NYU Wagner Capstone
Capstone is learning in action. Part of the core curriculum of the MUP program at NYU Wagner, it provides students with both a critical learning experience and an opportunity to perform a public service. Over the course of an academic year, students work in teams - either to address challenges and identify opportunities for a client organization or to conduct research on a pressing social question. Ultimately, Capstone contributes not only to the students’ education, but also to the public good.
Some examples of recent capstone projects related to land use, real estate, housing and urban policy:
St. George Ferry Terminal - Affordable Housing Needs and Options
Between 2000 and 2005 the median rent and home value of Staten Island’s Community District 1 increased by 33 and 110 percent, respectively, outpacing the only 11 percent increase in median household income. The combination of accelerated housing costs and transportation options available in the District have prompted Enterprise Community Partners to identify the area of CD 1 within a two-mile radius of St. George Ferry Terminal as a potential candidate for affordable housing Smart Growth development. The Capstone team has been charged with preparing a thorough existing conditions report and potential development site analysis of this study area which will allow Enterprise to make informed decisions regarding where their mission of creating/supporting affordable housing, and fostering smart growth and economic development could have the most positive impacts. Through the analysis of census information, population growth projections, zoning regulations, and land use, transportation, housing and employment data, the report provides a comprehensive portrait of the study area and specifically identifies several potential affordable housing development sites.
The Feasibility of Developing Affordable Housing on New York City Public Library Sites
“The perpetual demand for affordable housing in New York City, coupled with the lack of development sites throughout the five boroughs, have required developers to become creative in their site selection techniques. Consequently, Enterprise Community Partners has been examining the potential for developing affordable housing on top of existing public library sites. Many of these libraries were constructed in the 1960’s as one¬story bunker¬type buildings, and are not fully built out to their maximum floor area ratios. Since these libraries are aging and many are in dire need of renovation, Enterprise retained a Capstone team to investigate the potential of partnering with the library systems (Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, and Queens Public Library) to determine the costs of rebuilding libraries with affordable housing. The team examined the inner workings of each library system and researched recent capital construction projects. The Capstone team learned about Enterprise’s development costs, analyzed the costs of construction for a public library, and examined alternative funding sources for such a project. Finally, the Capstone team performed an air rights analysis and applied the team’s construction metric on a few sites pre-selected by Enterprise.”
Village of Ossining, Westchester County Department of Planning
Sing Sing Historic Prison Museum
The Capstone team produced a report examining the planning context and feasibility of a Sing Sing Historic Prison Museum within the walls of the active Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The report is part of a comprehensive resource package for community outreach efforts and funding applications to public and private sources. The Capstone team identified four study areas for the report: (1) Economic impacts of the museum including an economic base analysis, updated projections of anticipated economic benefits (including employment and visitor spending), identification of potential spillover effects, and case studies for communities with comparable facilities were analyzed. (2) A survey was conducted of the existing tourism resources in the vicinity, and suggestions on how the proposed museum would complement and benefit from this critical industry. This section evaluates prospects for establishing a national and international profile, as well as potential to tap into the New York City tourism market. In addition, comparable museum facilities are detailed, with lessons for the museum highlighted. (3) The access, parking and transportation chapter identifies existing transportation resources that provide access to the proposed museum. Impacts of the museum on existing transportation networks are projected as well as recommendations for mitigation. (4) Linkages between the waterfront location of the museum and the Village’s central business district were also identified. Transportation improvements, urban design solutions, and the creation of community linkages are explored as means of knitting together these two critical nodes of activity.
Center for Community Alternatives
Informing the Strategic Planning Process
The Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) engaged the Capstone team to conduct a comprehensive analysis designed to aid the agency in maintaining leadership in the field of community-based alternatives to incarceration. In an effort to assist the organization in strengthening its performance in the areas of research and policy, organizational leadership, and fund diversification, the Capstone team conducted a benchmark study of peer organizations which allowed the team to identify best practices within the field of criminal justice. This process was complimented by a survey of both internal and external stakeholders that was designed to gather perceptions of CCA’s performance in key areas. The results of the team’s analysis will be used to inform CCA’s long term strategic planning.
New Destiny Housing Corporation
Linking Domestic Violence Survivors to Low Income Housing Tax Credit Units
New Destiny Housing Corporation is a nonprofit advocacy organization seeking to provide permanent affordable housing to victims of domestic violence (DV). The Capstone team was asked to investigate the possibility of linking DV survivors to Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units in New York City through the re-rental process. To better understand the system, the team set out by interviewing key players in the LIHTC process, including relevant government agencies at both the city and state levels who administer the tax credits and syndicators who act as a conduit between investors and the developer. To examine the re-rental process, the team surveyed developers who maintain LIHTC units. This research, aided by interviews of DV survivors and case studies of LIHTC and DV survivors in other cities, will inform New Destiny Housing Corporation of the viability of linking DV survivors with LIHTC units, and how best to do so.
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Greening Initiative
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the largest municipal housing agency in the nation with over 2,800 employees and an annual operating budget of approximately $480 million. Recently, HPD undertook a Greening Initiative as an agency-wide effort to determine how the agency can promote more energy-efficient and sustainable (green) construction in a manner which benefits tenants, developers, and building owners. HPD asked the Capstone team to create two series of recommendations, the first on cost effective green building techniques suitable to affordable housing in New York City, and the second on financing and policy strategies that help advance the incorporation of such techniques by affordable housing developers. In support of these recommendations, the Capstone team also produced case studies on existing affordable housing projects and building guidelines, analyzed the perceptions of the city’s affordable multifamily financing community on green development, and re-modeled an existing HPD supportive housing project to include environmentally-friendly building techniques.
Mississippi Center for Justice
Growing Community Assets in Gulfport, Mississippi
Hurricane Katrina devastated whole communities along the Gulf Coast. The storm was particularly damaging to traditionally marginalized neighborhoods in Gulfport that have long struggled to capitalize upon their assets. The Mississippi Center for Justice, a public interest law firm, began, and continues to, advocate on behalf of these neighborhoods in the post-Katrina planning and redevelopment process. Soria City and The Quarters, two predominantly African-American neighborhoods with rich historical legacies, are two communities especially in need of community planning resources. The Capstone team conducted a comprehensive lot-by-lot parcel inventory survey (804 total property lots) of these areas, identifying land uses, physical structure, architectural style, and historical narratives. The team converted this data into a web-based geocoded database capable of GIS manipulation. Relying upon this database, the team delivered a best practices community development guidebook for both communities, tailoring an array of private and public programs to meet local needs. The Capstone team identified eight topic areas for community development: housing preservation and rehabilitation, infrastructure, youth workforce development, organizational capacity, small business incubation, cultural tourism, greenway development, and logistical solutions.
Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project Local Development Corporation
Revitalization Opportunities in Industrial Wallabout, Brooklyn - An Economic Development Plan
Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC (MARP) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to restore Myrtle Avenue in the neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn to a bustling, economically vital neighborhood commercial corridor. MARP has charged the Capstone Team with creating an economic development plan for a manufacturing-zoned area known as Wallabout, located just north of Myrtle Avenue. MARP’s objectives are to retain and expand the presence of light manufacturing activities in the Wallabout area, while bridging retail, commercial and industrial activity from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the Myrtle Avenue corridor. The Capstone Team provided recommendations for the project area based on existing conditions, field observations in the form of business surveys and stakeholder interviews, manufacturing market trend analyses, relevant case studies, and real estate feasibility studies. Ultimately, the plan produced by the Capstone Team will help MARP to educate constituents and other interested parties about the potential for economic growth in the Wallabout area.
Empire State Development Corporation
Environmental Sustainability Project
The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), a New York State public finance and development authority, enlisted the assistance of the capstone team to investigate sustainable development opportunities, incentives and best practices. Research was conducted using two nonprofit cultural institutions as case studies: the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Sullivan County. Through extensive telephone interviews and site visits, the team identified areas at both facilities where building and/or site performance upgrades could be applied. Federal, state, and local policies were assessed to understand any regulatory or institutional obstacles encountered at the facilities with regard to energy efficiency. The team developed a user-friendly catalogue/database of energy-saving financial incentives and technologies that can be applied to developments in New York State. Recommendations included in the final report take into consideration the challenges posed by the urban and rural contexts of the respective case study institutions. The report will enable ESDC to better promote sustainable development practices.
