The New York City Council will vote Thursday afternoon on Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams’s nomination of tenants rights attorney Leah Goodridge, Managing Attorney for Mobilization for Justice, to serve on the City Planning Commission. This follows a unanimous committee vote to approve the nomination on Thursday morning.
Leah Goodridge, a Brooklyn native, has spent her career fighting for housing rights, racial justice, and community empowerment. A Fulbright scholar with a focus on community economic development, which centers community stakeholders in urban planning, she became a housing rights attorney after witnessing the effects of displacement and gentrification in New York. Over the last decade, Leah has won several eviction defense cases with published decisions and has argued before the New York State Court of Appeals. She has served as a tenant representative on the Rent Guidelines Board since her appointment by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2018.
If confirmed, Goodridge will fill a seat on the 13-member body which also includes an appointment by each Borough President and six by the Mayor, who also appoints the commission’s Chair. Her nomination, as a tenants’ rights advocate, would help to shape the work of the commission and the future of the city to better serve New Yorkers. Commissioners serve for five years, and may serve multiple consecutive terms.
“Development in our city is too often focused solely on profit, not on people – I believe it is not only possible, but essential to pair economic growth with community strength, and the City Planning Commission has an essential role in that work,” said Leah Goodridge. “Throughout my work to uplift and empower tenants and communities across our city, I’ve centered racial justice and equity. I’m eager to bring that perspective and lens to the work of the City Planning Commission, and I thank Public Advocate Williams for this opportunity to help shape our city.”
The City Planning Commission is responsible for the conduct of planning related to the orderly growth and development of the City, including adequate and appropriate resources for the housing, business, industry, transportation, distribution, recreation, culture, comfort, convenience, health and welfare of its population. The Commission meets regularly to hold hearings and vote on applications, as described above, concerning the use, development and improvement of real property subject to City regulation.
“The City Planning Commission should prioritize community impact, and center community involvement, in making decisions about the future of our city,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “Leah Goodridge will be an invaluable voice on the commission, empowering marginalized and disadvantaged communities as she has throughout her life and work. The Commission helps to shape the city, now and for decades to come, and Leah’s background, experience, and dedication, is perfectly suited both to this moment and to the long-term growth of the city as we pursue progress that is beneficial to all communities across New York.”