Virtual State of the Field: Reimagining Urban Public Space - Repurposing Streets

The growth of urban centers has created the need for additional public space. The roadways and the streets of a City constitute a huge inventory of public real estate, which can be creatively used to accommodate multiple functions that go beyond the traditional notions of City rights of way.  During the last decade, the City of New York and its Department of Transportation have applied innovative planning to give rise to the expansion of old programs and new initiatives which repurpose traditional transportation infrastructure to accommodate a multiplicity of uses and users. The Greenstreets program, the Urban Plaza Program, Summer Streets, and the Citi Bike Share Program are dramatic examples of cutting edge planning and reimagining the public space in the City to meet its growing and changing needs.  This talk and discussion will cover these programs and how policymaking can apply creative planning ideas and overcome fiscal and legal obstacles to their implementation.

Philip Damashek was appointed the Department of Transportation's General Counsel on February 11, 2002. Mr. Damashek previously served as General Counsel/Deputy Commissioner for Legal Services for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) from 1998 to 2002, and as Executive Deputy General Counsel from 1996 to 1998. From 1987 to 1996, Mr. Damashek was Deputy General Counsel for the Division of Real Estate Services in the Department of General Services, which later was merged into DCAS. Prior to his City service, he was in private practice from 1981 to 1987. In the 1970's, he held several positions with Community Action of Legal Services, the federally funded civil legal services poverty program for New York City.

Mr. Damashek received his B.A. from New York University and received his law degree from the Columbia University School of Law. He has served as chair of the Committee on Government Counsel of the New York County Lawyers' Association.