New York Public Safety and Neighborhood Activation Plan: The Role of Placemaking in Enhanced Public Safety

JLP+D supported the Neighborhood Activation Study, an initiative sponsored by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, NYC Department of Design and Construction, and the NYPD. The project concentrated on the neighborhoods of Brownsville and Morrisania, seeking to identify where underutilized public spaces and existing community facilities or assets exist which could better serve the neighborhood through improved design and the introduction of programming or retail activity. The project included substantial community engagement, to ensure that potential solutions were attuned to the capacity of local community-based organizations, businesses, and residents.

As part of the project’s site selection process, JLP+D developed an Economic Opportunity Index, a quantitative analytical methodology using private investment, public investment, transit proximity, underutilized public land, and other factors to evaluate where a prospective intervention might have the greatest possible transformational impact. The firm supported the team’s stakeholder engagement by leading coordination with City agencies and stakeholders to better understand the existing programs and policies serving the communities in each study area. JLP+D advised the team regarding the market feasibility of retail and programming at the selected locations, one concept including a culinary-centric incubator at the Brooklyn Carnegie Library branch in Brownsville, and informed the phasing of each intervention as well as the identification of potential implementation partners.