The 5th Annual Sustainable Raritan River Conference will focus on action steps everyone can take as individuals, as families, as part of a company or as a leader in government – to improve water quality in the region through redevelopment, remediation, restoration and protection of the Raritan River and all its tributaries.

Featuring front-line Executive Directors from NYC - Kerry McLean from the South Bronx and Rebeca Ramirez from the Heart of Brooklyn - NJ'sJGSC Group, developer Steve Santola and commercial real estate CEOBrian Silbert.

 In this webinar we examine a few failed projects that damaged the financial position of the municipality that undertook them and consider what lessons we can learn from these unfortunate situations. “The wise learn from other people's mistakes and fools from their own.” –Old Proverb. “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” –King Solomon, Circa 950 A.D.

Please join APA-NJ as it celebrates one of its 2012 Great Place in New Jersey award winners with a Walking Tour of Broad Street, Hopewell Borough.  The Hopewell Borough Mayor, Council members and other local stakeholders will walk with us and discuss the efforts made to retain the historic qualities of the area while seeking and investing grant monies into streetscape improvements

Come explore Orange’s Valley Arts District - a strikingly rich multicultural community nested in the Valley of West Orange and Orange. This is a terrific opportunity for planners to uncover the history and vibrant culture in the Valley Arts District.

USGBC and the Land Use Law Center at Pace University have recently launched two new, free resources to help municipalities utilize the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system to support their sustainable planning goals. While certification under the rating system is often best suited to development projects, many elements of the rating system can be utilized as an open-source tool to strengthen local government planning efforts. These two resources explore in great detail the ways in which the rating system can be utilized translating those into direct action for planners complete with numerous case study examples.

Addressing the Needs of LGBT Seniors: Seniors in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community face a unique, and significant, set of obstacles to aging comfortably, including discrimination, lack of certain legal protections, and an absence of a family support system. Examine current trends in addressing the needs of LGBT seniors as well as innovative programs and services to help them age in place.

New York is known the world over as a city of walkers and straphangers, not to mention one of the most popular tourist destinations anywhere with five very distinct boroughs, clashing street configurations, and a variety of naming and numbering conventions. Despite huge volumes of residents and visitors walking and using transit, most existing on-street directional information is aimed at drivers. This webinar will introduce participants to the basics of wayfinding with a focus on the system design and program development in NYC. There will be a Q & A session at the end of the webinar.

On Monday, October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck New York City, the most populous region in the United States. Sandy was the biggest Atlantic storm in history, devastating homes and businesses across the Northeast, and causing over $19 billion in damages in New York City alone. In response to this disaster, the New York Metro Chapter of the APA undertook a six month effort to assess how Superstorm Sandy impacted businesses in Rockaway, Queens, a community uniquely situated on a narrow peninsula and one of the hardest-hit areas of New York City. This webinar walks you through the process that the New York Metro Chapter team took to conduct its needs assessment and develop meaningful recommendations for strong planning.