February 2019 | What's on Deck for KStrat in 2019?

2018 brought enormous growth to the Karp Strategies team, along with an exciting portfolio of economic and community development initiatives. And as we made our rounds at the holiday and end-of-year parties, many of you have asked us:

Keeping with Karp Strategies’ data-place-people methodology, in 2018 we transformed SoHo’s complex zoning regulations into a beautiful and accessible guidebook by way of in-depth zoning analysis and real estate advisory. And just last week, we delivered critical operations and project management support for a massive, citywide effort to gather valuable data to better serve NYC’s unsheltered individuals.

REZONING, ANYONE?

The zoning in SoHo is notoriously complex. The district is currently zoned for manufacturing, with an overlay for artists, a veritable challenge for any business or person who wants to operate or live there. SoHo anticipates modifications to the existing zoning regulations and in fact, the NYC Department of City Planning and Council Member Chin are hosting a Public Session tonight as the first step of a rezoning process. The challenge, then, was to not only help residents, property owners, and businesses navigate all the dense information, but also to empower local stakeholders with the tools to understand the zoning code that defines SoHo. 

Enter the SoHo Zoning Guidebook, produced by Karp Strategies with and on behalf of theSoHo Broadway Initiative, the business improvement district in SoHo. To assemble this resource, KStrat conducted a deep dive review into complex technical sources, including land use and demographic data, and the New York City Zoning Resolution, and worked closely with the Initiative to determine what they needed most. We then took analysis to action, condensing detailed information into a streamlined narrative and user-friendly graphics for a beautiful, accessible, and educational resource.

HOPE FOR 2019 

Each year, thousands of volunteers mobilize across the five NYC boroughs to identify individuals living unsheltered. This enormous undertaking is part of the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE), which provides the city with valuable data to effectively project service needs and allocate resources for individuals experiencing street homelessness. 

When the NYC Department of Homeless Services & Human Resources Administration (DHS HRA) called, we rolled up our sleeves and jumped right in as in-house consultants. 

Karp Strategies is proud to have delivered topflight project management, survey operationalization across 28 sites throughout the five boroughs, and coordination of communications, intergovernmental, and outreach staff between three city agencies yielding 2,630 volunteers for the night of the survey. Karp Strategies left the agency with a streamlined and replicable design for the future. And on January 28, the night of HOPE survey deployment, the KStrat team hit the streets to participate as on-the-ground volunteers, joining the thousands of volunteers striving to better serve NYC’s unsheltered. 

If your organization needs an infusion of support, or help developing an operational plan, we’d love to talk.

During the next few weeks you can find us at: Pat Tillman Foundation Panel: Amazon's Arrival to Queens at Columbia University

February 16 | 4:00 PM -  5:00 PM

Rebecca Karp, James Van Bramer, Long Island City Council Member, and other panelists will discuss the short- and long-term implications of HQ2’s planned arrival on Queens residents.  Invitation only, email us to join as our guests. 

Museum of the City of New York: Rooted in Place

February 28 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Join us to hear Dr. Mindy Fullilove and other thought leaders explore the concept of home in a time marked by rising rents and neighborhood shifts.

AIA NY: Mobility + Social Agency - Embedding Equity in Mobile Systems

March 21 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join us for this important conversation about equity in transit.