In Burden era’s twilight, talk turns to next planning chief

Amanda Burden
Amanda Burden

As Amanda Burden’s decade-plus reign as planning commissioner begins to wind down, New York’s real estate watchers are already looking ahead to her potential successors, Crain’s reported.

Early successors include two ex-city planners: Vishaan Chakrabarti; Columbia University’s Center for Urban Real Estate director and a SHoP Architects partner; and Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Another hopeful is Anna Levin, a City Planning Commission member and former community board chairwoman.

Chakrabarti is likely to support residential rezoning in neighborhoods like Long Island City and the South Bronx. His Columbia center is set to release a report soon that is expected to point to a need for 300,000 residential units as the city takes in an expected 1 million new residents by 2030.

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Levin, with her community board background, would be expected to keep residents’ concerns in mind as the city grows.

Myer has earned praise for her work at Brooklyn Bridge Park, but drew the ire of unions for building without them.

Burden has said she doesn’t plan to stay on after Mayor Michael Bloomberg leaves office at the end of the year.  [Crain’s]TRD