Learn about current and projected development in LIC and the importance of climate change and resiliency planning. This workshop will include a visioning session to identify shared priorities and goals for our community assets. 

More information forthcoming!

Speaker Bios:

Bonnie A. Harken, AIA

Bonnie A. Harken, AIA, APA, is President of Nautilus International Development Consulting, Inc., a multi-disciplinary firm which consults about strategies for planning and implementing successful, sustainable developments that transform cities. Founded in 2003 with a special strength in resilient urban waterfronts, Nautilus International has worked in over 25 countries. Currently Nautilus is working with UNESCO’s International Center for Water Security and Sustainable Management (iWSSM) to document and communicate best practices around the world for supporting green growth while safeguarding water resources. Recently, Nautilus consulted on sustainable development and well-planned growth along the Hunters Point waterfront for a coalition of four Long Island City community and not-for-profit organizations. Previously, Nautilus served as the lead consultant for the PANYNJ on a multi-year study about revitalizing six miles of waterfront in SW Brooklyn and led pilot projects addressing economic development, environmental sustainability, infrastructure investments, and climate change. 

Ms. Harken is an internationally-recognized expert in urban waterfront redevelopment and downtown revitalization. Early in her career, Ms. Harken led urban design and architectural teams on a wide variety of projects at Battery Park City, such as its North Residential Area master plan, which was awarded honors around the globe. Ms. Harken has consulted with the Hunters Point community on their waterfront since 1991. Other waterfront projects include strategic planning for General Motor’s 5.5M sf riverfront headquarters in Detroit, which has been a catalyst for the city’s downtown revitalization. Ms. Harken’s work has won numerous awards for design excellence as well as for meritorious service to the profession. From 2010 to 2014 she served as representative of the APA-NY Metro Chapter on Mayor Bloomberg’s Waterfront Advisory Management Board. After Superstorm Sandy, Ms. Harken co-chaired the AIA’s Post-Sandy Initiative’s Waterfront Working Group, which won their 2014 National Honors Award for Collaborative and Professional Achievement. Ms. Harken grew up in Asia and Latin America, studied environmental design at Parsons School of Design, real estate finance at NYU, and holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. 

Michela Biasutti
Lamont Associate Research Professor, Columbia University School of Professional Studies

Dr. Michela Biasutti is a Lamont Associate Research Professor. She graduated cum laude in physics at the University of Trieste in 1995. A growing interest in climate modeling and climate dynamics brought her first to visit research centers in Bologna (Italy) and College Park (M.D.), and then to pursue graduate studies in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), where she received her M.S. (2001) and Ph.D. (2003). She joined the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in 2004, first as a post-doctoral scholar and then as faculty.

Her research interests focus on the variability of rainfall in the tropics, from the fast development of weather systems to the dynamics of long-term droughts and pluvials associated with man-made and geological climate changes. She has enjoyed collaborating with scholars outside her discipline, working on the effect of climate change on African ecosystems and crops and on the legal framework of UN-led climate change adaptation. She lives in Manhattan, with her husband and son.

Katherine Conkling Thompson
Co-Chair, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park

As a woodworker and painter, I moved to Long Island City in 1987 and became immersed in its vibrant artists’ community living in old tenements, industrial lofts and storefronts. By 1996, with 2 small children and 3rd on the way mu husband and I moved over the Pulaski Bridge to Greenpoint keeping our studio loft for work. Back then there was no local family soccer program in our neighborhood parks so in 1999 I helped found the AYSO Greenpoint/Williamsburg Youth Soccer League and was the Assistant Commissioner for 12 years. This lead to my involvement with public parks advocacy as there were no safe soccer fields for kids to play on.

In 2014 I became the co-leader of Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park and suddenly in the winter of 2015 advocacy for the completion of Bushwick Inlet Park became urgent matter as the last parcel of land, CitiStorage, was burnt to the ground and put up for sale.

The Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park is a community group of local activists dedicated to the realization of the FULL 27 Acre Bushwick Inlet Park. Many of them artists, this highly motivated group adapted mediums to meet the challenges of city politics. For 2 full years we created many actions including Flash Mobs, videos, Community Action plays, as well as multidisciplinary actions such as the Camp-In protest on the site of the CitiStorage property, and the 60 Day Countdown Fence Action just to name a few. In addition to the media-attention getting antics we strategically and relentlessly engaged our elected officials and Community Board in advocacy and support by writing letters and passing resolutions. FBIP held several rallies attended by hundreds of supporters and elected officials. In 2016 when the Mayor was rolling out his MIH and QZA initiatives to all the Community Boards, FBIP used the open forum as a way to highlight the risks of rezonings, and “Broken Promises” became the rallying cry and cautionary tale for neighborhoods being subjected to new legislation. Later they brought the message to the CPC and City Council. FBIP strength came from building strong partnerships with many other local organizations like Open Space Alliance which provided legal expertise and strategy, and created a coalition of more than 20 community groups and stakeholders such as El Puente, North Brooklyn Boat Club, OSANB and NAG.

On November 21, 2016 The City of New York finalized a deal with the owner of the CitiStorage site, for acquiring the final piece of the full promised park. After our big fight and huge success there is still much to do and I see myself as task-master-in-chief as we strategize how to get Bushwick Inlet Park built out and activated.