Message from the NYC Department of City Planning


The New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) stands with the Black Community within our agency and across New York City. We recognize that planning policies and zoning codes have acted for decades as bulwarks against fairness, inclusion and integration, and that they have played a large role in perpetuating racism and even violence against Black and Brown Americans.

Racism has long worked to directly undermine the health and vitality of New York City’s communities and workplaces. Externally, racism has stymied fair and inclusive planning in our city and across the nation. We are committed to unpacking and taking on institutionalized racism within the planning profession and examining our own role. Internally, we are committed to building a workplace that is free of racial bias, and has a workforce whose diversity reflects the diversity of our city.

Examples of how racism is built into American society are again painfully evidenced by the horrific slayings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner and Amadou Diallo, among so many others going back centuries. This racism is reflected in the unconscionable and shockingly disproportionate toll that COVID-19 has had on Black families and communities across our city and nation.

The outrage and sustained protests seen at home and around the globe are critical. It is not enough to be the most diverse city on the planet. We must erase bigotry, hate and institutionalized racism. We stand in solidarity with protestors around the world, but most especially with New Yorkers, including members of the DCP staff, who are participating in the protests and demanding change now.