LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Pratt
Center for Community Development on March 26, 2015

WHEREAS, From time to time this Legislative Body takes note of certain
extraordinary institutions it wishes to recognize for their valued
contributions to the success and progress of society and publicly
acknowledge their endeavors which have enhanced the basic humanity among
us all; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 50th Anniversary of the Pratt Center for Community Development
to be celebrated with Community Development 360 Degrees on Thursday,
March 26, 2015; and
WHEREAS, Community Development 360 Degrees is a series of three policy
salons exploring the evolution of community development in New York
City, and how the movement is confronting the many challenges and oppor-
tunities facing New York City today; and
WHEREAS, The Pratt Center for Community Development is the oldest
university-based community planning organization in the nation; it
combines urban planning, research, policy advocacy, and small business
assistance to advance innovative solutions to low- and moderate-income
communities' greatest economic and environmental challenges; and
WHEREAS, This vital New York City institution was founded in 1963,
when graduate planning students and faculty at Pratt Institute partnered
with community organizations to address urban poverty through empowering
local residents to participate in the official planning processes that
affected their neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, During this time, the Pratt Center's work in central Brooklyn
served as the model for Senator Robert F. Kennedy's project to create
Community Development Corporations and develop safe, stable housing and
economic opportunities in New York City and other urban areas throughout
the country; and
WHEREAS, The Pratt Center continued to build on this experience in the
1970s, as it fought successfully to ensure that federal community devel-
opment assistance was invested in poor neighborhoods amidst the fiscal
crisis; and
WHEREAS, At a time when residents of the South Bronx, Harlem, Central
Brooklyn, and the Lower East Side faced a wave of disinvestment, the
Pratt Center launched an architectural practice that worked with neigh-
borhood housing groups to reclaim buildings, pioneering the conversion
of abandoned tenement shells into safe and decent housing for residents;
and
WHEREAS, In the 1980s, the Pratt Center expanded its community-driven
architectural practice, providing technical assistance to rebuild and
preserve affordable housing in low- and moderate-income communities; it
also worked to secure public loans to rehabilitate abandoned City-owned
buildings as mutual housing co-ops; and
WHEREAS, The Pratt Center became an invaluable resource to New York
City's budding Environmental Justice movement in the 1990s, providing
planning, architectural and other types of technical assistance to
reform the unjust siting of solid waste facilities, and creating parks
and open space in communities with New York's highest rates of asthma;
and
WHEREAS, In addition, the Pratt Center helped develop Brownfield
Cleanup Laws, and launched a comprehensive effort to decommission the
environmentally destructive Sheridan Expressway; it also played a
pivotal role in founding the New York Industrial Retention Network

(NYIRN), which worked to retain and grow quality manufacturing jobs
throughout New York City; and
WHEREAS, In the 21st Century, the Pratt Center has successfully
advanced innovative policies to support sustainable communities while
continuing to help local groups convert underutilized space into
schools, neighborhood centers and much-needed green space; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, the Pratt Center has helped to expand affordable
housing in areas undergoing rapid luxury development, and has success-
fully advocated for the implementation of New York City's Select Bus
Service program to address socioeconomic disparities in commuter time
and transportation access; and
WHEREAS, In 2011, the Pratt Center merged with NYIRN, incorporating
manufacturing growth strategies and the Made In NYC brand into its over-
all work for better local economies; and
WHEREAS, After five decades of exemplary service, the Pratt Center
continues to be an innovator and leader in the field of community devel-
opment, as it helps to foster a more sustainable and equitable New York
City; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those organiza-
tions which enhance the quality of life in the community and have shown
a long and sustained commitment to excellence, certainly have earned the
recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Pratt Center for Community
Development; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Pratt Center for Community Development.