Livable Neighborhoods Program
Helping New Yorkers become stronger advocates for their neighborhoods
The Livable Neighborhoods Program (LNP) was founded on the principle that community involvement is essential to city planning. Each year, MAS works with a cohort of community advocates—such as organizers, community board members, and other local leaders—to help them develop the knowledge and tools needed to participate effectively in public review processes around land use issues, like rezonings. Sessions range from exploring how planning decisions are made in New York City to supporting local advocacy efforts through focused neighborhood workshops.
LNP participants are selected from responses to an annual Request for Proposal (RFP). The application period for the 2023 Livable Neighborhoods Program ended on July 24.
Partnerships
Since 2007, LNP has collaborated with dozens of community-based partners across the five boroughs. Past work has included workshops on navigating City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) as a community member, placemaking exercises, and a land use curriculum for a youth summer program. See the map below for past partnerships.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Past Participants
- Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation
- Asian Americans for Equality
- Bronx Community Board 5
- Bronx Community Board 7
- Brownsville Partnership
- Brownsville Community Justice Center
- Flatbush-Nostrand BID
- Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce
- HABNET Chamber of Commerce
- Justice for All Coalition
- Council Member Ben Kallos
- Council Member Nantasha Williams
- Landmark East Harlem
- Long Island City Coalition
- Northfield Community LDC
- Council Member Powers
- Red Hook New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program
- Queens Community Board 4
- South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBro)
Resources
The following is a sampling of introductory materials on topics that are covered in LNP, including an overview of City processes that govern decision making and information on opportunities for public input in land use and historic preservation projects. Also included are several panel discussions that MAS has hosted on related topics.
Unit 1: How are policy decisions made?
Unit 2: What does land use and zoning look like in NYC?
- City, State, and Federal Agencies
- Zoning and Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
- Transferable Development Rights (TDRs)
Unit 3: What does historic preservation look like in NYC?
Unit 4: What is the land use review process in NYC?
Unit 5: How can the public get involved in the decision-making process?
Related videos
- Towards Comprehensive Planning: New York City in Conversation (2022) video
- Exploring History and Advocacy at the People’s Beach (2022) video
LNP Materials Version 2023.1
Contact
You can contact the Livable Neighborhoods Program at lnp@mas.org.
Follow MAS:
MAS members and partners are crucial to everything we do. Please consider contributing to MAS and joining our community of advocates.
Support UsContact a staff member to learn more or join the campaign. lnp@mas.org >
Supporters
Brooklyn Borough President’s Office
Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)
Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts
Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES)
Hester Street
Historic Districts Council
Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development
In Our Back Yard (IOBY)
Larisa Ortiz Associates
Manhattan Borough President’s Office
National Consortium for Creative Placemaking
New York City Environmental Justice Alliance
New Yorkers for Parks
NYC Department of City Planning
NYC Independent Budget Office
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Partnership for Parks
Pratt Center for Community Development
Pratt Institute’s Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development (PSPD)
Sustainable South Bronx
Transportation Alternatives