Missed Opportunities: Analyzing New York City's Community-Based Planning Statut

Beginning in 1989, New York City Charter Section 197-a gave Community Boards, the most local form of government in New York City, the opportunity to formally engage in community-based planning by sponsoring "Plans for the development, growth, and improvement of the city and of its boroughs and community districts." These 197-a plans are reviewed by the Borough President, Department of City Planning, City Planning Commission, and City Council, and, if adopted, are intended to inform the relevant actions of city agencies. Since 1989, in a city of 59 Community Boards and over eight million residents, only eleven Community Board-sponsored plans have been adopted. Using city documents, especially the 197-a plans, this thesis investigates the value of the 197-a process as a means of community-based planning. The thesis finds that the non-binding nature of these plans prevents them from being an effective method of community-based planning and offers recommendations for improvement.