Jane’s Walk was founded as a way to celebrate the life and legacy of urban activist, Jane Jacobs, who believed in the power of individuals to influence their city. The volunteer, community-led walking event takes place in over 200 cities worldwide each year. Jane’s Walk NYC, organized by the Municipal Art Society, invites New Yorkers to lead their favorite walks exploring a unique lens of New York City culture, nature, or history. 

Created with a coworker as part of the 2023 Jane's Walk festival, our virtual walk dives into the avian world of Queens. Using crowdsourced data, we analyzed the hundreds of birds that New Yorkers are seeing in places like the Rockaways, Forest Park, and neighborhood streets, from long-legged shorebirds to colorful warblers to elegant swallows. 

We then put our novice birding skills to the test and ventured out to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Our Jane's Walk recaps our research and birding experience through photos, audio, and a dynamic interactive map that we built on a custom website. 

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Workplace: The Municipal Art Society of New York

Year: 2023

Role: Author, Researcher, Designer

Created as part of Jane's Walk 2021, this chronological tour explores the history of three historic New York City forts, all of which are located on the water. It is by no means an exhaustive list of all fort locations in New York City; rather, it focuses on the virtual experience of being up close and inside several that are still standing. 

My tour combines research along with historical images, Street View perspectives captured by visitors to the forts, as well as photos from the field. Historical information was sourced from the National Park Service, Library of Congress, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and Untapped Cities.

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Workplace: The Municipal Art Society of New York

Year: 2021

Role: Author, Researcher, Designer

Flushing, Queens is one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally vibrant communities in New York City, and the fastest growing. Flushing Creek is the area’s primary natural asset, yet it has remained neglected and inaccessible for generations. Over the last 20 years, elected officials and the community have wrestled with the challenge of improving the waterfront.

MAS analyzed a controversial waterfront development proposal along Flushing Creek called the Special Flushing Waterfront District (SFWD). The 3.4 million square-foot project involved three developers, four waterfront sites, and a plan to develop luxury condos, hotels, and retail stores across nine buildings.

The site is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the waterfront, yet our analysis revealed that the SFWD proposal fell woefully short. It would allow the public to reach the water’s edge, but provided the minimum shoreline access required under zoning. It would provide some affordable housing, but not at levels attainable for most Flushing residents. The waterfront would be remediated and rip-rap would be installed at the water’s edge, but no comprehensive resiliency or nature-based plans were put forth.

Our analysis highlighted the need for an alternative vision for the Flushing waterfront that prioritized community-based planning, more comprehensive environmental review, additional open space, more affordable housing, a public school, and a higher standard for sustainability and resiliency.

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Workplace: The Municipal Art Society of New York 

Year: 2020

Role: Author, Researcher, Photographer

In New York City, a Large-Scale Development (LSD) is a frequently used but often misunderstood zoning tool used to create large developments that would not be achieved by changing existing zoning alone. A proposed development that utilizes an LSD may redistribute bulk and open space if the project will result in a “better site plan.” Intended to improve the relationship between buildings and open space, LSDs originated in 1961 and have been used to build recreational facilities, institutional buildings, and large housing complexes.

Using the controversial 960 Franklin Avenue LSD as a case study, MAS analyzed the origins and zoning intent of LSDs, the different types of LSDs available to developers, and the reasons developers make use of them. We also examined the shortcomings of LSDs, including the lack of a measurable definition or design guidelines for “better site planning,” and the absence of LSDs in official zoning maps, public archives, or a searchable geospatial database. 

We presented four recommendations for improving the LSD planning process, including stricter evaluation criteria and methodology for demonstrating and determining “better site planning,” the creation of an open database and interactive map of LSDs, a pre-ULURP public review process to allow for pre-application design review from community members, and expanded and improved environmental review evaluations that evaluate how a proposed LSD demonstrates good site planning.

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Workplace: The Municipal Art Society of New York 

Year: 2019

Role: Author, Researcher, Spatial Analyst, Renderings

Like many downtowns across the U.S., downtown Jersey City has experienced a revitalization in recent years. Yet much of the city's land remains underutilized, including several continuous blocks between Exchange Place and Grove Street that contain massive surface parking lots and wide streets that lack pedestrian scale and vibrancy.

This area's prime location between two bustling commercial hubs, Exchange Place and Grove Street, proximity to PATH and light rail trains, and views of the New York harbor offered a perfect opportunity to reimagine what it could become. The challenge for our graduate studio team was to create a plan that reflected Jersey City's unique character (pedestrian scaled shops, row houses, and spectacular vistas) but that was also financially viable.

Following background research and tours of the site, open space, pedestrian, and vehicle mobility plans were developed. Green space is interwoven throughout, and pedestrians and cyclists are prioritized over private vehicles.

The plan incorporates both new and existing buildings, including pedestrian-scaled row houses. Residences are clustered around parks and public plazas, community gardens, recreation facilities, a pedestrian street, and other civic and community facilities.

The proposal includes 1,611 new and 1,546 existing residential units (yellow), of which 30% are set aside as affordable housing. A mix of ground floor uses are included, with commercial space (red; 87,000 sq. ft.) lining major thoroughfares and the pedestrian street. Office space (blue; 154,000 sq. ft.) is concentrated to the east near Jersey City's primary office district, and civic space (orange; 39,000 sq. ft.) to the west. Three discreet parking facilities (gray) provide a ratio of 0.25 parking spaces per unit. 

Construction is broken into four phases, with work generally progressing from east to west, much like other development in the downtown area.

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Workplace: The Bloustein School, Rutgers University

Year: 2012

Role: Researcher, Spatial Analyst, Renderings

Environmentally sustainable communities are often characterized by compact development that preserves surrounding natural areas and designates space for local food production. Dense development also fosters a sense of community and shared responsibility among residents.

Our graduate studio design team created a site plan sketch for a 15-acre hypothetical agricultural hamlet. The hamlet is compact, with civic and commercial space concentrated at the center, surrounded by 25 attached residential units. Designed as a self-sufficient community, the hamlet includes space for recreation, community gardens, orchards, crop and livestock pastures, and hydroponic, solar, and wind energy production.

The hamlet's density and design are intended to create a sense of community while achieving open space preservation and ecological sustainability goals.

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Workplace: The Bloustein School, Rutgers University

Year: 2012

Role: Designer

The following are sample pages from various reports designed for my employers and for university and private sector clients.

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Workplace: Appleseed, The Municipal Art Society of New York

Year: 2013-Present

Role: Lead Graphic Designer