01.06.2023
Corporate Commons Three Wins 2022 Best in Green Award
At the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce’s 60th Annual Building Awards on December 2, 2022, the new mixed-use development known as Corporate Commons Three won the Chamber’s Best in Green Award for its innovative sustainable features—among them a vineyard, rooftop garden, and numerous green infrastructure elements that reduce the use of pervious surfaces and retain and infiltrate stormwater on the 8-acre site. Corporate Commons’ commercial and hospitality tenants encircle an art-filled “town square” with sociable public spaces and a soaring water feature. Being Here has worked with The Nicotra Group on the project since 2015, collaborating with architect CetraRuddy and other team members on the ambitious development’s planning and design. In the role of landscape architect and certified arborist, Being Here spearheaded the site plan, which protects sensitive ecological assets through the preservation of existing wetland habitat, and developed the site’s sustainable design features, including the first use of Silva Cell stormwater retention technology in Staten Island.
Read more about the project here.
04.25.2022
Mayor Adams Celebrates Opening of Corporate Commons Three Rooftop Farm
On April 19, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala opened a rooftop farm atop the Nicotra Group’s new Corporate Commons Three building on Staten Island. The 32,000-square-foot roof is planted with perennial wildflowers and organic vegetables to absorb the approximately 3.5 million gallons of rain that falls on it in a typical year, growing healthy organic food while reducing neighborhood flooding and protecting the health of New York Harbor. The rooftop farm was made possible by a $670,000 grant provided through DEP’s Green Infrastructure Grant Program. Being Here is proud to be part of the team behind Corporate Commons Three's resilient design, along with rooftop farm operator Brooklyn Grange and architect CetraRuddy. Congratulations to Being Here Project Manager Patrick Weisel for leading this ecologically sensitive site's complex landscape planning and design.
Photo courtesy New York City Office of the Mayor
12.11.2020
Being Here Designated an Envision Qualified Company
The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure has designated Being Here an Envision Qualified Company, and Principal Denisha Williams has earned the ENV SP credential. Envision is a framework for assessing sustainability and resilience in infrastructure, providing criteria and performance objectives to help project teams identify sustainable approaches to a wide variety of infrastructure initiatives. The ENV SP designation is becoming an important credential for those involved in civil infrastructure, as communities strive to better incorporate resilience while making investments in transportation, water, flood-control, and other critical systems.
12.02.2020
Streetscapes for Wellness Explores Social Infrastructure and Equity in the Public Realm
Being Here Partnership Director Jeff Byles recently helped organize a Zoom program exploring how sidewalks and roadways can advance community wellness while enhancing mobility, social infrastructure, and environmental health. Through his role as President of The Fine Arts Federation of New York, Jeff has helped lead Designing New York: Streetscapes for Wellness, a research initiative produced in collaboration with the New York City Public Design Commission and ASLA-NY exploring how creative new uses of streets and public spaces can shape a more livable and equitable New York City. You can view a video recording of the panel conversation, and learn more about the Streetscapes initiative.
Photo: “Tropical” Installation, Bronx, New York, 2020, by Dexter Ciprian & Felix Ciprian. Photograph by Cameron Blaylock / Courtesy Van Alen Institute.
05.19.2020
Being Here's Natalie Galarza Wins Landscape Architecture Foundation Accolades
The Landscape Architecture Foundation has awarded BHLA staff member Natalie Galarza the 2020 LAF Honor Scholarship for Inclusive Community Design. Natalie also received the ASLA-NY Designing in the Public Realm Scholarship. LAF's 2020 winners were selected through a competitive process by juries made up of leaders in landscape architecture practice, academia, and industry. Natalie recently completed her Master's in Landscape Architecture at the City College of New York. Congratulations, Natalie!
11.25.2019
Port Richmond-Mariners Harbor BOA Study Designated
Congratulations to Northfield Community LDC and the many project stakeholders whose vision and participation helped realize the Port Richmond-Mariners Harbor Brownfield Opportunity Area Study. Now designated by New York State's Secretary of State, the BOA provides a blueprint for community leaders and residents as they advocate for equitable revitalization within this culturally vibrant area of Staten Island's North Shore. Working with lead consultant WXY and a multidisciplinary project team, Being Here helped create a consensus-driven process for envisioning the renewal of brownfield or potentially contaminated sites across the study area in ways that benefit both existing and future residents.
04.11.2018
Accessible Streetscape Study Wins 2018 ASLA-NY Design Award
Our report on accessible historic streetscapes for New York's Historic Districts Council received a 2018 Merit Award in Professional Design from the New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Congratulations to all who participated in this effort! Special thanks to our terrific collaborators at HDC and the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance. Read more about the project.
08.26.2017
HDC Releases Historic Streetscape Study
Today, New York's Historic Districts Council released our new report, Toward Accessible Historic Streetscapes, exploring an under-appreciated urban asset: historic pavement. We're proud to share this exploration of how to best reconcile the competing priorities of accessibility and preservation in fast-evolving historic districts. Find out more about our research and read the report here.
Update: We're thrilled to see the study featured in the October 2017 issue of Landscape Architecture magazine. Download a PDF of the story.
01.31.2017
1130 South Avenue Wins Staten Island 'Building of the Year' Award
The 55th annual Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Building Awards honored 1130 South Avenue with the organization’s highest accolade, the Chairman’s Award, on December 2. For this new commercial office building within Staten Island’s evolving “Medical Mile,” Being Here designed the site, including pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and a gateway entry landscape featuring a welcoming plaza anchored by a public sculpture. Our approach emphasized sustainable site practices to minimize environmental impacts to sensitive wetland areas while enhancing placemaking opportunities.
07.19.2016
Being Here Certified as a WBE by New York State and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Being Here has been certified as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by New York State and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. We look forward to partnering on projects in support of woman-owned business participation goals throughout the region.
02.01.2016
Being Here Certified as a New York City WBE
We're thrilled to announce that Being Here has been certified as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the New York City Department of Small Business Services. We look forward to contributing to the City's minority and woman-owned business participation goals.
02.18.2015
We're Speaking on Postindustrial Cities at Satellite magazine's Cities+ series in Brooklyn on March 10
Being Here collaborators Denisha Williams and Jeff Byles are thrilled to be a part of Satellite magazine's Cities+ series of short talks on cities.
On Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., we join fellow presenters Citizens Committee for New York City, Prospect Park Alliance, and the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union at The Way Station in Brooklyn to explore facets of urban social and ecological resilience. We look forward to discussing our special interest in the renewal of postindustrial cities in the New York region and beyond.
09.18.2014
Being Here Selected to Present on Green Infrastructure and Industrial Heritage at Regional Symposia in October
Being Here Principal Denisha Williams and Partnership Director Jeff Byles are honored to be participating in two upcoming symposia highlighting urban sustainability and industrial heritage preservation in the New York region and beyond.
On Friday, October 10, Denisha will present on green infrastructure as a placemaking strategy at the sixth Passaic River Symposium, organized by the Passaic River Institute of Montclair State University. Denisha’s talk, titled “Placemaking in a Changing Climate: Green Infrastructure as Community Catalyst for the Passaic River Basin,”
will explore how placemaking can work in tandem with green infrastructure stormwater management tools to spark environmental and economic transformation. The two-day symposium features presentations on a range of environmental management challenges relevant to the Passaic River Basin and other regional watersheds, from sediment remediation and environmental monitoring results to ecosystem restoration, environmental advocacy, and public outreach efforts.
Ruhr Photo: Christoph Schmitz
07.15.2014
Two Being Here Team Members Earn ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification Credential
Being Here Principal Denisha Williams and Project Manager Patrick Weisel recently earned the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) credential by successfully completing the TRAQ course and exam administered by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the local chapter.
Since both Williams (NY-5504A) and Weisel (NY-5739A) are already ISA Certified Arborists along with their other qualifications in the field of landscape architecture, the TRAQ credential brings an additional dimension to their professional practice. TRAQ is a voluntary training program culminating in an exam with both a written and field component.
The credentialing program is designed to increase the standard of practice and safety in the tree care industry and to promote the professional development of practicing arborists. Credentialing also assists the public in identifying qualified tree assessment professionals. When contracting for tree risk assessment, ISA—the only internationally recognized certification program in the industry—recommends hiring arborists who hold the TRAQ credential.
Denisha and Patrick both found the TRAQ program to be valuable in establishing a qualitative industry-wide standard that can be applied to help public sector managers and private sector owners make informed decisions and prioritize resources.
06.28.2014
AIA Honors Collaborative Post-Sandy Effort to Advance Resiliency, Sustainability, and Flood-Resistant Design
At the national convention of the American Institute of Architects in Chicago, the innovative, cross-disciplinary work of the Post-Sandy Initiative was awarded 2014 AIA Institute Honors for Collaborative and Professional Achievement.
Spearheaded by AIA New York’s Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR), the Post-Sandy Initiative is a collaborative effort of many disciplines working toward the advancement of resilient architecture and urban design in New York City’s waterfront communities. The initiative brought together a variety of organizations to not only share and compile best practices but to further the conversation about resiliency, sustainability, and the role and responsibility of design and architecture.
During her term as Immediate Past President of the ASLA New York Chapter, Being Here Principal Denisha Williams served as Co-chair of DfRR's Waterfront Working Group, leading the group's assessment of region-wide waterfront vulnerabilities, and advancing creative solutions to coastal management. With Co-chairs Bonnie A. Harken, AIA, APA and Jessica Sheridan, AIA, LEED AP, the committee mapped out new partnerships among practitioners of many disciplines—including planning, engineering, design, marine biology, and ecology—to develop and test new coastal interventions that have the potential to promote a safe city and sound ecology within a changing environment.
Find out more about the committee's recommendations in the Post-Sandy Initiative's full report.