Mayor de Blasio Names OneNYC Advisory Board

March 1, 2019

Experts from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors are supporting the expansion of New York City’s blueprint to build a strong and fair city

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced his appointments to an advisory board that will support the process of creating a new One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City (OneNYC) by April 2019. Originally released in 2015 as the world’s first resilience strategy and a model for sustainable development, OneNYC provided a blueprint for tackling New York City’s most significant challenges. The new OneNYC strategy will continue to evolve to address the changing nature of challenges that confront our city.

“OneNYC provides a comprehensive blueprint to build a more resilient and just city, showing us the value of setting a bold vision to improve the lives of New Yorkers.  With the support of the experts on the OneNYC advisory board, we will go even further,” said Mayor de Blasio. “We’re excited to have such a talented and diverse group of experts contributing to the development of our new OneNYC blueprint, and help build a fairer city for all.”

“OneNYC has demonstrated the necessity of addressing the challenges of the 21st century head on. As New York City looks toward the future, we’re committed to bringing together the brightest minds to support our work,” said Daniel Zarrilli, OneNYC Director and NYC’s Chief Climate Policy Advisor. “With the advisory board’s help, the City will produce a new long-term strategic plan that will help to create a more resilient and inclusive city.”

The 39-person board is comprised of experts from a wide variety of disciplines, including civic leaders, businesspeople, academics, and community leaders. Several board members who advised the city on the original 2015 OneNYC strategy will be returning to offer their expertise for 2019. The advisory board will help craft New York City’s long-term strategy for tackling 21st-century challenges such as population growth,  aging infrastructure, stubborn inequality, an evolving economy, climate change, and other emerging risks.

As part of the OneNYC update, the City is also engaging in a campaign to solicit feedback from the public and a diverse set of stakeholders. As part of this engagement campaign, the de Blasio administration is holding events and meetings with civic associations, advocacy groups, business groups, youth and senior organizations, and local elected officials in all five boroughs and has developed an online survey where all New Yorkers can make their voices heard. To date, over 13,000 New Yorkers have responded.  To access the online survey, please visit nyc.gov/OneNYCsurvey.

Learn more about OneNYC here and here.

The OneNYC Advisory Board members include:

• Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University (OneNYC Advisory Board co-chair)
• Larisa Ortiz, City Planning Commission (OneNYC Advisory Board co-chair)
• Vincent Alvarez, Central Labor Council
• Christine Appah-Gyamfi, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
• John Banks, REBNY
• Michael Berkowitz, 100 Resilient Cities
• Nancy Brous, NYC Watertrail Association
• Costa Constantinides, City Council
• Andy Darrell, Environmental Defense Fund
• Donna DeCostanzo, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Ingrid Ellen, Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
• Robert Englert, Staten Island Deputy Borough President
• Henry Garrido, DC37
• Peter Goldmark, Climate and Social Change Advisor          
• Ibrahim Greenidge, BOLT Architecture
• Hank Gutman, Chairman of Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp.
• Corey Johnson, City Council
• David Jones, Community Service Society
• Jennifer Jones Austin, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
• Kyle Kimball, Con Edison
• Eric Klinenberg, NYU Institute for Public Knowledge
• Gary LaBarbera, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
• Bill McKibben, 350.org
• Cheryl McKissack, McKissack Construction
• David Miller, C40 Cities
• Emily Nobel Maxwell, The Nature Conservancy
• Michael Northrop, Rockefeller Brothers Foundation
• Adam Parris, Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay
• Francine Rosado-Cruz, Microsoft
• Carlo Scissura, Building Congress
• Allison Sesso, Human Services Council
• Peggy Shepard, WEACT
• Tony Shih, United Hospital Fund
• Kate Sinding Daly, NorthLight Foundation
• Amy Sugimori, 32BJ
• Julie Tighe, New York League of Conservation Voters
• Tom Wright, Regional Plan Association
• Kathy Wylde, Partnership for NYC
• Elizabeth Yeampierre, UPROSE

“I look forward to the OneNYC Advisory Board convening and engaging with my fellow members on how we can turn these strategies into smart, bold pieces of legislation,” said Council Member Costa Constantinides, Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection. “With the Trump administration’s battle against science continuing, it’s on us in New York City to enact bold measures to fight rising sea levels, air pollution, and violent weather. I know these board members, who share a true love of this place, will help guide and strengthen our policies to fight climate change.”

"I am honored to continue to serve as a co-Chair for the OneNYC Advisory Board.  NYC is a world leader in sustainable development, with innovative initiatives to decarbonize the energy system, upgrade the city’s infrastructure in an equitable manner, and ensure universal access to quality city services,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. “The OneNYC Advisory Board is proud to continue its efforts to support Mayor Bill De Blasio and the city government on the path to sustainable development."

“I am thrilled to participate in this effort. The Advisory Board is a valuable tool that will mobilize partners with a diverse set of views, expertise, and insight to ensure that the updated plan reflects the many new challenges and opportunities that have emerged in recent years, not simply from climate change but also from growing inequality challenges that threaten the fundamental stability of our city an engine of economic growth,” said Larisa Ortiz, Commissioner of the New York City Planning Commission.