Director of Manhattan Planning for the Division of Planning and Predevelopment

Job Description

About the Agency:
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation Development (HPD) promotes quality and affordability in the city's housing, and diversity and strength in the city’s neighborhoods because every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable place to live in a neighborhood they love.
- We maintain building and resident safety and health
- We create opportunities for New Yorkers through housing affordability
- We engage New Yorkers to build and sustain neighborhood strength and diversity.
HPD is entrusted with fulfilling these objectives through the goals and strategies of “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness,” Mayor Adams’ comprehensive housing framework. To support this important work, the administration has committed $5 billion in new capital funding, bringing the 10-year planned investment in housing to $22 billion the largest in the city’s history. This investment, coupled with a commitment to reduce administrative and regulatory barriers, is a multi-pronged strategy to tackle New York City’s complex housing crisis, by addressing homelessness and housing instability, promoting economic stability and mobility, increasing homeownership opportunities, improving health and safety, and increasing opportunities for equitable growth.
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Your Team:

The Office of Neighborhood Strategies (ONS) is charged with ensuring that HPD’s development and preservation efforts are guided by meaningful community engagement and coordinated with public investments in infrastructure and services, as put forth in the Mayor’s Housing Plan.
ONS is composed of two divisions and a cross-divisional unit reporting to the Associate Commissioner:
- The Division of Planning and Predevelopment (P&P) is central to developing and managing HPD's housing production pipeline from project proposal phases through the land use review and entitlement process, to ensure that HPD's investments contribute to building strong, healthy, resilient neighborhoods in all five boroughs. The advertised position is a member of this division.
- The Division of Neighborhood Development & Stabilization (ND&S) leads the agency's commitment to neighborhood planning and strategic preservation through engagement with tenants, landlords, community leaders, and neighborhood stakeholders as we work to enable strong and healthy neighborhoods anchored by affordable housing.
- The Strategic Initiatives Unit (SIU) leads special ONS initiatives and provides essential technical, planning, and policy support to staff and the Associate Commissioner of Neighborhood Strategies.

Your Impact:

As the Director of Manhattan Planning, you will lead a talented group of planning professionals in advancing the goals and vision of the Mayor’s Housing Plan. The Manhattan Planning Unit is at the forefront of HPD’s new construction pre-development pipeline and regularly engages developers, community-based organizations, and public officials to create and advance affordable housing opportunities in Manhattan. The Manhattan Planning Unit is responsible for driving projects that will ultimately result in the creation of thousands of homes, dozens of new community facilities, as well as significant new retail opportunities. The Director of Manhattan Planning reports to the Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Predevelopment.

Your Role:

The Director of Manhattan Planning leads and supervises a team of four energetic, thoughtful, and engaged planners that manage the land use approval process and environmental reviews of City-owned parcels and/or projects financed or sponsored by HPD for the development of affordable housing in Manhattan, and to ensure that projects meet HPD and other City policy objectives.

Your Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Predevelopment, the Director of Manhattan Planning develops, implements, and manages all Manhattan Planning activities. Specifically, you will be expected to:
Planning and Project Management

- Promote HPD and City policy objectives across all Manhattan Planning activities.
- Perform and make reports about technical analyses of sites that require advanced understanding of zoning, land use, and general planning principles.
- Coordinate with other HPD Divisions; other City and State agencies, such as the Department of City Planning and the Economic Development Corporations; for- and non-profit housing and community developers, Community Boards and community-based organizations; public officials; and residents through the land use approvals process.
- Collaborate with the ONS Predevelopment Planning and Urban Design Unit on the Request for Proposals (RFP) review and selection process.
- Partner with the Division of Neighborhood Development and Sta