Status and Accomplishments

FY 1995: In the Fall of 1995, UTAP began renovations to establish an off-campus office at 131st Street, between Broadway and 12th Avenue. The office is staffed by faculty, student interns, and a project manager. Projects and activities conducted by the project in FY 1995 include the following:

• Earth Engineering Center Support: In the Fall of 1995, UTAP supported the design of a three-dimensional model of Northern Manhattan for Columbia University’s Earth Engineering Center, a joint effort of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
• Community Outreach Partnership Project Support: UTAP supplied trained interns to provide technical assistance to City College-Columbia University Community Outreach Partnership Center, to support a planning assessment of East Harlem for the James Weldon Johnson Houses Tenant Association. The information package was completed in the Summer of 1995.
• Proposal Writing: In April 1995, a proposal for $450,000 was submitted to the NTIA’s Telecommunications Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) for a survey and mapping project in Upper Manhattan. The proposal was not funded.

• Worked with the Audubon Partnership for Economic Development to refine its UMEZDC proposal to revitalize commercial activity in Northern Manhattan. The proposal was prepared in 1996 and funded in the spring of 1996 for $375,000. The project is to begin in fall 1997. UTAP also sponsored an urban design studio focused on the economic revitalization of Washington Heights. The studio engaged community representatives, urban design graduate students and planners and addressed issues of commerce, transportation and demography.
• Prepared an inventory and assessment of retail activity in Southern Washington Heights to support the initiative of the Community League of West 159th Street to establish a Business Improvement District (BID) on Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Northern Manhattan. Further technical assistance included the preparation of the BID application on behalf of the League. This project was supported by a $35,000 grant from the Enterprise Foundation.
• Prepared a physical assessment of South Central Harlem and a strategic planning proposal for the United Tenant Interim Lease Coalition of Harlem (UTILCH). UTILCH’s proposal was approved and funded by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, $70,000. UTAP is currently engaged in various aspects of the plan’s implementation. Also, under the same support from Clark, UTAP worked to prepare a physical and demographic assessment of the Mount Morris area for Community Pride a service organization of the Rheedlen Center for Children and Families. UTAP’s work was funded by the Clark Foundation for $162,000 in FY 1996.
• Sponsored an urban planning studio in Vieques, Puerto Rico to develop a land use proposal for 8,000 acres of land that may be relinquished by the U.S. Navy. Initial research for the development proposal was done by graduate students in the Urban Planning Program. UTAP followed through with the completion of the document in the Fall 1996. Continued support to the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, Puerto Rico includes participation in planning sessions and proposal collaborations. The project was sponsored by Economists Allied for Arms Reduction (ECAAR), and funded for $5,000 by the Miranda Foundation.

• Prepared neighborhood assessments and planning information for five project sites located in Harlem and the South Bronx that are participating in the Neighborhood Partners Initiative (NPI) of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. UTAP implemented site surveys, planning workshops, training sessions, data transfers and other technical assistance to help community-based organizations formulate community building strategies and to develop capacity to sustain its participation in the NPI. Clark has granted UTAP an additional $230,000 to continue with the initiative through spring 1998.
• Arranged additional support to Harlem-based community organizations by making available assignments that engaged Community Impact Americorps volunteers in organizations’ planning efforts. With the Community Vision Project of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, volunteers conducted a resident opinion survey of neighborhood conditions and local service provision. Also, volunteers surveyed merchants in Washington Heights for the Community League of West 159th Street to support their Business Improvement District initiative.
• Completed Phase I of Camden economic and physical development strategy with Urban Planning Studio engaging planning graduate students. The second Phase of the project has assembled a team of planning and policy experts to prepare a comprehensive economic land-use study for Camden in context of its region. Final reports will be completed by December 1997. The study was funded through a HUD grant for $98,280.
• Sponsored an urban planning studio focusing on waterfront conditions and land use issues at the Croix des Bossales site in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Initial research for the development proposal was done by graduate students in the Urban Planning Program. UTAP followed through with the completion of the document in the Spring 1997. Research and the development proposal are currently in use as part of national planning efforts to redevelop the capitol city’s waterfront. Funding for project expenses were covered by the President’s Office for Planning and Infrastructure.
• Trained four project managers from the United Nation’s Habitat for Humanity Project in Haiti in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies and other computer applications for community development under a contract for $6,000. Under a separate contract, UTAP has since trained a Planning Director from the Haitian President’s Office for Planning and Infrastructure in a similar capacity. A fee of $1,500 was collected to support instruction and materials.