Assistant Borough Planner

Company Description

Job Description

ONLY APPLICANTS WHO ARE REACHABLE ON THE CURRENT CITY PLANNER LIST AND/OR HAVE PASSED CITY PLANNER EXAM #5045 MAY BE CONSIDERED FOR AN INTERVIEW AT THIS TIME

THE AGENCY:
The Department of City Planning (DCP), through extensive community engagement, plans for the strategic growth and development of the City, develops citywide and neighborhood land use policies and zoning regulations, and shares its perspectives on growth and community needs with NYC city agencies in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Central to its mission, DCP supports the City Planning Commission's City Charter mandated responsibilities to ensure the orderly growth and development of the City, which include reviewing land use applications requiring public review, holding public hearings, and assessing their environmental and social impacts before making judgements and voting on them.

The New York City Department of City Planning is a great place to work - cultivating intellectual inspiration, professional development, and creativity. Visit our website at www.nyc.gov/planning to access the full listing of job opportunities and to learn more about our great agency.

BOROUGH OFFICES:
Queens is home to more than 2.4 million residents, a historic peak population. Queens' extensive ethnic diversity leads the city and the country. Its growth has been fueled in large measure by an influx of persons arriving from abroad with nearly half the population foreign born, and its residents speak over 160 languages. Some of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in New York City are located in Queens, with the past decade seeing significant housing growth in areas such as Long Island City and Flushing. The borough fosters the most diverse economy in the region, as a center for industry, manufacturing, freight and distribution, primarily centered around Western Queens and the airports.

The Queens Office is a dynamic work environment responsible for a wide range of planning and design activities, including developing borough-wide and local plans with a focus on affordable housing, resiliency, expanded economic opportunity, and transit-oriented development; reviewing and processing land use applications; leading community outreach; planning for resiliency and climate change; and providing technical and policy guidance and direction on all land use and zoning related matters to the City Planning Commission, local Community Boards, elected officials, and the public at large. The borough's recent growth is occurring within distinct neighborhood contexts, which vary widely across the borough. Currently, its efforts are focused on directing a range of new housing, economic recovery and equitable planning opportunities in to enliven and support the growth and vitality of Queens neighborhoods.

The Borough Offices (the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island) are responsible for a wide range of planning, urban design and zoning activities, and work in close consultation with the Agency's Strategic Divisions on borough-specific and citywide issues. There are five borough offices, one in each borough to provide services and information to residents, applicants, local elected officials, community boards and civic groups. Borough staff are responsible for building and maintaining the trust of local stakeholders to best understand community needs and be able to provide advice to Agency leadership, other public agencies and City leaders. Borough staff are responsible for crafting local area plans to provide policy guidance on all land use and zoning related matters and identify agency work plan priorities.

Proposals to change zoning regulations must be publicly reviewed, following the City's Uniform Land Use Reform Procedure (ULURP). Borough Offices are responsible for providing guidance to applicants on City and Agency land use policies when shaping their proposals and advising applicants on the technical requirements for preparing land use applications. Borough Offices ensure that all land use applications coming before the City Planning Commission meet the requirements for public review; provide technical assistance and manage the public review of these applications to ensure that informed decisions can be made by all stakeholders, including Community Boards, elected officials and civic groups.

THE ROLE:
DCP's Borough Offices seek talented Assistant Borough Planners to lead the internal agency review of public and private land use applications and manage their formal public review. The position is a unique opportunity to work closely with a team of planners, led by a Planning Team Leader, focusing on projects located throughout multiple neighborhoods across New York City, but focused in a specific borough. Each of DCP's borough offices consistently manage between 50-150 active land use applications. This requires a full complement of planning staff to ensure projects are advanced on reasonable timelines consistent with the agency's Charter-mandated role in the land use approval process. The position involves the project management of land use applications, including cross-divisional review and coordination of projects, to ensure they meet zoning requirements and agency policies and best practices. The position requires public presentations of land use applications, including some evening meetings at Community Boards to monitor public input. This position would also support other Borough Office initiatives where there are heavy project workloads.

The candidate should possess strong project management and communication skills, knowledge of planning practices and a desire to contribute and collaborate in an engaging teamwork environment. The ideal candidate will have exceptional technical planning skills and a strong grasp of land use and public policy issues of primary importance to the department, including zoning, urban design, affordable housing, and economic development. The candidates should also have a positive attitude toward public service, as well as a desire to contribute to an engaging, team-based work environment.

Under Supervision of division management and a Team Leader, the Assistant Borough Planner will perform work including - but not limited to - the following:

- Review, analyze, and make recommendations on applications submitted to the Department pursuant to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and coordinate this work with technical divisions of the department, other city agencies, community boards, elected officials, and the public.

- Analyze site plans and development proposals to determine compliance with the City's land use regulations, NYC Zoning Resolution, and DCP's policy guidance.

- Organize and prepare graphic and written materials related to land use applications, and present to the City Planning Commission and Community Boards as part of the public review process of these proposals. Develop technical documents and presentation materials including reports, maps, graphics, memos, and other forms of correspondence.

- Maintain a working knowledge of the NYC Zoning Resolution.

- Candidate should be able to attend some evening and weekend meetings to present and monitor the public discussion of land use applications.

- Coordinate with other agency representatives on Department studies and projects.

- Perform other related tasks and projects.

Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and two years of satisfactory full-time experience in city planning; or

2. A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience that is equivalent to "1"" above. Graduate
education in city planning, urban planning, urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, transportation engineering, public administration, economic development or related fields may be substituted for experience on the basis of 30 graduate semester credits from an accredited college for one year of experience. However, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree.

Special Qualification Requirements

Assignment Level III
To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level III, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, one additional year of professional experience as described in "2" above.

Assignment Level IV
To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level IV, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, two additional years of professional experience as described in "2" above.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

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