GUIDELINES FOR REVIEWING AND RESPONDING TO POLICY AND ADVOCACY ISSUES
ASLA-NY seeks to raise awareness of the field of landscape architecture and support policies which are aligned with values promoted by ASLA, including good stewardship of the environment, healthy communities, recognition and conservation of historic cultural heritage, greener transportation corridors, and effective, energy and cost-efficient landscape design. We are looking for better, more effective ways to bring our voice to the forefront.
Members are invited to alert the ASLA-NY Advocacy Committee of issues of relevance to the practice, advocacy and public awareness of landscape architecture in NY State. To facilitate the committee understanding the issue, forming an opinion and making a decision to create an ASLA-NY Position Paper, members are requested to provide, whenever possible, a basic outline of the issue and links to current objective information 3 weeks before any public hearing or deadline for filing a statement. The committee will then discuss the relevance to landscape architecture and ASLA-NY’s mission, whether we have enough information/insight into the topic to be credible, and what we think our response should be. If the committee agrees to take on the topic, it will write a draft position paper which is presented to the full board, along with the background information, and the board votes whether to proceed and make it a public statement or not. If the vote is yes, the paper is finalized, sent to the relevant decision makers, and posted on our website.
A description of the committee may be found here. Any interested member is welcome to join our advocacy efforts. Contact our Executive Director at [email protected].
Our recent advocacy efforts and policies are found below.
2017
ASLA-NY has joined 14 other NYC organizations who wrote a letter to the Mayor regarding improved public space for civil discourse. We are meeting with the DOT Commissioner on March 6 to discuss concrete actions and next steps. Please click here to read the letter (ASLA-NY was not a signatory to the original letter but subsequently joined the initiative).
ASLA-NY has signed on as a signatory to an open letter from Architects Advocate to President Trump regarding climate change. Click here to read the letter, and include your own name if interested.
ASLA-NY will be participating in Lobby Day in Albany on May 17. Please contact Diane Katz at [email protected] if you would like to join.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS CONVENES BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND RESILIENCE
Top Left: ASLA 2016 Professional Analysis and Planning Honor Award. The Big U, New York, NY. BIG and Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners. Top Right: ASLA 2015 Professional General Design Honor Award. Perez Art Museum Miami: Resiliency by Design, Miami, Florida. ArquitectonicaGEO / copyright Robin Hill. Bottom Left: ASLA 2016 Professional Communications Honor Award. Sea Change: Boston, Boston, MA. Sasaki Associates. Bottom Right: Living Breakwaters, Staten Island, NY. SCAPE Landscape Architecture.
- Vaughn Rinner, FASLA, ASLA President, Chair
- Armando Carbonell, FAICP, FAcSS, Hon MRTPI, Senior Fellow and Chair, Department of Planning and Urban Form, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
- Mark Dawson, FASLA, Managing Principal, Sasaki Associates Inc.
- Tim Duggan, ASLA, RLA, Founder, Phronesis
- Ying-yu Hung, ASLA, Managing Principal, Principal, SWA, Los Angeles Studio
- Dr. Dwane Jones, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Sustainable Development + Resilience at the University of the District of Columbia
- Diane Jones Allen, ASLA, Program Director for Landscape Architecture, the College of Architecture Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington
- Adam Ortiz, Director for the Department of the Environment for Prince George’s County, Maryland
- Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, Hon. AIA, SITES AP, Executive Vice President and CEO, ASLA
- Laurinda Spear, FAIA, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP, IIDA, Principal-in-Charge, ArquitectonicaGeo
- Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome, Senior Program Officer, Environment, The Kresge Foundation
For more info go to: https://www.asla.org/climatepolicies.aspx
Advocacy Alert: Bill to Eliminate the EPA
Friends and Colleagues,
As many of you know, a bill was recently introduced in the House of Representatives that would terminate the Environmental Protection Agency. As a professional organization that advocates for and leads the stewardship, planning, and design of our built and natural environments, it is important for us to defend the future of the EPA. ASLA recently sent a letter to Representative Matt Gaetz (Florida), the author of the bill, urging him to withdraw consideration of the proposed legislation and issued a statement opposing the measure.
Now we need your help. Please click here to easily send a letter to your U.S. House Rep urging them to oppose H.R. 861 which would eliminate the EPA. Forward this link on to friends and colleagues across the country too! I hope you will all join this important effort to protect our environment today. Better yet, CALL your representative! It is usually more effective to speak to government officials or meet in person. To find out who your representatives are and get contact info, go to: http://advocate.asla.org/ and type in your zip code.
Read ASLA’s statement here: https://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=49960
Read the letter to Rep. Gaetz here: https://www.asla.org/uploadedFiles/CMS/Government_Affairs/HR502EPALetter02_15_17%20EPA%20FINAL.pdf
Letter to Mayor De Blasio to Improve Public Spaces for Civic Engagement
Last month a letter to the Mayor was publicized having been drafted by several NYC organizations to bring greater awareness and programing to public space for civic expression. Our Executive Director, Kathy Shea and I have been in conversation with Susan Chin at The Design Trust for Public Space to get involved with the efforts moving forward. Next week we will be meeting with DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg to discuss next steps. We will keep you posted on results of that meeting.
Read the letter here:
https://www.vanalen.org/stories/public-space-for-free-expression/
ASLA Advocacy Day is April 27
Every year chapter presidents and trustees from across the nation meet in DC to advocate for important issues relating to our profession on Capitol Hill. Elizabeth Jordan, Adrian Smith and I will be attending and this year we will sponsor two CCNY students, Robynne Heymans and Jacqui Leboutillier to join us and experience this higher level of service. We are very excited to offer this opportunity to students as future leaders of our chapter!
Interested in learning more about ASLA’s Advocacy news or following current bills?
Go to http://advocate.asla.org. There you can also sign up to receive email alerts when there is an advocacy alert from ASLA.
NY State Lobby Day is May 17
Representatives from the New York Council of Landscape Architects (NYSCLA), which includes members from our chapter and the Upstate New York chapter, travel to Albany to advocate for landscape architect’s rights. Lobby Day provides an important opportunity for NYSCLA to focus on how proposed and existing state laws and regulations will impact our environment and the profession. Attending Lobby Day is a high priority for our chapter and we welcome your input this year.
If you are interested in learning more or being involved in Lobby Day this year, please contact our Executive Director, Kathy Shea at [email protected]
As always, if you have concerns, ideas or want to be more involved in the profession, please contact us. Our Executive Board represents YOU and we are happy to have your input.
Thank you kindly,
Jennifer L. Nitzky, RLA, ASLA, ISA
ASLA-NY President
ASLA-NY POSITION PAPER on PROTECTING POLLINATORS
September 18, 2015
Click to download a PDF version
Summary
The American Society of Landscape Architects – New York Chapter (ASLA-NY), represents nearly 600 professional practitioners, academics and affiliates. We promote long-term ecological health and fitness of the environment including protection of pollinators, which are keystone ecosystem species that provide vital ecosystem services to agricultural, ornamental and natural landscapes. It is part of the society’s mission to share knowledge and encourage communication between public officials and community leaders to improve policies and practices. The White House issued a directive in April, 2015 to Federal agencies, crafted with ASLA assistance, to develop a coordinated approach to protecting pollinators.(1)
In that spirit, we offer this ASLA-NY position paper to inform our members and the public about the issues, especially in regards to New York landscapes. Our goal is to help redirect a suite of human actions which have long-term adverse impacts on pollinators to favor practices which support these very beneficial species.
Pollinators in trouble
Pollinators include managed and wild bees, moths, wasps, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, hornets, flies, beetles and other insects which visit flowering plants, spread pollen from flower to flower, and enable fruits, nuts, acorns, seeds and vegetables to develop. There are another 4,000 species of bees in the US in addition to the honey bee(2) and they play a critical role in pollinating ornamental plants, forests, grassland and wetland species, and food crops.
Populations of many, though not all, managed and wild pollinators are in decline worldwide, resulting in a large and growing body of scientific studies documenting pollinator numbers, causes of decline and the results of strategies intended to help. New research is rapidly adding to the knowledge base for helping pollinators to recover. After reviewing some of the recent research, consulting with scientists and other advocates for pollinator-protection actions, ASLA-NY joins a number of concerned organizations(3) which have issued papers and guidelines for reversing the trend, and helping these populations recover. As additional information becomes available, ASLA-NY’s position may be revised in response to new evidence.
Across the U.S. the number of pollinators has dropped significantly over the last 50 years. Declines in managed honey bee populations have been monitored most closely, with U.S. beekeepers losing an average of 30% of their colonies each winter. Several species of wild pollinator populations, which are more difficult to monitor, also show evidence of widespread loss. For example, approximately half of U. S. and European bumble bee species studied have reduced populations, though a smaller percentage show increases.(4) Read more
Advocating for Park Space at AMNH
In September, our chapter was approached to show support for saving Theodore Roosevelt Park at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) on the Upper West Side. The museum proposed plans for expansion on the building’s west side that would encroach the parkland, both reducing treasured green space and potentially removing several large, mature trees. ASLA-NY’s Advocacy and Policy Committee drafted a letter to AMNH President Ellen Futter showing our support for the treasured parkland and urging the museum to reconsider plans in favor of preserving the green space. You can download the letter here or read below. For more information on the Save Teddy Roosevelt Park efforts go to: http://saveteddyrooseveltpark.org/
September 23, 2015
American Museum of Natural History
Att.: Ellen V. Futter, President
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, NY 10024-5192
Dear Ms. Futter:
The American Society of Landscape Architects – New York Chapter (ASLA-NY) is a professional organization with over 600 members whose vision is to lead the design and stewardship of our land and communities. We advocate for the preservation of our city’s green space especially as it relates to the health, safety and welfare of the local community. As Richard Louv states in his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder “Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health (and also, by the way, in our own).”
We write you today due to our concern with the proposed expansion of the American Museum of Natural History in Theodore Roosevelt Park. The welfare of the neighborhood surrounding the park is enhanced by the existence and vitality of this treasured green space, designed by well-known New York landscape architect, Judith Heinz. DK Eyewitness Top Ten tour guides labeled the park one of the top ten oases in New York City and we believe it is in the best interest of the city that it be preserved.
Read more
Learn more about ASLA’s Advocacy efforts here:
