Join the 2026 Livable Neighborhoods Program!

Supporting New Yorkers to 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 and civic participation.

Photos from the 2024 LNP Kick-Off event at Morgan North

2026 Program

LNP 2026 will focus on cultural asset mapping in the Jackson Heights and Elmhurst neighborhoods of Queens, the location of the northern terminus of the proposed Interborough Express (IBX). LNP will highlight cultural asset mapping as a tool for community members in documenting meaningful neighborhood resources and structures in planning processes, intending to elevate the importance of community assets and voices. The program will be done in person over the course of one day, with breakfast and lunch provided. The first half of the day will comprise introductory presentations and discussions, followed by an exercise in the field, convening later in the day to discuss findings.

LNP 2026 runs as an extension of MAS’ Enduring Culture Initiative (ECI), a multi-year effort to expand New York City’s approach to preservation. Building on two years of research and stakeholder engagement, MAS is advancing the goal of adopting cultural asset mapping as a standard part of neighborhood planning processes. As MAS develops recommendations to integrate these tools more systematically into planning and land use decisions, LNP will provide an opportunity to introduce residents to the methodology and explore its application in a real-world planning context.

Join LNP 2026
 
 

Why IBX?
As one of the region’s largest proposed infrastructure investments, the Interborough Express (IBX) will shape future transit-oriented development and neighborhood planning efforts across multiple communities in Brooklyn and Queens. At the same time, communities are increasingly seeking ways to document and communicate what makes their neighborhoods unique, and integrate these unique “assets” into capital plans for housing development and beyond. As neighborhood planning efforts increasingly incorporate community data, cultural assets and local cultural practices are often missing or underrepresented, limiting how neighborhood context informs planning outcomes. LNP 2026 supports residents in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst by delivering training and hands-on experience in identifying and documenting these resources.

Who do we want to participate?
LNP 2026 seeks Jackson Heights and Elmhurst residents interested in land use issues including future development, historic and cultural preservation, and the IBX. These residents can include local organizers, community board members, cultural stewards, and anyone invested in the future of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst to share valuable insight into the neighborhood by assessing and documenting meaningful community places.

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.

Resources

Included below are videos of panel discussions that MAS has hosted on related topics.

• MAS YouTube Channel
• Exploring History and Advocacy at the People’s Beach – video
• New Perspectives on Refining CEQR: A Look Back at Citywide Development – video
• Towards Comprehensive Planning: New York City in Conversation – video
• Towards Comprehensive Planning: Preserving Historic and Cultural Resources – video
• Towards Comprehensive Planning: Public Participation and Strengthening Community Capacity – video

Contact

You can contact the Livable Neighborhoods Program at lnp@mas.org.