Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn, which was presented on Oct. 29, received the Lawrence M. Orton Award for leadership in City and regional planning from the American Planning Association’s New York Metro Chapter (APA-NYM). Reynoso accepted the award at APA-NYM’s Annual Chapter Conference at the NYU Kimmel Center in Manhattan.
“I am deeply grateful to the American Planning Association’s New York Metro Chapter (APA-NYM) for honoring Brooklyn’s efforts to push New York City towards comprehensive planning,” said Reynoso.
“For too long, New York City has defaulted to zoning as our primary mechanism for planning. We cannot afford piecemeal solutions to boroughwide problems. Good planning leads to better cities, and Brooklyn is forging a new path forward to bring New York City’s planning practices up to date. APA-NYM has long been at the forefront of advocating for good planning in New York City, and I sincerely thank them for recognizing these efforts.”
The Lawrence M. Orton Award is given to individuals and projects that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing regional and City planning. It recognizes visionaries who have made significant contributions to shaping cities and regions through innovative planning practices and policies.
“On behalf of the American Planning Association’s New York Metropolitan Chapter, I am thrilled to present the Lawrence Orton Award to Borough President Antonio Reynoso and his entire planning team for creating Brooklyn’s first truly comprehensive plan,” said APA-NYM President Paul Onyx Lozito.
“What makes this remarkable isn’t just that it’s the first plan to aspire to comprehensive coverage of an entire borough — it’s how they did it. They have built a framework that doesn’t just map Brooklyn’s future but gives communities the tools to envision the borough’s future. This is the kind of collaborative, equity-centered planning that fits into our City and our region’s needs.”
The 2025 Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn
The 2025 Plan serves as a roadmap for long-term, equitable growth throughout the borough. Building on the 2023 Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn, the 2025 Plan offers a comprehensive analysis of existing inequities in the borough, as well as an expanded set of policy priorities that outline a blueprint for ensuring every Brooklynite is healthy, housed, and supported.
The 2025 Plan guides the Borough President’s land use recommendations. It serves as a tool for other elected officials, city agencies, community boards, local organizations, and community advocates working to effect change.
New York City is one of the few major cities in the world that lacks a Comprehensive Plan. There is no holistic, long-term vision guiding the City’s growth, investments, or resource allocation. Instead of planning, New York City zones. This incremental, piecemeal approach has contributed to displacement and record-breaking levels of inequality.
According to the office of BP Reynoso, today, New York City is home to the world’s highest concentration of millionaires. At the same time, New York City’s poverty rate is twice the national average, with a staggering 2 million New Yorkers, or 25% of the City’s population, unable to afford necessities.
A majority of renters in New York City are rent-burdened, and over 30% are severely rent-burdened, spending more than half of their earnings on rent. New York City public schools remain among the most segregated in the country, and more than half of NYC families with children aged four and under cannot afford child care. All of these inequities are interconnected and compound upon themselves, yet they are often treated individually in the absence of comprehensive planning.
To learn more about the Borough President’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn, visit the website at www.brooklynbp.nyc.gov/the-comprehensive-plan-for-brooklyn/.
