Public Project Therapy: Unpacking Recent Capital Process Reforms

The process of delivering public works in New York City impacts how New Yorkers and visitors experience the city, how well communities are served, and how readily architects and other design professionals can participate.  

As part of the NYC Capital Process Reform Task Force, AIA NY partnered with industry experts and agency leaders to find efficiencies in the capital design and delivery process, reflected in a series of recommendations, published in 2022. Since then, we’ve made tremendous progress to work more quickly and collaboratively, saving taxpayer dollars and delivering better projects for our communities.  

This program will explore the how NYC government is partnering with the industry to modernize the capital delivery process and forefront quality design and innovation in delivering public projects. We will unpack the legacy challenges that have left design professionals hesitant to pursue public projects, the remedies made by the city to address feedback from the design community, and a look ahead to the future of delivery. The program will address the following key questions: 

• How does capital delivery impact New York City’s public realm? 

• How is alternative delivery reshaping the process, and what lessons can we learn from the advocacy that led to expanding the city’s delivery toolkit? 

• How can the design and construction process reflect our values and meet our goals as a city? 

Initial presentations by representatives of New York City government will be followed by a panel conversation about the impact and next phases of the capital reform effort.  

Schedule:
9:00 AM – Arrival and Coffee 

9:15 AM – Presentations and Moderated Q&A
Alison Landry, AIA, Chief Delivery Officer, Deputy Mayor for Operations 
Becky Yurek, AIA, Chief Strategy Officer, NYC DDC
Yvi McEvilly, PLA, DBIA, Assistant Commissioner, Design-Build Unit, NYC DDC
Moderator: Bria Donohue, Senior Manager of Government Affairs, AIANY  

10:30 AM – Panel
Deborah Marton, President, NYC Public Design Commission
Annya Ramirez-Jimenez, AIA, Partner, MARVEL
Stephen Wilder, AIA, NYCOBA-NOMA, Founder and Principal, Think Wilder Architecture
Moderator: Michael Plottel, FAIA

11:30 AM – Closing Remarks

Followed by time for networking