 51,735 housing units in the study area. 1,988 of these units, or 3.84 percent, were reported vacant. The average percent of housing vacancy is 4.23 percent. However, it is important to note that tracts 082800, 079200, and 079400 present rates higher than 8 percent. Conversely, in tracts 077400, 051200 and 050800 vacant property constitutes just under 2 percent of the total (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Percentage of Vacant Housing Units in each Census Tract by 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Housing

The remaining units were unevenly divided between owner- and renter-occupied. Only 16 percent of all occupied units were owner-occupied in the year 2000, whereas renter-occupied units comprised 84 percent of the total. However, the percentage of owner-occupied units is high in some census tracts, including 046002, 05220, and 05280, where owner-occupied units comprised up to 78 percent of the total units in those tracts (Figure 8). The areas with the highest percentages of renter-occupied units are concentrated in tracts 051000, 050800 and 051200 (Figure 9).

Figure 8: Percentage of Owner-Occupied Housing Units in Each Census Tract by 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Housing

Figure 9: Percentage of Renter-Occupied Housing Units in each Census Tract by 2000
Source: US Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Land Use

Land Use

According to the Department of City Planning’s land-use categorization, the total acreage inside the project’s study area is divided into ten categories. The majority of the acreage is used for housing purposes, accounting for 67 percent of the total acreage. The majority of this housing is one and two family buildings (38 percent) followed by multifamily elevator buildings (18 percent) and multi-family walk-up buildings (12 percent). The other prevalent land uses include public facilities and institutions (10 percent), mixed use residential and commercial (6 percent), commercial and office buildings (6 percent), open space and recreation (5 percent), and transportation utilities (3 percent). A portion of the land that remains vacant (1 percent), or is used for parking facilities (also 1 percent). The least-prevalent land use type is industrial and manufacturing (0.55 percent). It is important that beyond the acreages above, there was a 0.54 percent of the total that was not classified because there was no data available.

Figure 10: Distribution of Acreage Inside the Study Area by Land Use in 2007
Source: New York City Department of City Planning, PLUTO, 2006

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Land Use

Figure 11: Percentage of Open Space
Source: Oasis, 2008; New York City Department of City Planning, PLUTO, 2006

New York City
Open Space: 49,854 acres Park/Open Space Acreage per 1000 Residents: 6.2

Community District 14
Open Space: 129.77 acres District Area: 1891 acres (Rank = 33 out of 59) Percent of District that is Open Space: 6.9 percent (36/59) Number of Gardens: 7 Open Space per 1,000 People: 0.77 acres (44/59) Open Space per 1,000 Kids: 2.66 acres (48/59) Percent Tree Canopy: 17.8 percent (13/59)

Imagine Flatbush Study Area
Open Space: 36.48 acres IF2030 Lot Area: 767.46 acres Percent of District that is Open Space: 4.75 percent Open Space per 1,000 People: 0.24 acres

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 12: Small Parks and Playgrounds—Acceptable Conditions (Percent)
Source: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, 2007

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 13: Small Parks and Playgrounds—Acceptably Clean (Percent)
Source: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, 2007

Figure 14: Change in the Size of the Housing Units Between 1990 and 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 15: Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

Figure 16: Means of Transportation to Work for Workers 16 Years and Over in 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 17: Travel Time to Work for Workers 16 Years And Over Who Did Not Work At Home In 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Summary File 3, 2000

Figure 18: Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 Live Births) in the Last Years
Source: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2006

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 19: New Cases Requiring Environmental Intervention for Lead Poisoning (per 1,000 Children) in the Last Years
Source: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, 2007

Figure 20: Leading Causes of Death in Flatbush in 2001
Source: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2001

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 21: Leading Causes of Hospitalization in Flatbush in 2001
Source: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2001

Figure 22: Vulnerability of the Neighborhood; Education, Poverty and Safety
Source: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2001

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Additional Neighborhood Data

Figure 23: Department of Buildings Priority A (emergency) Complaints
Source: New York City Department of Buildings, 2007

Figure 24: Department of Buildings Priority B (non-emergency) Complaints
Source: New York City Department of Buildings, 2007

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6
A/ B/ C/ D/ E/ F/ G/

Imagine Flatbush 2030 Process
Advisory Board Meeting Stakeholder Meeting Workshop 1 Workshop 2 Workshop 3 Follow-up Meeting Community Board 14 Presentation

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6 – Imagine Flatbush 2030

The process began with the creation of an advisory board, which met for the first time in October 2007. At this meeting the Planning Center introduced the project, the initial partner organization Flatbush Development Corporation, and some of the roles that had been designated thus far. This meeting served to build a constituency among other stakeholders, such as other organizations at work in the area, city agencies, and elected officials. Participants confirmed their support for the project, availability to help with further outreach, and interest in using the results of the project as a reference for their own work.

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Over a period of five months, the MAS Planning Center, in partnership with the Flatbush Development Corporation and the Center for the Study of Brooklyn, hosted one stakeholders meeting and four community workshops in Flatbush. These workshops proceeded with the participation of residents, business owners, and civic leaders of the neighborhood, who were invited to formulate neighborhood sustainability goals and design tools to measure progress toward achieving these consensus-based goals. During the first stakeholders meeting, the Imagine Flatbush 2030 partners initiated the discussion by encouraging participants to identify what neighborhood assets and/or challenges were most important to them. This discussion provided a first glimpse of the general concerns among participants. This initial conversation served as a bridge to a more detailed workshop addressing the main quality of life issues affecting the neighborhood. At the end of this second event, the conversation resulted in a list of “symptoms” describing Flatbush’s “health” in regards to the natural, social and economic aspects of quality of life in the neighborhood. These thoughts were documented and consolidated into a database that helped identify the main areas of concern--major categories to help structure the community’s vision toward a neighborhood sustainability agenda. After analyzing the information gathered, ten categories emerged. These themes were used to organize the agenda. These categories were: • economic well-being; • youth and educational attainment; • local environment; • public health; • housing access; • civics; • recreation; • neighborhood diversity; • mobility (getting around); and • neighborhood character.

These themes constituted the basis for breaking down the discussion into smaller groups that focused on each of these topics separately. The process allowed each group to discuss priorities and present its conclusions to the larger group. At the second workshop, the group of participants was encouraged to revise the quality of life issues under each category and produce a final list of goals. This process involved re-locating certain issues to other categories, re-phrasing some of them, and finally, achieving consensus on a list of goals that covered all topics discussed at the tables. At the end of the meeting, each group presented its goals to the overall group, completing a first draft of the final list of goals. During the third and final workshop, the groups revised the list of goals and made any corrections necessary. Once they had revised the goals, each group proceeded to discuss ways of measuring progress toward each of these goals. In some cases, this focused on reducing or increasing the number of amenities or services available; while in others, the conversation primarily concentrated on the resources required to increase the community’s capacity to respond to its current and future needs. These discussions included considerations such as: the relevancy of standard measurements related to each topic; what local information would be required to measure these particular themes; and any particular action that the group could take in the near future, such as reaching out to other stakeholders and/or gathering additional information, to start measuring progress toward these goals. The following outline provides a more detailed description of what happened at each meeting:

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A/ Advisory Board Meeting 1

A/ Advisory Board Meeting 1
October 31, 2007
• During the first advisory board meeting, the MAS Planning Center staff introduced the project to State Assembly member Rhoda Jacobs; State Assembly Jim Brennan; Special Assistant to State Senator Kevin Parker; Gretchen Maneval, Director of the Center for the Study of Brooklyn; Kevin Parris, Land Use Coordinator for the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office; and Susan Siegel and Aga Trojinak from the Flatbush Development Corporation. • The MAS Planning Center staff described the type of support envisioned for the advisory board. Flatbush Development Corporation presented its affiliation with the project, and described its role in Imagine Flatbush 2030. • There was a very positive reaction from the members of the advisory board, and a general commitment to support future outreach to publicize the project’s upcoming meetings.

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B/ Stakeholder Meeting

B/ Stakeholder Meeting
November 19, 2007
• Imagine Flatbush 2030 kicked off on Monday, November 19 at Temple Beth Emeth with a preliminary stakeholders meeting. (A list of approximately 150 stakeholders was cultivated with help from FDC, neighborhood groups, and elected officials. Stakeholders who attended were asked to serve as project ambassadors and assist with outreach for the next meeting.) Approximately 50 of those invited attended—representing Brooklyn College, tenant associations, city government, homeowners associations, the local YMCA, merchants groups, community development groups, and civic and faith-based groups. • After an introduction by the Planning Center staff to MAS, Jane Jacobs, and the goals of the project, UPROSE Executive Director Elizabeth Yeampierre led a discussion of the meaning of neighborhood sustainability, the Mayor’s PlaNYC2030, and why neighborhoods need to create their own agendas to work in tandem with the Mayor’s plan. • Attendees were asked to work in groups to brainstorm neighborhood assets and challenges, as a way of beginning a dialogue. Six groups produced observations that they first recorded on paper, then shared with the entire group at the end of the workshop. • Shared observations about Flatbush’s assets included: diversity (cultural; economic; ethnic; racial; religious); proximity to Prospect Park; good public transportation; good schools; proximity to Brooklyn College; distinctive, historic neighborhood character; strong and active community-based organizations; aesthetically pleasing; long tenure of many residents; and locally-owned businesses.

• Some interesting macro-level impressions: the neighbor• Shared observations about challenges included: lack of hood is large and varies in character and composition from neighborhood parks; school overcrowding; lack of space place to place and consequently assets and challenges vary for artists; lack of active ways to engage youth; lack of from place to place. space for public assembly, such as community, senior, and (For a detailed list of assets and challenges expressed at this youth centers; gentrification; lack of affordable housing; meeting, please refer to Appendix A.) traffic; achieving energy efficiency in buildings; gang activity (both real and perceived); lack of parking; and inadequate sanitation in some areas.

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C/ Workshop 1

C/ Workshop 1
December 12, 2007
• Imagine Flatbush 2030 continued with its second meeting on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at the Brooklyn College Student Center. Approximately 100 stakeholders attended, some new to the project. • After a brief introduction by the Planning Center to MAS, Jane Jacobs, and the goals of the project, and an overview of neighborhood demographics, Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park and a member of the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, then familiarized the group with some key terminology, including: sustainability, sustainable communities, sustainable development, and indicators of community sustainability. • Attendees were divided into five groups, where they were asked to work with a facilitator and note-taker to identify quality-of-life issues. Each individual had an opportunity to discuss the quality-of-life issue that concerned him or her the most. • After the quality-of-life issues were identified, each table worked collectively to assign their quality-of-life issue to an applicable category area, i.e. housing, economy, recreation, etc. The goal of this exercise was to spot the overlapping areas between the various quality-of-life issues and discuss their interconnectivity. • After both exercises were completed, each facilitator led a discussion about why that interconnectivity is an important component of sustainability and gave a basic introduction to standard indicators and sustainability indicators. Facilitators also asked group members to think about groups that weren’t at the table and brainstorm ways of reaching out to those groups. • Each table reported their work back to the group as a whole and the notes that were taken at each table were used to draft a preliminary outline of neighborhood goals. (For a detailed list of quality of life issues expressed at this meeting please refer to Appendix B.)

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D/ Workshop 2

D/ Workshop 2
January 24, 2008
• Imagine Flatbush 2030 continued with its second workshop on Wednesday, January 24, 2008 at the Brooklyn College Student Center. Approximately 70 Flatbush participants attended, some new to the project. There were several non-English speaking participants, for whom translation service was provided. • After a brief recap from Planning Center Director Eve Baron of the goals of the project and a viewing of a short film depicting the project thus far, Planning Center GIS Analyst/Planner Juan Camilo Osorio then familiarized participants with the process for the evening and the anticipated outcome: finalizing the goals of the Flatbush sustainability agenda. He then linked this work to what participants would be doing at the February 27 workshop: creating measures to assess progress toward these goals. • Attendees were divided into seven groups, where they were asked to work with a facilitation team (one person from MAS or FDC and one person from the community) to prioritize and give final language to the quality-of-life issues identified in the previous workshop. • Each individual participant had the opportunity to discuss the goals within the smaller group and to vote on how they would prioritize items. Groups also had the opportunity to confer with each other. • Each table reported their work back to the group as a whole. Finalized goals from each group were collected and complied later into a single document. • After several requests, the study area map was redrawn to include three large housing projects: Norma; Philip Howard; and Mansfield Gardens. With help from FDC, the MAS Planning Center presented the project to students at Erasmus High School on Wednesday, February 13 and invited them to the next workshop. (For a detailed list of final goals produced at this meeting please refer to Appendix C.)

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E/ Workshop 3

E/ Workshop 3
February 28, 2008
• The project continued with its third and final workshop. At the meeting, facilitators helped participants design sustainable indicators, or measures, to help assess progress made toward the goals set in previous workshops. As presented, these measurements were discussed as advocacy tools that can be used to assess different types of actions, from city-initiated rezonings, to new social service programs, to proposals for private development, to performance of city agencies. • Once again, attendees were divided into groups where they were asked to work with a facilitation team (one person from MAS or FDC and one person from the community). This combination of professional experience in the topic, and local expertise regarding the history and existing condition of the neighborhood, represented an important resource to support the discussion at the tables. • Participants recorded their conclusions on poster-sized printouts, which listed the group’s goals, some pre-fabricated measurements to help discussion, and criteria for designing sustainable measures. Each poster included space for recording the measures the group came up with; sources of local information; and future action steps. • During this workshop, participants revised the list of goals under each of the tables and made final changes to the list of foals that constitute the main structure of the agenda. • Other resources available for each participant were: an explanation of the criteria used to design sustainable measures; a list of the final goals; a map of the neighborhood with the location of participants that has attended previous IF2030 workshops; and a glossary of terms related with sustainability and working with indicators. (For a detailed list of measurements and actions produced at this meeting please refer to Appendix D.)

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F/ Follow-up Advisory Committee Meeting

F/ Follow-up Advisory Committee Meeting
March 14, 2008
• The MAS Planning Center met with some members of the advisory group to receive their feedback on the process thus far, with the goal of incorporating their comments in the final report, and nurturing the development of a replicable model. The conversation focused on segments of the project that can be improved to facilitate discussion and deliberation among the project’s participants, considerations in the way the information should be analyzed and presented, and particular thoughts on some of the future next steps.

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G/ Community Board 14 Presentation

G/ Community Board 14 Presentation
May 5, 2008
• The MAS Planning Center, with support from FDC, presented an update on Imagine Flatbush 2030 to the community board. This presentation highlighted segments of the neighborhood agenda with a predominant land use component, in an attempt to connect these recommendations with the board discussion with the Dept. of City planning on an upcoming rezoning in the north Flatbush area. • With this presentation the MAS Planning Center recommended the consideration of the goals in the neighborhood agenda for inclusion in the community district needs statement. Likewise, the MAS Planning Center requested the opportunity to present at the board’s committee meetings in order to focus on specific segments of the agenda.

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7

Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)
A/ B/ C/ Economy i. Economic Well-Being Environment i. Local Environment ii. Public Health iii. Recreation iv. Neighborhood Character Society i. Youth and Educational Attainment ii. Housing Access iii. Civics iv. Neighborhood Diversity v. Mobility
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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

This section summarizes the work of the group during the final workshop, where participants were asked to use the priorities identified in previous workshops to generate their own ideas about ways to measure progress toward goals. Also, in response to previous requests by participants to Planning Center staff for more “actionable” items, we asked people to generate ideas about next steps for each priority. These ideas were used in part to generate the Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda.

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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

A/ Economy

A/ Economy
i. Economic Well-Being
The highest priority goal in this category was to maintain both affordable housing and economic diversity, that people felt could be best attained and by a wide range of incomes around the median that can afford decent, safe and comfortable housing. People identified the Division of Housing and Community Renewal; FDC; Housing Preservation and Development; the Department of City Planning; and the New York City Housing and Neighborhood Information Service as sources of information. People felt that appropriate action steps were to hold electeds accountable for creating affordable housing and maintaining economic diversity; to support organizations that work toward inclusionary zoning (a regulatory tool to increase the supply of affordable housing through zoning); and to work toward ensuring that all affected areas in rezonings provide 30 percent affordable housing. Local retail and entrepreneurship, as both a way to meet local needs for goods and services and as a path toward individual financial independence, were also identified as priorities. People wanted better quality, diversity and variety of both prepared and grocery items and local training and education that strengthens small business and promotes entrepreneurship. Action steps discussed were persuading businesses to use customer surveys to track and respond to local needs in the long term, and tracking the number of loans to small local businesses.

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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

B/ Environment
i. Local Environment
The highest priority goal in this category was dual: improved air quality and reduced noise pollution. People felt that measuring these items was best accomplished using data on asthma rates; the number of air and noise complaints registered to 311; and measurements of air quality. Potential sources for data identified were: Community Board 14; 311; Emergency Medical Services; New York Police Department; and the Department of Health for asthma statistics. Action steps identified were to review existing studies to track change; review 311 data to track change in number of water, air, and noise complaints; and to review environmental impact studies prepared for development projects. Another priority to emerge was ensuring responsible construction that results in healthy, energy-efficient buildings that respect neighborhood character. Potential measures are the number of LEED-certified and retrofitted buildings; leadlevels in blood; and the number of energy audits conducted each year. Possible sources of information are the Green Building Council, and hospitals. This group identified encouraging the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and energy providers to conduct more energy audits as an action step. A third priority to emerge was balancing environmental values with development values, measured by the number of Department of Building permits vs. number of variances granted. Another priority was open access to a range of public health services including education, prevention, and treatment. Discussion here focused on critical needs for information. People felt that to measure progress toward this goal they would need to identify the various treatment facilities and their specialties: get data on how are these facilities are utilized and by whom; and understand how people accessed information about them. People felt that there was a great need for more information about the opportunities that exist for senior centers and in home services; the location and fee structure for local recreational facilities; opportunities for exercise in public schools; a community health assessment; whether after school programs targeting health issues were available; and what public health resources exist at the city and state level. City hospitals; Families First; local CBO’s were identified as sources of information. A possible action step was to distribute public health information—direct mail and local electeds, CBO’s; local merchants; community bulletin boards; to intergenerational and multilingual audiences.

iii. Recreation

ii. Public Health

The highest priority for public health was to ensure better access to and availability of affordable food sources, including food that comes from local sources. One suggested measure was an inventory of all local vendors to ascertain who was selling what to whom. Possible sources of data Business Improvement Districts; Department of Health; communitybased organizations (CBO’s); FDC; and the Department of City Planning. Potential action steps identified were working with the green market to conduct a survey of food needs, provide nutrition information, and more widely distribute information about the availability of food assistance programs.

The number one goal in the category of recreation was better community interaction. Ways to measure the level of community interaction were enumerating the number of community events; the number of languages spoken in the neighborhood; and the number of appeals for volunteers. Information sources include FDC; local electeds; and schools. Possible action steps were to get relevant information to multilingual families through school-aged children; and to organize school-centered meet and greet parties. Another goal was to create an information outlet about community recreation opportunities. An associated action step was to include more local communities/block associations to get the word out.

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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

B/ Environment

iv. Neighborhood Character

The highest priority for neighborhood character was to preserve the character of historic residential and commercial structures and community institutions. A sustainable indicator identified within the group was to measure the change in public and private funding for local preservation. Potential data sources were community organizations and historic preservation agencies. An action step was to engage community organizations to encourage sustained allocations for historic preservation. Another sustainability goal was to promote harmony between the historic and the newly-built private and public structures, to be measured by the number of variance requests. Potential data sources identified were DOB; the Board of Standards and Appeals; CB14; and DCP. Two action steps were to encourage contextual development by proposing changes to zoning provisions and to draft design guidelines that work to preserve aesthetics.

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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

C/ Society
i. Youth and Educational Attainment
One priority goal for youth and educational development was improved youth development and youth services program, such as real world mentoring. Possible ways to measure progress were identifying the percentage of children engaged in meaningful extra curricular activity; the number of clubs and organizations that are available; the money available for these programs accessibility of programs, while possible data sources were CB14; surveys (including local changing needs—parents and children); faith based organizations; nonprofits; local politicians; focus groups; police department. One possible action step was to use technology (e.g. myspace) to increase awareness of programs. People were also focused on quality education for children of all ages. Measuring that quality of available local education could hinge on drop out rate; reading, science, math and social science scores; graduation rates; and levels of public assistance. and user-friendly—“translated” into a one-page, communityfriendly fact sheet; to advocate for financial literacy forums; and to ensure that local financial institutions use multiple languages and hire locally.

iii. Civics

The number one goal in this category is getting people to become involved in their neighborhood. Indicators of progress toward this goal rest on measuring the number of and mapping all the religious, youth, and community based organizations that exist and what problems they are trying to solve. Potential sources of information are Community Board 14, FDC, library, block associations, elected officials, tenant associations. Possible action steps are to form partnerships; organize speaker events (such as town hall meetings); arrange youth/adult mentors; organize community events; and form action committees. Another sustainability goal was the creation of a plan to guide future development in the neighborhood. The plan would need to address affordable housing, supportive housing, and landmarks. An action step on the way to a plan is to hold city planning accountable for downzoning and contextual and inclusionary zoning (zoning that includes affordable housing).

ii. Housing Access

The highest priority goal in this category was housing that is safe, affordable, and can accommodate a range of household sizes. Safety and affordability were acknowledged as related, but difficult to measure in tandem. To measure safety, people identified the number of housing violations; the number of fires reported; and NYPD crime statistics to provide a picture. To measure affordability: number of energy efficient buildings; percentage of neighborhood housing stock priced below 50 percent of Area Median Income. One action step was to encourage a mix of bedroom sizes in new multi-unit development. The second highest priority goal was to increase affordable homeownership and affordable maintenance financing. Potential sustainable measures for this goal include the number of banks/lending institutions in the community; relationship between banks and non-profits; and median borrower income. Possible data sources include Home Mortgage Disclosure Act/Community Reinvestment Act reports (HMDA/ CRA); Department of Banking; financial institutions; state and local realtors associations. As action steps, people wanted to ensure that HMDA/CRA information is readily available

iv. Neighborhood Diversity

The highest priority in this category was maintaining and encouraging a diverse population, including race, ethnicity, culture, ability, religion, age, sexual orientation, and income. Potential indicators identified by participants for this goal hinged on measuring the number of different types of organizations: religious, political, cultural, service and support, recreation, and educational; and tracking local participation in these organizations, with a focus on degree of access, and determining whether these organizations are accurately targeting the needs of a diverse population. Potential data sources are census reports, elected officials, community organizations, religious institutions, community boards, schools, city and federal agencies. Social events, community welcoming events, meet and greets, special events, holidays, etc., were identified as possible occasions to gather data from people about their involvement.

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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

C/ Society

A secondary goal in this category was to maintain the strong connections among the people within the neighborhood—a sense of community, ownership, and caring across differences. This goal was difficult to quantify and measure because social bonds underpin strong communities but are difficult to quantify. Again, a central measure was seen to be tracking participation in local events, programs, workshops, community board meetings, and community gardening. Participants thought that public offering of programs that targeted diversity, customs, and traditions would result in strengthening of connections. Cultural expression through the arts was also perceived as playing a critical role in maintaining neighborhood diversity, and so participants prioritized encouraging arts-related development for private and public expression.

v. Mobility

Mobility as a category was as much about “getting around,” i.e., moving from point A to point B within the neighborhood and the ease or difficulty of using public transportation with a physical challenge, and experiencing Flatbush streets as a pedestrian, as it was about commuting to Manhattan. The number one priority for the mobility part of the agenda was more and better alternatives to traveling by car. A related action step that this group wanted was to identify streets that can accommodate alternative modes of transportation. A secondary goal identified a specific traffic hot spot: participants wanted to reduce traffic impact from local big box stores and in the Junction. An associated action step was to catalyze the big box stores themselves to encourage public transit use. (see Appendix D for a full listing of Actions and Measures.)

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7 - Findings (Goals; Indicators; Measurements)

8

Working with PlaNYC 2030 Opportunities

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8 - Working with PlaNYC 2030 Opportunities

Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC was presented to the public in April, 2007. The plan described the more than 100 initiatives the Administration planned to undertake in response to a growing population, an aging infrastructure, a deteriorating environment, and climate change. PlaNYC and the Imagine Flatbush Sustainability Agenda overlap in some important regards. Both agendas seek to address housing, open space, transportation, energy, and air quality. While the Imagine Flatbush goes beyond PlaNYC in terms of connecting the economy, affordability, the built environment, and neighborhood diversity with more traditional approaches to environmentalism, the Mayor’s plan provides several opportunities to begin implementing the Imagine Flatbush 2030 Sustainability Action Agenda.

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8 - Working with PlaNYC 2030 Opportunities

Housing

Transit-oriented rezonings are a centerpiece of the city’s plan to increase housing. The North Flatbush rezoning is an opportunity to address the community’s desire for safe, affordable housing that satisfies a range of incomes and household sizes. The reforms to the city’s programs to encourage affordable housing construction through tax exemption have resulted in over 400 properties in Flatbush becoming eligible for the 421-a tax incentive program. The new Center for New York City Neighborhoods provides information and resources to address foreclosure at the neighborhood level.

Transportation

The city plans to improve transportation, in part, by promoting cycling, managing roads more effectively, strengthening enforcement of traffic violations, and facilitating freight movements. These are areas of overlap with the Flatbush agenda, and could be good opportunities for neighborhood transportation advocacy. The city has also identified Church Avenue as a “congested corridor” and has pledged to work with neighborhood stakeholders on improvements.

Energy

Open Space

MillionTreesNYC is targeting a 20 percent increase in the city’s tree coverage. There are opportunities to obtain, plant, and maintain trees through this program. Additionally, new construction or substantial enlargement of buildings triggers a new requirement to plant a street tree for every 25 feet of street frontage of the zoning lot. The city’s goal of creating a public plaza in every community may be a way for Flatbush to increase community open space. The Department of Transportation has issued a Request for Proposals for local groups to develop public plazas, with public support.

While few specific opportunities exist to implement Flatbush’s energy efficiency goals, the city is taking steps to reduce energy usage of buildings. NYC’s construction code was updated to include energy efficient measures and practices. The city also launched GreeNYC—a public outreach and education campaign to inform the public about ways to save energy. An important note for Flatbush—in the future, the city plans to encourage comprehensive energy audits, building upgrades, and updating lighting systems in commercial buildings.

Air Quality

A major plank in the city’s plan to clean the air is to increase tree plantings on lots and to reforest select parkland areas. For more information, go to www.nyc.gov/PlaNYC2030

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8 - Working with PlaNYC 2030 Opportunities

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Appendices

A/ B/ C/ D/ E/ F/ G/

Assets and Challenges/Stakeholders Meeting—November 19, 2007 Quality of Life Issues/Workshop—December 12, 2007 Final Goals/Workshop—January 24, 2008 Measures and Actions/Workshop—February 28, 2008 Handout/Designing Sustainable Measures Handout/Glossary List of Participants

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Appendices

A/ Assets and Challenges/ Stakeholders Meeting
November 19, 2007
Attendees were asked to work in groups to brainstorm neighborhood assets and challenges. This information was transcribed by the Planning Center and organized in the following table.

Assets Urban Park Diversity Nice neighbors Good public transportation Historical character Arts program Very varied housing stock, largely in good condition Cultural diversity Socioeconomic diversity Some wonderful schools Access to a major park facility Community involvement Tree canopy Transportation access Locally owned business Good infrastructure Pretty neighborhood Walkable streets Relatively safe parts Accessibility to some health facilities Accessibility to higher education Accessibility to multiple community events Accessibility to physical facility Density varying

Challenges Traffic and parking Old, not energy efficient homes Struggle community strips No distinctive community strips Perception of crime Limited recreation opportunities No community center or outlet for teens Not enough garbage cans on Church Ave. Tree pits and untended trees Limited transportation access Transportation access Too many buses Remote police precinct Lack of public green space Lack of protection of privately owned trees Too much traffic Inefficient use of road capacity Insufficient parking Building conditions of multifamily proportions Lack of affordable housing Aging of our housing stock Lack of housing energy efficiency Crime/drug related Limited access to health facilities

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A/ Assets and Challenges/Stakeholders Meeting

Assets Peaked roofs for solar panels Quiet life Birds and wildlife Attractive housing Affordable housing Prospect park, parade grounds Good different kinds of food Distinctive characters Long term residents, local entrepreneurs Homeownership – stake in community Center for study of Brooklyn Sustainable Flatbush Great schools Prospect park Lots of trees Transportation excellent buses and subways Brooklyn college as a resource Artists (all) Blogs and list serve Beautiful neighborhood Diverse! Cultural economy Creative energy flowing Lack of high rises

Challenges Very high poverty rate in part/areas Haphazard development Zoning issues/in appropriate no contextual Limited community meeting space, no real community! Lack of arts facilities Limited shopping Limited entertainment Too many non Pro. Business Landlords: non-community focused (absentee) Garbage stored on sidewalk Dirty sidewalks Dog waste Affordable housing is limited Seated restaurants Pollution No community centers for youth and disabilities (in alking distance) Programs for new Americans/immigrants Foot patrol, uniformed police To few banks Insufficient supermarkets Affordable houses Gentrification How can our neighborhood maintain/increase desirability without displacement of people

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A/ Assets and Challenges/Stakeholders Meeting

Assets Less people Transportation Diversity Park Pharmacies Police

Challenges Dealing with the effects of development Mora art, cultural activates Places for people to gather – public spaces – More high schools Senior centers Lack of access to green space/develop retail air conditioners hanging out of windows Energy efficiency and energy education Retro fitting housing to be more energy efficient Need bike paths Overcrowded schools Gangs, security issues Bridging electronic divide Disengaged youth – untapped resource No place for artist to convene Community impact/ ___ of people knowing development Information Retail – what kind of size of store Parking South has no park Police Better sanitation in a denser population

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Appendices

B/ Quality of Life Issues/Workshop
December 12, 2007
The following list of quality of life issues was recorded at the tables by the facilitators in the form of working notes. Staff from the Planning Center performed minor editing to provide additional context, when necessary.

• Need for a source of neighborhood information • Need to deal more actively with illegal drug activity. • Need to preserve affordable housing • Lack of youth development and career preparation • Need for more senior programs • Lack of business training fundamentals for youth & foreign residents • Need to maintenance diversity • Lack of an Arts District/Lack of exhibit space for artists to impact on economic development • Need for reducing truck traffic on Caton Avenue • Need to reduce heavy traffic on Church and Caton • Need to address how local businesses fit into redevelopment of the area • Need to address litter, and neighborhood sanitation (regular trash pick up for city-owned waste receptacles) • Need to reduce crime--both gang and domestic • Need for cleaner air • Need for additional green space • Need for senior citizen programs • Need to reduce number of feral cats • Insufficient library hours • Education--No Intermediate School in North Flatbush • Post office overcrowding • Need for affordable housing • Need to improve air quality • Need to control litter • Need to support youth development • Need to control violence • Need for immigrant training
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• Need to control heavy traffic • Need to reduce noise; increase sanitation (especially dog owners); reduce hunger (especially among elderly); address high percentage of income spent on rent; address poverty among the elderly. • Need to increase affordability; need to maintain diversity; need to improve sanitation; need to diversify types of businesses on Flatbush Ave.; need to spread banks around. • Need to increase affordable housing; need to preserve affordable housing; need to identify means of avoiding displacement; need to reduce noise; increase publicly accessible neighborhood green space; plant more trees. • Insufficient information • Need to preserve greatest asset--diversity of the neighborhood, meaning people and types of housing. Need to protect parts of Victorian Flatbush not covered by historic district. • Need to address affordable housing. Need to find fun things for kids to do, i.e., bike riding. • Need to maintain street cleanliness; need to preserve affordability and avoid displacement; need to increase food access. • Insufficient information • Need to reduce noise; wants more parking; need to increase activities for children in the neighborhood; need to bring landlords into discussions of affordability. • Need to increase public space for assemble, especially for youth. Need to work on noise reduction. • Need to ensure reasonable pace of change. • Need to preserve historical homes • Need to diversify the housing stock commercially while respecting established community without gentrification • Continuation of community (prevent gentrification) • Need for new location with swimming pool, educational and fitness needs
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B/ Quality of Life Issues/Workshop

• Prevent gentrification, sustain community, through the political development of local candidates (leaders) • Need to reduce noise pollution, (Ocean Ave), and for transportation regulation (calming traffic) • Need for transportation integration of East and West • Need to improve the quality of affordable housing and economic (competitiveness) of local business • Need for community diversity without disparity, sustainable agriculture, local food production • Need for affordable housing, and to improve the quality of education • Need for local identity and local business, spaces for youth, land and resources usage • Need to improve/increase local business, affordable housing, recreational opportunity, public transportation • Need to increase parking, affordable housing, and prevent gentrification • Need to improve the quality of homes architecture, low quality architecture, education on AIDS prevention, services for gays/ lesbian, sexuality education., services • Congestion in junction • Safe, healthy housing for people with sensitivities (allergies, asthma ,etc.) • Affordable housing/development • Prosperity of the commercial corridor in Junction • Preservation of housing stock as it is to retain Victorian look, prevent inappropriate development (Historic preservation) • Personal impact on sustainability e.g. recycling, composting, etc. • Transportation: more bikes, less cars, Curbing use of plastic bags. • Maintaining neighborhood character and diversity • Smart development, having plan proactive for development • Maintaining sense of community/ “neighborhoodiness”
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• Abandoned housing; Impact of large retail stores in Junction on congestion, noise, pollution, etc. • Preservation of housing stock • Noise pollution and crime • Diversity, Community, Affordability, Congestion, Pollution, Keeping the green of Flatbush • Appropriate development, Sanitation at Junction, Open space, Accessibility of Brooklyn College • Illegal housing/Affordability of housing, Security/Police presence in neighborhood • Need for a green neighborhood • Sustaining the merchant quality, wants to see merchants in the community give better services to customers in the community • Crime and noise • Transportation - housing and open space, transportation (mass transit) • Mortgage crisis • Neighborhood patrol, arbor day, garage sales, know neighbors well- want to keep this • Don’t have commercial services, open space, parks • Preserving the Victorian Flatbush homes, active in zoning to protect against housing being demolished, and landmarking, wants more access to Brooklyn College, where do kids play now?? • Working to landmark Victorians, like diversity, good transportation, more commercial viability that’s representative of needs of the community (i.e. grocery store bad produce), don’t want to see it over developed • Would be upset to loose the lovely houses and trees, good that dev. • Where do kids play? • Education • Lack of amenities
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Appendices

C/ Final Goals/Workshop
January 24, 2008
The goals in this list were initially formulated from the quality of life issues recorded in Workshop 1, and finalized by the participants of Workshop 2. Finally, they were revisited and modified as part of the exercise developed in Workshop 3.

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Appendices

C/ Final Goals/Workshop

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Appendices

D/ Measures and Actions/ Workshop
February 28, 2008
The following measures and actions were recorded during Workshop 3 on poster-size sheets. This information was transcribed later into digital tables by the Planning Center.

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Appendices

D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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Appendices

D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

A project sponsored by:

Local Environment
Goals
1. Improved air quality and reduced noise pollution.

For more information on the project visit: www.mas.org/imagineflatbush

Sustainable Measure

Asthma rates. Air and noise complaints registered to 311. Measurements of air quality.

CB14; 311; EMS; NYPD CMAQ/DOT Church Avenue DOH for asthma stats

Sources of Local Information

2. Responsible construction that results in healthy, energy-efficient buildings that respect neighborhood character.

Number of LEED-certified and retrofitted Green Building Council buildings. Hospitals Lead-levels in blood. Number of energy audits conducted each year. DOB permits vs. number of variances granted. DOB

Review existing studies to track change. Review 311 data to track change in number of water, air, and noise complaints. Review environmental impact studies prepared for development projects. Encourage NYSERTA and energy providers to conduct more energy audits.

Future Action Steps

3. Balancing environmental values with development values.

Monitor permits.

4. Better use of public, vacant, and underutilized space.

Map/inventory public, vacant, underutilized space.

Survey vacant land.

Submit suggestions for community use of space to neighborhood associations and community board.

5. Reduced truck traffic and reduced traffic in general.

DOT traffic studies. DOT Number of accidents involving TA pedestrians. Number of truck routes vs. number of bus routes and bike routes. Number of trees and acres of grass in area. OASIS

Evaluate rate of change, as documented in reports.

6. More gardens and more trees.

Track number of new trees planted. Track change over time of open space ratio.

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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D/ Measures and Actions/Workshop

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Appendices

E/ Handout/Designing Sustainable Measures
The following design guidelines were produced by the Planning Center to support the exercises developed in Workshops 2 and 3.

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Appendices

F/ Handout/Glossary
The following glossary was produced by the Planning Center to support the exercises developed in Workshops 2 and 3.

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Appendices

G/ List of Participants
First Name
Observer Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder F. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. B. B. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. D. D. D. D. D. D. E. B. E. E. E. E. E. E. E.

Last Name
McNeal Cleary Martin Thomas Gaudet Venesky Ashitey Celestine Sheeran Cape Venning Charles Cortez Collins Kreussling Young Hylton Etienne Pagan Leman Nondlell Bullard Roberts Jourdain Kennedy Kramer Tufino Martinez Lea O'Donnell-Fitz Skinner Gallimore

Organization/Affiliation
Significant Business Results, LLC Prospect Park South Committee Resident Resident Caton Park Home Owners Assocation Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Fahari Academy Charter School Washington Mutual Resident Brooklyn College Beverly Square West Resident FDC Resident Resident Resident Brooklyn College Resident Resident Flatbush YMCA Caton Park Home Owner Association Brooklyn Junction Resident Resident Resident Brooklyn College South Midwood Residents Association Signifigant Business Results

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Appendices

G/ List of Participants

First Name
Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder F. F. F. F. F. F. G. G. G. G. H. J. J. J. J. J. J. J. J. J. J.l J. J. J. K.. K. K. K. K. L. L. L.

Last Name
Perry Bartholom Leman Jump Baer Harris Ssucher Stewart Wolin Schiffman Katz Mann Leonard Heineman Stratfford Grassman Jean Cordova-Kramer Wills Siegel Sweet Wright Hendricks Lherisson John Walker Marzagao Webb Leathers Harris Stanley

Organization/Affiliation
Caton Park Home Owners Association Our Lady of Refuge Roman Catholic Church Resident Resident Fading Ad Blog Fiske Terrace Association Resident Ditmas Park West Caton Park Association Beverley Square West Resident Resident Church Avenue BID 280 E. 21st Tenants Group Resident Resident Brooklyn College Ditmas Park West Resident Brooklyn College/History Dept. Ditmas Park West Resident South Midwood Residents Association Resident Resident Resident HSBC Sustainable Flatbush Resident Naehe Bold Hope Comm. Coalition Brave New World Theatre

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Appendices

G/ List of Participants

First Name
Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. M. N. N. N. N. N. O.

Last Name
Norsworthy Schere Iglehart Goodman Lusher Baily-Schiffman Raphael Lowe Martinez De Los Angeles Sartori - Spencer McMichael Dicus Levy Schreibuan Cullinan Edme Lardner Severe Southwood Matthews Tufino Tomkiewicz Muller Heilbron Campbell Jezin-Jacqes Allbray Simon Hosten Durand

Organization/Affiliation
Resident Brooklyn College Sustainable Flatbush Ditmas Park West Midwood Development Corp Resident Resident Flatbush/Nostrand Junction BID Resident St. Marks Head Start Resident Resident Resident CAMBA Sustainable Flatbush Brooklyn College MDC HSBC Sustainable Flatbush Happa Resident Resident Resident Brooklyn College Brooklyn College Resident Gotham Gazette Resident Resident Resident Resident Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Assoc. Brooklyn College Resident
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G/ List of Participants

First Name
Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder Stakeholder O. P. P. P. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. S. S. S. S. S. S. S. T. T. T. T. V. V. W. W. Y. Y. Y. Z.

Last Name
Flores Brown-Laurenceau Akson Pieroni Fernandez Silverman Silverman Gochfeld Newman Pottinger Waldron Burnett Davies-Adewebi Champagnie Houghteling Abramson Harris Burgoyne Daley Levine Hamilton-Gonzales Courtenay Valentino Lee Sharpe Findlay Robinson Duroseau Gallimoe Murray Tucker McNally

Organization/Affiliation
Resident Brooklyn College 42 A.D. Political Club Resident Brooklyn College Now Program Resident SMRA Resident Ditmas Park West South Midwood Residents Association,CB14 Resident 42nd A.D. Democratic Club Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Ditmas Park West Prospect Park South Committee Flatbush YMCA Campus Rd. Community Garden PDPA Resident South Midwood Residents Association Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident DOE FDC Volunteer Vanderveer Place Block Association Resident Resident
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Resources

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Resources

For additional information on sustainability:
Community Tool Box
Excellent resource for each stage of community organization. Free resources and networking for people working to develop healthier, more sustainable communities. Tips and tools for creating neighborhood coalitions, help in developing strategic plans, advice on increasing membership, help evaluating and sustaining the initiatives once they are developed. (http://ctb.ku.edu/)

New York City Local Law 86

Describes green building standards for New York City projects. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/11_86of2005. pdf

Sustainable Communities Network

Tools for community action, a guide to planning a sustainable event, fact sheets on ways to reduce global warming, smart growth, growing a sustainable economy and many others. http://www.sustainable.org

Creating Sustainable Community Programs: Examples of Collaborative Public Administration Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods Initiative Mark R. Daniels (ed.) In-depth case studies of successful (SUNI)
sustainable community programs. Many of the programs exist through government funding or regulation, one —“Food Gatherers”—is a purely voluntary, non-profit program without any government funding.

One of the programs developed by Sustainable Seattle to connect with neighborhoods, collect data, and present information about neighborhood health and sustainability. http://www.sustainableseattle.org/Programs/SUNI/

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)

Includes Maps, travel tips, crashstat crash maps, legal advice, Website includes an information clearinghouse, summaries of and calendar of upcoming walks and rides in the NYC area local government projects addressing environmental and dehttp:www.transalt.org/info/index.html velopment issues, and “Tools for a Sustainable Community,” and web conferences. There is also a page for calculating your ecological footprint. United Nations Commission on Sustainable http://www.iclei.org/

Transportation Alternatives

Development

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

Created to provide follow up on the 1992 The Earth Summit in Rio. In addition to a list of sustainability indicators, the web site has links to many UN sites related to sustainability. http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/

IISD is a non-profit organization established and supported by the Governments of Canada and Manitoba. A great starting place for web-based information on sustainable development, IISD has a number of documents on world wide sustainable development/community projects available for a fee in hard copy format. Includes the Bellagio Principles for sustainable community indicator development. http://www.iisd.org/default.asp
Imagine Flatbush 2030 / A Report to the Neighborhood / January 2009

Worldwatch Institute

Nonprofit t public policy research organization working on sustainability issues. Publishes World Watch magazine, the annual Vital Signs and State of the World reports, as well as the World Watch Series on particular issues. Excellent source of detailed information about sustainability issues. http://www.worldwatch.org/
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Resources

For additional information on working with sustainability indicators:
There are various models for working with sustainability indicators. The following list highlights some of the most common resources for the evaluation and design of sustainability evaluation.

Sustainable Development IndicatorsInteragency Working Group
http://www.sdi.gov

Additional resources on sustainable indicators in the U.S.A.

Energy Matters

Guide to Sustainable Community Indicators

Haart, Maureen. Guide to Sustainable Community Indicators. 2006. Sustainable Measures: West Hartford, CT.

An e-news and web resource center providing practical information about how to make your building more financially sustainable and environmentally friendly, most of all by reducing energy use. http://www.prattcenter.net/energy-matters.php

Developing Indicators of Urban Sustainability

Maclaren, V.W., S. Labatt, J. McKay and M. Vande Vegte. 1996. Developing Indicators of Urban Sustainability: A Focus On The Canadian Experience. Prepared for Environment Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and Regional Research for Measuring Urban Sustainability: Canadian Indicators Workshop, June 19-21, 1995. ICURR Press: Toronto.

For additional common questions and resources regarding the collection of data:
Has the data required to use the indicator been gathered/created by someone else already? Do you recall any studies on the subject that might have used this information in the past?
Some examples would be a land-use study, a community profile, a particular survey.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

Comprehensive list of principles for the design of sustainable indicators, and compendium of sustainable development indicator initiatives and publications. http://www.iisd.ca

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/indi6.htm

If so, who gathered the data and for what purpose was this data gathered? Is the data objective, or could it be affected by a particular interest(s) driving its collection?
Government agencies are usually neutral data collectors that most likely will provide a detailed and complete illustration of the phenomena studied. On the contrary, private data collection can sometimes be less comprehensive, and might focus on a particular aspect of the phenomenon to satisfy the collector’s interest(s).

From Theory to Practice: Indicators of Sustainable Development

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When was the dataset created? Is this dataset updated periodically? How often? What determines the periodicity of its collection, and why?
Depending on the specific characteristics of the phenomenon in question the data can become outdated very quickly, or rather remain up to date for long periods of time. In consequence, it is important to evaluate the extent to which an old date of collection might reveal the accuracy of the dataset.

what would this number be, provided that factors affecting major changes in the size of the population (immigration, migration, etc) remain constant. The following list constitutes the most common data resources available for your community. Some of them produce information at the federal and state levels, but most of these figures can be applied to smaller communities--namely community district, and the census tract, among others. Most likely, these datasets are maintained periodically on an annual, bi-annual, and sometimes on a decennial basis. It is very likely that you can find more updated information from other organizations/groups working at the neighborhood level. This use of this information, however, should always take place taking into account the considerations discussed above.

How was the information gathered? What methodology was employed? Was this a systematic/scientific procedure? How comprehensive was the population/area/period surveyed?
Datasets that derive from scientific studies are most likely to gather information systematically, and therefore guarantee a certain levels of accuracy. However, the purpose of these studies might allow narrowing the population/area/period surveyed (the use of samples), limiting in turn wider conclusions about these targets as a whole. Nevertheless, recognizing these limitations, and understanding the implications that might derive, allows a decent level of generalization.

Additional Federal data sources for planning are: • U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) • Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov) • Bureau of Economic Affairs (www.bea.gov) • Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) • Department Housing and Urban Development
(www.hud.gov)

If the exact data required does not exist, can the project use a similar dataset collected for a slightly different purpose? Is there another way of identifying the data in question?
Sometimes, a certain phenomenon might not have been measured directly. Yet, there could be strategic ways to measure it indirectly, or make projections from existing datasets. Let us say, for example, that the project requires knowing the total population in a given neighborhood. This number can be obtained by analyzing the trend for previous years and establish

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Resources

Other data sources specifically related with sustainability:
New York State Ambient Air Quality Standards
New York State Ambient Air Quality Standards are provided online at the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation’s website: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dar/baqs/aqreport/ aaqstd.html Region 2 (New York City) air quality data is also provided, broken down by nine pollutants monitored throughout the city. New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for monitoring and implementing air quality standards throughout the city and has data describing which areas are in non-attainment for air quality standards.

Ecological Footprint Analysis

is an excellent way to become educated about how consumption relates to environmental carrying capacity. Ecological Footprint analysis shows the actual land area—the footprint— necessary to support our consumption patterns. It is a very effective way of seeing the hidden costs to society, the environment, and related parts of the economy of our choices and lifestyle. Ecological Footprint is a tool being used by many communities to measure the impacts of consumption patterns and help develop strategies to solve the larger issues facing their communities. Ecological Footprint calculators are available online for individuals or communities. http://www.myfootprint.org/ Alternative resources might be available from people who work on sustainability issues on a local basis, such as economic development corporations, civic organizations, environmental groups, business groups, nonprofit organizations, religious organizations, and other government agencies (different from the ones above.)

Water Quality Standards

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a Harbor Water Quality report in 2003. This report, available online, describes the main pollution sources in New York waterways and provides maps and other graphics detailing where pollution sources are. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/hwqs/hqws2003.html

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Resources

The Municipal Art Society of New York
457 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 T/ 212-935-3960 F/ 212-753-1816 E/ [email protected] MAS.org

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