Borough Planner

City of New York•New York, NY

About The Position

DISCLAIMER: Only candidates with permanent Civil Service status in the City Planner title or reachable on the City Planner active list (exam #5045) can be considered for this position. THE AGENCY: The Department of City Planning (DCP) plans for the strategic growth and development of the City through ground-up planning with communities, the development of land use policies and zoning regulations applicable citywide and sharing its perspectives on growth and community needs with sister agencies in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 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. THE DIVISION: Manhattan is home to over 1.6 million residents and serves as the economic engine of the regional economy with well over 2 million workers commuting to and within the borough daily. The landscape of Manhattan is highly varied and ranges from very high-density office and residential districts to low scale rowhouses, stretching the full 13.4 miles of the island. The borough includes the sources of some of the most iconic images of the global imagination – Times Square, Wall Street, Central Park, Harlem, the United Nations – as well as countless hidden gems around every corner. The Manhattan Borough Office, located in the Department of City Planning’s headquarters building in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District, is responsible for developing borough-wide and local area plans, reviewing and processing land use applications pursuant to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), 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 Manhattan Office emphasizes planning and urban design that create a more equitable city, with rich opportunities for and access to housing, employment, recreation, and transit. The approximately 20-person Office is comprised of professional planners working in teams arranged by community district as well as urban designers that work borough-wide across a wide range of projects. THE ROLE The Manhattan Borough Office seeks two talented Borough Planners to support and manage current and future land use applications and neighborhood planning initiatives. These positions are a unique opportunity to work closely with a team of planners, led by a Planning Team Leader, focusing on projects located throughout multiple community districts in Manhattan including neighborhoods like Gramercy, Kips Bay, Murray Hill, East Midtown, the United Nations, Hudson Square, SoHo, NoHo, Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District. The position involves project management of land use applications as they move through the charter mandated land use review process, including cross-divisional coordination of projects and application of agency and administration policy. The position includes regular attendance at community board meetings, presentation of agency initiatives to the board and its committees, and regular communication with board leadership regarding projects in the land use review process as well as broader planning and land use issues. The candidate should possess strong communication and project management skills and a desire to contribute and collaborate in an engaging teamwork environment. The Manhattan Borough Office consistently manages between 100-150 active land use applications and 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 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, with latitude for independent judgment, the Borough Planner will perform work including – but not limited to – the following:

Requirements

Authorization to work in the United States is required for this position.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they meet all minimum qualifying requirements for this position at the time of application.
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and two years of satisfactory full-time experience in city planning; or
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.
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.

Responsibilities

Provide project management and other support for division’s neighborhood plans and private and agency/city land use applications.
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 planning policies and NYC Zoning Resolution.
Organize and prepare graphic and written materials, and present to the City Planning Commission, department staff, community boards, elected officials, and public agencies.
Develop technical documents and presentation materials including reports, maps, graphics, memos, and other forms of correspondence.
Support neighborhood planning studies (including research analysis) and produce written technical reports and presentations.
Maintain a working knowledge of the NYC Zoning Resolution.
Serve as Department liaison to one or more Manhattan community boards.
Represent the department at meetings of civic, business and community groups, community boards, and public agencies to gather information and convey the Department’s positions on neighborhood planning initiatives, land use policy, and design issues and proposals. Candidate should be able to attend some evening and weekend meetings.
Coordinate with other agency representatives on Department studies and projects.
Perform other related tasks and projects.