Professional Practice

On behalf of AIA New York (AIANY) and the New York Coalition of Black Architects, the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NYCOBA-NOMA), we are writing to express our profound concern regarding the recent revisions to the NAAB 2020 Conditions for Accreditation. The proposed changes, particularly the removal of Section 5.5, “Supportive Environment/Social Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” compromise the core values that are foundational to our organizations and to the profession.

American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY) is thrilled to present our 2024 Legislative Agenda for New York City and New York State. AIANY represents over 5,000 architects and design professionals committed to positively impacting the physical and social qualities of our city. The purpose of this document is to share an overview of the top policy priorities of the architecture and design community for the coming year and present recommendations to improve the built environment. Our attention in 2024 will be set on affordable housing, sustainability, public realm, transportation and infrastructure, and procurement policy. New York City is facing crises like never before with affordable housing being out of reach for many New Yorkers, more frequent extreme weather events, and an uncoordinated use of public space. This document presents a number of recommendations to remedy these persistent challenges for New Yorkers and details opportunities to take legislative action.

AIANY statement on the City Council passing Int 0031-2022 Version B, a permanent outdoor dining program, enabling NYC Department of Transportation to develop new rules for sidewalk cades and roadway structures

Thank you to the City Council for holding this hearing today. My name is Andrea Lamberti and I represent the American Institute of Architects New York, also known as AIA New York, as 2022 board president. AIA New York represents New York City’s architects employed in government agencies, professional service firms, and academia.

Some of our members are employed in the design of criminal justice facilities, including jails, in New York City and other areas. Many of our members have spoken out against the design of spaces for incarceration. Others, when called to design such spaces, have advocated for revising traditional designs to consider the mental health of occupants.

For years, AIA has taken strong positions, both locally and nationally, against the design and construction of spaces for solitary confinement. AIA New York strongly supports Intro 549’s prohibition of solitary confinement in city jails.

Solitary confinement is not an effective strategy for the reduction of violence in detention facilities. Spaces for solitary confinement are designed to be punitive to detainees. Those we have seen in New York City are usually windowless boxes or cages, crafted to be oppressive environments that are intended to harm occupants’ psychological wellbeing.

This is particularly troubling considering that a majority of the detainees in New York City suffer from mental illness. It is both cruel and poor policy to further strain the mental health of those who are already mentally ill. In fact, forcing mentally ill detainees into solitary confinement further aggravates their wellbeing, making them even more likely to resort to violence and putting guards and their fellow detainees in greater danger.

Nevertheless, we recognize that detainees should have an option to spend time alone. For both safety and comfort, it is important that detainees have their own individual living quarters. The city’s justice facility design standards in Local Law 194-2019 mandate “individual occupancy housing units” for detainees. If new jails legally require individual living quarters, there is no need for solitary confinement as a safety measure at all.

The consensus of architects is that the design and construction of spaces for solitary confinement is a bad policy. We need laws in New York City that reflects the best architectural practices, and we endorse the possibility that our city can serve as the bellwether for the country on this issue. Therefore, we ask the City Council to pass Intro 549 to make our city safer and more humane. Thank you.

Thank you for holding this hearing today. I am Ben Prosky, Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects New York, also known as AIA New York. We represent New York City’s public-sector and private-sector architects, who are employed at government agencies, firms, and universities. Our members include unionized and non-unionized architects, as well as workers and management.

This hearing’s topic is very timely, since architects at some of New York City’s architecture firms are in the process of unionizing. Support for unionization has arisen from the poor compensation architects receive, as well as the workplace issues working for low wages creates. The US Department of Justice does not allow AIA New York to collectively bargain for our members or organize work stoppages. This means we cannot work with agencies, owners, and developers to set fair fees and wages for their employees.

According to the 2021 AIA Compensation Report, the average salary in New York City for a recent architecture school graduate is $58,000 per year. This is not enough to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt accrued over a decade of education, nor the high cost of living convenient to most offices. Comparatively, first-year associates at New York City law firms earn $215,000 per year.

In addition to being underpaid, architects are pressed to work incredibly long hours. Agencies rarely receive sufficient funding for staffing, leading agency leadership to overwork their architects. Meanwhile, firms are unable to collectively bargain for fees, allowing owners and developers to set high work requirements for low fees. As a result, firm owners push their architects to work incredibly long hours, with 60- to 70-hour work weeks not being uncommon.

Unionization in architecture is an important tool to strengthen workers’ rights but it will not solve many of the industry’s core problems. Our unionized members at agencies are paid less than our non-unionized members at firms. For instance, the starting salary for a Department of Design and Construction Junior Project Manager is $51,000 a year.

Fortunately, Council Members can strengthen workers’ rights for architects. They can assign larger budgets for agencies, specifically to hire more architects and pay architects higher wages. The Council can also require that agencies stop demanding free work from architecture firms. Agencies regularly require a significant amount of upfront work from firms before awarding a contract, yet that work is not compensated. Combined with unionization, changes like these will create a better working environment for architects.

September 30, 2020

As architects, we must take on difficult conversations within our workplaces about the broader social implications of our work, and the practices we allow our work to perpetuate. For too long, architects have been complicit in upholding intrinsic racism within the American criminal justice system. While many architects have attempted to mitigate injustice by applying their professional skills to associated built structures, ultimately it is beyond the role of design professionals to alleviate an inherently unjust system. Until more comprehensive policy changes are made on a national scale, good design alone is not enough to remove or overcome the racism inherent within the criminal justice system. It is time we listen to Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities that have long suffered due to unjust societal norms and outcomes.

We must all take actionable steps to address the racism sustained by our criminal justice system.

Until there is measurable reform in the American criminal justice system to apply the law without racial bias, AIA New York is taking leadership on this issue. We are calling on architects no longer to design unjust, cruel or harmful spaces of incarceration within the current United States justice system, such as prisons, jails, detention centers, and police stations. We instead urge our members to shift their efforts towards supporting the creation of new systems, processes, and typologies based on prison reform, alternatives to imprisonment, and restorative justice.

As part of this policy, AIANY will embark on several initiatives:

• Through programming starting in late Fall 2020 and exhibitions, we will examine architecture’s role in the criminal justice system, using open and interdisciplinary
  discussions to increase awareness and knowledge within our professional community,
  while highlighting the voices of those who have suffered within the system.
• Through government advocacy, we will push to limit construction of new criminal justice facilities. AIA New York Political Action Fund, our chapter’s political action committee, will actively support candidates who believe in reducing criminal justice facility construction and implementing further criminal justice reforms.
• Our Architecture for Justice Committee will be reconstituted to increase focus on largescale justice issues and reduce the current emphasis on the design of criminal justice facilities.
• We will advocate that AIA National, AIA New York State, and our fellow chapters adopt similar positions to discourage design of criminal justice facilities that uphold the current system.
• Projects in this typology may be submitted to the AIANY Design Awards program; however, Jury Instructions for judging will prioritize projects that demonstrate excellence in the support of systems, processes, and typologies based on prison reform, alternatives to imprisonment, restorative justice, and investment in communities of color.

While we recognize that the United States is not the only country with a flawed justice system and that architects have been complicit in bias and mistreatment abroad as well, we hope these changes in chapter policy will further advance racial justice within our city, state, and country. Over the coming months and years, AIANY and its members have a great deal of work ahead ofus. We embrace this challenge knowing that effective advocacy can change policies and attitudes within our society.

Board of Directors, AIA New York

The COVID-19 crisis has seriously imperiled the financial stability of many businesses in New York State, including architecture firms. Much-needed regulation limiting and/or stopping almost all construction activity, coupled with clients suspending and/or canceling projects due to financial uncertainty, has significantly limited work opportunities. While government financial support has been helpful, expenses for firms remain burdensome.

Commercial rent is straining the finances of businesses that currently have little to no income. The dining, retail, and hospitality sectors have been particularly hard hit, much to the detriment of New York City. Many architecture firms that serve these and other important parts of the economy have suffered greatly as well, as they currently have little to no revenue. While some landlords have been forgiving, many have been unwilling to provide any leeway for their struggling tenants.

Therefore, AIA New York is expressing its strong support for legislation to suspend or defer commercial rent payments during the current health and financial crisis. This would provide critically helpful assistance to companies and businesses throughout the city. The risks are too great if architecture firms begin folding; affordable housing, public works, historic preservation, and other crucial areas of architectural work would be hampered by the loss of significant numbers of architecture firms.

We strongly support those efforts in the New York State Legislature to eliminate or defer the burden of financial rent. During this financial crisis, our government must do everything it can to support our local economy and keep architecture firms and other businesses afloat.

April 2, 2020

Honorable Bill de Blasio
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Mayor de Blasio,

During this crisis, we understand that difficult decisions must be made and thank the City and State for their tireless efforts in keeping the public safe and informed. We trust that the City will meet the ensuing challenges in the short term, while considering the steps necessary to support the long-term vitality of its businesses, industries, and workers.

As such, we write to you asking that the City reconsider its decision to immediately halt design work for public projects. Design work is essential to construction projects, and, as you know, necessary for public projects to be shovel-ready. Additionally, unlike other aspects of construction, design work can be safely and properly completed in the safety of our homes.

As we explore ways to maintain basic levels of economic activity, permitting design work for public projects to continue will serve as an important opportunity to keep workers safely employed with wages and benefits during the current crisis, and to help prepare New York for the groundbreaking of construction projects that will employ tens of thousands of union construction workers once this crisis has been overcome.

Delays to work that can safely continue from our homes will further hinder our city’s recovery efforts and create challenges for middle-class New York families, including many union construction workers and MWBE architects, engineers, and general contractors.

We strongly recommend that you allow design and construction work to continue to the maximum extent permitted under New York State guidance. Furthermore, we ask that all design and construction that has already occurred be compensated.

This is a very difficult time for all New Yorkers, and we understand the gravity of the City’s circumstances. We all share a common goal of ensuring that our economy gets back on its feet once the virus passes and we believe construction will take the lead in our city’s recovery.

Sincerely,

American Council of Engineering Companies New York
American Institute of Architects New York
Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
Building Trades Employers’ Association of New York City
New York Building Congress
New York City Central Labor Council

CC: New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson

AIA New York (AIANY), the professional association representing nearly 6,000 of New York City’s architects and related professionals, is expressing its support for Int. 1482. This bill would require bird-friendly glass be used in new construction for ninety percent of glass 75 feet and below.

Buildings in New York City kill 90,000 to 200,000 birds each year. Many of these deaths could be easily preventable through the use of fritted glass, screens, and other design solutions. These materials and techniques have other benefits related to sustainability, as they keep sunlight out, making buildings cooler.

Bird-friendly design is already widespread in the industry. The American Bird Conservancy’s Threat Factor rating is an existing reference standard used by design professionals to evaluate the dangers materials and techniques pose to birds. Furthermore, LEED provides a pilot credit for bird collision deterrence.

While AIANY supports Int. 1482, one shortcoming of the current version is that it only applies to new construction. With LL97 of 2019 mandating retrofitting in many large buildings to stay under carbon emission limits, the City has a rare opportunity to ensure that bird friendly glass is installed en masse. Therefore, it is important that buildings that are undergoing retrofits also be required to comply with the bill’s provisions.

Bird collisions are a fixable problem, requiring the implementation of materials and techniques that some architects already utilize. Action by the City Council would significantly decrease bird deaths from collisions. Therefore, AIANY calls on the City Council to pass Int. 1482 and the Mayor to sign it into law.

AIANY is expressing its strong opposition to Int. 1602, a New York City Council bill which would push the City to use software to monitor City contractors. Contractor monitoring software tracks computer usage of individual employees of government contractors, such as architecture firms. A private corporation, which develops and monitors the software, would have access to information on the computer usage of individual architects at any firm doing business with the City; this would include the ability to take screenshots of contract workers’ computers, as well as logging keystrokes and mouse movements.

It is unknown what this information could and would be used for, and how safe it is from hacking threats. Furthermore, it is impossible to quantify the quality of design based on computer usage, as much design work takes place away from computers. Evaluating the quality of design work based on computer usage is a poor practice that no client, including the City, should follow.

Throughout the country, a single company that produces contractor monitoring software has been paying lobbyists to introduce similar pieces of legislation. During the recently concluded 2019 session of the New York State Legislature, a similar piece of legislation, S5398, was defeated. Fortunately, legislation enabling the monitoring software’s use has not passed in any state or municipality.

In order to protect privacy of its members, and ensure a fair evaluation of their work, AIANY strongly opposes Int. 1602. AIANY calls on the City Council and Mayor de Blasio to prevent this dangerous bill from becoming law.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA
Executive Director

Hayes Slade, AIA
2019 President

The New York City Zoning Code establishes various development controls, including floor area ratios (FAR), to ensure development goals such as equitable access to sunlight and air for occupants and pedestrians alike.

There have been some instances recently where luxury residential buildings have skirted regulations around zoning. These buildings include unusually large mechanical voids, which do not count towards FAR. This allows buildings to be taller than normally permissible in order to enhance views, while making the lower floors devoid of life, creating an unwelcome feeling for pedestrians. The NYC Department of City Planning’s (DCP) proposal to limit mechanical void height for residential buildings to 25 feet, with 75 feet separating voids, is an attempt to address this issue.

AIA New York believes the height limit should be 25 feet to 35 feet clear of structure, which is within range of DCP’s proposal. In the rare cases where a building’s mechanical systems require more than the allotted height, designers and developers would maintain the ability to do so, though this would count towards FAR. AIANY has long been an advocate for quality design that contributes positively to communities and promotes equitable access to the city’s multiple and diverse assets, including light, air, and a welcoming public realm.

However, AIANY is against prescriptive limits on residential building ceiling height. Bills such as New York State’s A5026/S3820, which would count any residential building floor with ceiling height above 12 feet twice towards FAR, represent overreactions to the abuse of mechanical voids. This would affect all floors, whether their predominant use is as a mechanical space, a lobby, residences, or amenity space.

Furthermore, prescriptive limits on ceiling height would cause new construction to become far more monotonous, creating fewer opportunities for differentiation and variety, qualities that distinguish great cities. Neighborhoods with significant amounts of new construction, which are often less well off, would be impacted most.

AIANY will continue to advocate for good design for all New Yorkers. Buyers able to afford units above the ground plane do not have a right to purchase their home-with-a-view at the expense of the streetscape. At the same time, the State does not have the right to subject poorer areas of the city to endless rows of identical apartment buildings that could result from city-wide ceiling-height mandates. We need action by the City and State that is in line with good design, and good city planning practices to alleviate these problems.

Sincerely,
Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA
Executive Director

Hayes Slade, AIA
2019 President

Dear AIA members,

AIA New York wants to bring to your attention a newly announced MTA cost reduction program. Vendors providing professional, technical, and advisory services will be required to implement a 10% reduction in the current per-hour unit rate, effective March 31, 2019. It should also be noted that the MTA already has limits in place for the fee portion of markups. The MTA requests email confirmation by March 8, 2019, and no response will be interpreted as commitment to comply.

AIA New York is working with ACEC, New York Building Congress, and other stakeholder organizations to find out more information and determine how we can jointly advocate for our members. As this initiative was implemented without prior notice, we are still in the process of gathering more details. We would like to note that AIA New York is not legally allowed to negotiate over specific amounts of compensation.

If you are affected or concerned, please email Adam Roberts, Director of Policy, at aroberts@aiany.org.

You can find a link to the letter that the MTA has been distributing here. We will be reaching out soon with updates and potential courses of action.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA
Executive Director, AIA New York

Hayes Slade, AIA
2019 President, AIA New York

February 13, 2019

Thank you to Governor Cuomo, Speaker Heastie, and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for supporting these hearings today, and to Senators Biaggi, Skoufis, and Salazar, and Assembly Members Crespo, Walker, and Titus for chairing them.

Workplace harassment has long been a significant problem in the construction industry, including in architecture. AIA New York, the professional organization representing nearly 6,000 architects working and living in Manhattan, has worked hard to limit workplace harassment in the profession.

Last year, following multiple accusations of workplace harassment in our industry, we publicly retracted prestigious design awards from notable architects. We also supported an effort to amend our national organization’s code of ethics to more explicitly address sexual harassment. This helped instigate a conversation in New York’s architecture community about the need for better and safer working conditions. Condemning harassers can be a powerful tool, but it alone is not enough to curb workplace harassment.

Further action by our state government is needed not only to punish harassers, but also to protect victims. As a professional association, there is limited action we can take to legally protect our members from workplace harassment. It is the duty of New York State’s government to protect its residents. New York State’s laws around protecting victims are flawed and need to be improved. We support efforts that make it easier for a victim to take legal action against an employer committing or enabling harassment.

AIA New York will continue to do its part to fight workplace harassment however we can. Nevertheless, our members need help from Albany to fully protect them. We again thank all the elected officials supporting these hearings and hope that impactful legislative solutions will result from them.

Sincerely,
Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA
Executive Director

Hayes Slade, AIA
2019 President

AIA New York Urges “Yes” Vote for the 2018 Charter Ballot Proposals

Earlier this year, Mayor de Blasio organized a Charter Revision Commission to examine potential changes to the New York City Charter. Much like the constitution, the Charter is the guiding document of New York City’s government. The Charter Revision Commission has released three recommendations, which will appear on the ballot on Tuesday, November 6. Voters will have the opportunity to vote “Yes” or “No” on these ballot proposals.

The proposals are summed up as follows:

1. Campaign Finance: Should contribution limits be lowered, and public matching funds be increased?
2. Civic Engagement Commission: Should a Civic Engagement Commission be created to establish a citywide participatory budgeting program and support civic engagement efforts?
3. Community Boards: Should term limits be imposed for community board members, should there be new application and reporting requirements for applicants, and should land use professionals be provided to assist community boards?

You may read the full ballot proposal questions here. While the first proposal is not directly related to the practice of architecture, the latter two are very much connected with the profession.

The Civic Engagement Commission would oversee a citywide participatory budgeting program, which would increase public involvement in, and commitment to, crucial capital projects for public buildings. Meanwhile, the commission’s work to provide land use professionals to community boards and further general civic engagement efforts would be very beneficial.

Regarding the third proposal, opportunities for architects to serve on their community boards are often stifled by a lack of turnover among current board members. This prevents community boards from having access to members who understand land use policies. Not only could term limits help solve this issue, but the ballot proposal would go further by requiring that community boards have access to land use professionals who are employed by the city, if the Civic Engagement Commission is established.

AIANY encourages its members to vote on Tuesday, November 6, and recommends that they vote “Yes” for Ballot Proposal #2 in favor of establishing the Civic Engagement Commission, and “Yes” for Ballot Proposal #3 in favor of Community Board term limits and access to land use professionals.

As part of AIANY’s 2018 Presidential Theme, “Architect Activist,” we have encouraged our members to become more engaged in public service. We are fortunate that this year, there will be two ballot proposals which can increase the involvement of architects in New York City’s government.

AIA New York Statement on Immigration Detention Facilities

October 11, 2018

The dignity of people and recognition of human needs must be foremost in every detention facility plan and design. We advocate for the following functional and design principles in any detention project, irrespective of legal status:

Normative Environment – The detention setting should provide a safe and secure environment, access to daylight and fresh outdoor air, comfortable furniture, and a healthy atmosphere. Design should allow for positive social opportunities between people, without compromising the safety and security of detainees or their custodians. Specific design elements must consider the human occupants, favoring glazing over bars, using modesty panels where appropriate, and providing activities space to reduce idleness.

Access to Support – Detainees are often confined without access to support from their friends, families, and social service providers, which will inevitably impact their emotional and financial condition. The planning and design of a detention facility must provide space and accommodate access to a support network that facilitates communication and interaction between detainees and those who are able to help them. Facilities must also provide space for medical care, including mental health support, which is critical where both mind and body are at risk due to the often-stressful experiences surrounding detention.

Access to Justice – Location and design of a detention facility play key roles in access to justice. Every detention facility should provide adequate space for legal counsel to consult with detainees, and facilities should be located at sites with convenient access to counsel and courts of law. The infrastructure of a detention facility should support access to legal research material to help detainees better understand their legal standing and advocate for themselves. The planning and design of a facility should work in favor of the rights of a person to access justice.

Design alone is not capable of solving our immigration crisis; however, poor design can be an element of the problem. AIA New York stands strongly on behalf of the wellbeing of those inside these facilities, and in favor of design solutions that benefit them and their families.

AIA New York Statement on the Borough Correctional Facilities

October 11, 2018

The proposed borough correctional facilities that are to replace Rikers Island are incredibly sensitive projects, where considerations regarding work quality, neighborhood integration, and safety must be primary concerns. Rikers Island is widely considered to be flawed in its design; it is essential that the new facilities not repeat past mistakes.

When New York City was given design-build (D-B) authority by the State for the construction of the new borough correctional facilities, it brought up many questions about the benefits of using design-build for jail construction.

AIA New York recommends that the City follow these best practices when using design-build authority to construct the borough correctional facilities:

• The architect should report directly to the client. This will prevent design decisions about safety or quality of life from being overlooked due to cost or time savings.
• To ensure quality, use a two-step process to select the D-B team: request for qualifications (RFQ) followed by request for proposals (RFP) from shortlisted firms. Contractors and design professionals should have experience in design-build or jail design/construction, or ideally both. Stipends should be provided to incentivize firms to respond to the RFQ.
• Hire a “criteria architect” to work with stakeholders to help determine programming. The criteria architect should be separate from the D-B team, hired directly by the City, and should remain throughout the entirety of the project. A major part of this role is to build trust with the community and local officials, ensuring that they are included in discussions about architectural programming.
• The City needs to minimize delays at all costs, as the entire D-B team is working on the same schedule. To stay on schedule, the City should employ an attorney with significant D-B experience to handle contracts and approvals.
• A manual on D-B should be available for reference so the D-B team understands the parameters and expectations of D-B work in New York City, including the role of the community in the projects.

This unique opportunity to physically redesign our correctional system offers a chance to solve the design problems seen in Rikers Island. To provide the maximum benefit to community members, detainees, and city workers, it is imperative that the City follow the aforementioned best practices.

Sincerely,
Gerard F. X. Geier II, FAIA, FIIDA, LEED AP
President

Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA
Executive Director

The statement made post-election by AIA National of behalf of you, the largest chapter within its network of 89,000 members, pledged your support to an administration that many strongly denounce.