Archive

  1. Frank Dubinsky

    Comments Off on Frank Dubinsky

    Frank Dubinsky is closing in on two decades of work developing and financing affordable housing. Frank leads the development team and oversees the company’s developments in preconstruction and construction. Over the years, Frank has developed many of Monadnock’s complex mixed-income and mixed-use projects across the city, ranging from low-income rentals in Harlem and affordable coops in Midtown Manhattan to high-rise buildings on the Long Island City waterfront.

  2. Candelaria Mas Pohmajevic

    Comments Off on Candelaria Mas Pohmajevic

    Candelaria is an architect and urban designer at Gehl. She is committed to creating urban responses that address the climate crisis through an inclusive, people-centered approach. To achieve long-term resilience, she believes that it is crucial to integrate people’s perspectives, ecosystems and climate-sensitive infrastructures in the design process. Her experience across cities in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, and the US has shaped her passion for understanding diverse cultural-ecological characteristics and celebrating them through design. She holds a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, where she received the Prize for Excellence in Urban Design and serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Urban Design.

  3. Diana Gruberg

    Comments Off on Diana Gruberg

    Diana Gruberg is a landscape designer whose work focuses on urban ecosystems and the people who sustain them. She is the Landscape Director at Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC) where she engages the community in creating a resilient, accessible public realm through design, planning, advocacy, and stewardship. She serves on the Gowanus Oversight Task Force to ensure follow through on City commitments to the neighborhood. Her 15 years of experience includes work at planning and design firms as well as public parks. Diana holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Political Science from Barnard College.

  4. Tony Ruiz

    Comments Off on Tony Ruiz

    Tony is an active volunteer for the Gowanus Oversight Task Force and serves as co-chair of its Communications Committee and a member of its Public Infrastructure Committee. He has worked in advertising for 15 years and recently received his MSW from NYU to become a psychotherapist.

  5. Survive and Thrive: Towards a Justice-Focused Gowanus Neighborhood Plan

    Comments Off on Survive and Thrive: Towards a Justice-Focused Gowanus Neighborhood Plan

    About

    In March 2017, Pratt Center assisted the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) with the release of this report that expands on the Coalition’s platform and highlights the most pressing community issues: racial justice, repairs for public housing, environmental injustices related to the Gowanus Canal, and protecting locally-owned small and industrial businesses.

    Project Website

  7. Gowanus Neighborhood Plan

    Comments Off on Gowanus Neighborhood Plan

    About

    The Gowanus Neighborhood Plan was approved by the City Council on November 23, 2021. The Plan aims to support community goals such as cleanup of the Gowanus Canal and surrounding area, creating permanently affordable housing and diverse job opportunities and building and supporting schools, parks and other community resources and infrastructure. It was developed with community members and elected officials over the past four years.

    Gowanus Neighborhood Plan

  8. Andreas Tyre

    Comments Off on Andreas Tyre

    Andreas is a computer scientist, community activist, and former President of the Gowanus Houses Resident Association.

  9. Elisa Smilovitz

    Comments Off on Elisa Smilovitz

    Elisa Smilovitz is a New York City-based independent publicist and consultant who specializes in art, design, and architecture with over a decade of experience. She has a passion for culture in all its forms and has worked with clients across disciplines ranging from furniture and lighting design to architecture and interior design, visual arts, dance, and photography.

    Elisa began her career in public relations at Nadine Johnson & Associates in their Art and Culture department, followed by positions at Bleecker Street Arts Club as their in-house Communications Manager and at McClelland PR as Managing Director. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Emerson College in Media Arts with a concentration in film.

  10. Bahij Chancey

    Comments Off on Bahij Chancey

    Bahij Chancey AICP is an urban planner and Associate at WXY Studio. He facilitates public decision-making processes at multiple scales through community engagement and thoughtful materials that clarify complex topics. His work with public agencies and nonprofits includes community and environmental planning, street and public realm improvements, and policy in waste management and workforce development. Bahij previously worked at Green City Force, NYC Parks, and as an architectural draftsman. He is Board Secretary at both Transportation Alternatives and Mechanical Gardens Bike Co-op, and is an AmeriCorps, Yale, and MIT alum. Bahij lives in Gowanus.