Author: Public Works Partners

A SWOT in the dark: Why now is the time to assess your organizational health

The last two years have been trying, tumultuous, and hard to plan for. With so many uncertainties facing businesses and, especially, nonprofits on a near-daily basis, many leaders went into survival mode. Planning could come later. Well, now it’s later. And now is the time to assess your organization’s financial and programmatic health. With so […]

The Thanksgiving Turkey Rush: Inside the Infrastructure that Makes the Holiday Possible

Everyone who celebrates has heard the origin of Thanksgiving: a celebration of plenty shared between colonists and the Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony. Despite the overwhelming national mythology around Thanksgiving, there are only two written accounts that depict the three-day festival, both of which describe a similar sense of “plenty” and of being “so far from […]

Bigger Budgets City-Wide Mean New Opportunities for Lasting Impact

Back in April, Public Works put together a run-down of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), identifying opportunities for nonprofits, civic organizations, and New York City communities stemming from the historic aid package. In May, the U.S. Department of the Treasury began releasing its funds, with $12.7 billion awarded to New York State and $5.9 billion […]

Why you should be paying attention to urban placemaking

What is Urban Placemaking? Urban Placemaking is not necessarily a new practice, but it is gaining prominence among planners throughout the United States. Contemporary placemaking emerged in the 1960s through the works of Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte, who based their research on the social construction of urban areas. Their activism and sociological studies […]

We Have Options: Building Awareness Around NYC’s Mental Health Helpline, NYC Well

From the coverage of Simone Biles’ mental health struggles at the Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympics, to concern about the devastating collective toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on all of us, there is a growing public focus on developing appropriate responses to mental health needs and improving access to care. This focus has spurred a reexamination of […]

Composing a Rendering: 5 Tips from an Insider

Urban planners, landscape architects, architects, and designers of all kinds use renderings as a way to show clients conceptual ideas for a given space. This allows the audience to visualize a range of elements from aesthetics to function. While every firm and individual has a unique approach to developing a render, the mechanics are relatively […]

August Newsletter: Celeste is a Crain’s New York Notable Woman Business Owner!

Crain’s NY Recognizes Celeste Frye as a Notable Woman Business Owner In recognition of Celeste Frye’s leadership throughout the pandemic and over the past 10 years, as well as her commitment to supporting her local communities, Crain’s New York has honored Celeste as one of its 2021 Notable Women Business Owners. Over the past year […]

Ready to dive into the deep end? NY has a plan so everyone can, safely

Summertime is here in NYC, which means lots of overheated New Yorkers are looking for fun ways to cool off. While the past year has brought about many new opportunities to use public spaces, such as the NYC Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs, nothing quite fits the bill like a […]

Five Tips for Nonprofit Budget Analysis

The pandemic continues to impact nonprofits, both increasing the demand for their services and decreasing the availability of funding for them. In a survey of 66 nonprofits conducted by Nonprofit New York, 64% of New York nonprofits experienced a disruption of services and a reported total of $31M in lost revenue. Beyond their services, nonprofits […]

Why you should get involved in planning processes

Public Works Partners takes community engagement seriously. We’ve crafted dozens of strategies to engage populations who have been historically underrepresented in the public planning process, built community buy-in, and implemented strategies that incorporate diverse perspectives from across communities. In all our projects, we customize our engagement strategy to celebrate the culture of the community in […]

New York City Housing Authority Names Public Works Partners Program Administrator for the PACT Residential Planning Fund

New York, NY (June 30, 2021) – The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced that Public Works Partners, a WBE/DBE/SBE certified planning & consulting firm, has been selected as the program administrator for its new Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) Resident Planning Fund. Public Works Partners will manage the $6 million technical assistance program […]

Urban planners: what do they do?

There is a common saying that “all cities are similar, but no two cities are the same.”  If you stop to think about it, cities have unique qualities which have been strategically planned based on their respective histories and cultural influences, shaping them into what we see today.  The concept of developing cities is no […]