Mitchell J. Silver (born June 27, 1960) is the former commissioner for the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Parks Department. Appointed by

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...

, he assumed office May 2014, and led the department until his resignation in July 2021. He was president of the American Planning Association (APA) between 2011 and 2013, the first African American to hold the title.

Education

Silver attended

Midwood High School , motto_translation = The True, the Good, and the Beautiful , address = 2839 Bedford Avenue , city = Brooklyn , state = New York , zipcode = 11210 , country ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Architecture from

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

and a

Master of Urban Planning Urban planning education is a practice of teaching and learning urban theory, studies, and professional practices. The interaction between public officials, professional planners and the public involves a continuous education on planning process. ...

from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. He is certified by the

American Institute of Certified Planners The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the American Planning Association's professional institute. AICP certifies professionals in the United States in the field of town planning and assists planners in the areas of ethics, profess ...

(AICP) and a licensed Professional Planner (PP) in the State of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Career

He held roles as a policy and planning director for the Manhattan Borough President's office, a city planner for the New York City Department of Planning, a principal of a New York City-based planning firm, a

town manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

, and deputy planning director in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He served as chief

Planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

and Development Officer and Planning Director for the City of

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

previous to his NYC Parks Department position. He was president of the American Planning Association (APA) between 2011 and 2013, the first African American to hold the title. In Raleigh, Silver directed a staff of 230 employees in the Departments of City Planning, Community Development and Inspections, in addition to four offices: Transportation Planning,

Economic Development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, Development Services, and the City's Urban Design Center. He served on the City's Executive Leadership team with the City Manager, Assistant City Managers,

CFO The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

and CIO. Silver led the comprehensive plan update process in

and oversaw a rewrite of the Development Code. As president of APA, he led an international effort to elevate the value and rebirth of planning in the 21st century. In 2015, he told the ''New York Times'' that

Brooklyn Bridge Park Brooklyn Bridge Park is an park on the Brooklyn side of the East River in New York City. Designed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park is located on a plot of land from Atlantic Avenue in the south, und ...

was one of his favorite city parks.

New York City Parks Commissioner

Mayor

named Silver the New York City's Parks Commissioner in 2014. At the time, the Mayor said: "He has a passion for fairness and equality, and he brings it to the work of government, and understands that we have to ensure that parks and open spaces are available in every community, and are well-maintained in every community in this city." The ''New York Times'' wrote that "Mr. Silver’s selection suggests that the mayor plans to confront the issue of inequality in the city’s parks." In 2017, Silver appointed Marty Maher to the position of Brooklyn Parks Commissioner.

Teaching and honors

He has taught graduate planning courses at

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

, and

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. Silver lectures throughout the United States and abroad on a variety of planning topics. He is a contributing author and editor of the

International City/County Management Association International City/County Management Association (ICMA; originally called the International City Managers' Association) is an association representing professionals in local government management. It is based in Washington, D.C., USA. ICMA provide ...

(ICMA) latest edition of "Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice," which is a resource for local governments engaged in planning. In 2012, the ''Urban Times'' named him s top international thought leaders of the built environment today. The next year, UBM Future Cities named Silver as one of the top 100 City Innovators in the world and the

Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gra ...

made him an honorary lifetime member. In 2014, he was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Planning Association. In 2016, Silver was elected a Fellow of the UK's Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS). In 2017, Silver was selected to become an Honorary

American Society of Landscape Architects The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...

(ASLA) Member.

Personal life

He is married to Mary, an administrator for the

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Brooklyn Community Services, and they have a daughter. They live in

downtown Brooklyn Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and ...

in apartment building with panoramic views and a fitness center on its first floor and like to go to

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in Manhattan. He is a confessed "

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

addict," and as of 2015, a frequenter of

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver, Mitchell Living people American urban planners Commissioners in New York City Pratt Institute alumni Hunter College alumni African-American architects American architects New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Brooklyn College faculty 21st-century African-American people 1960 births 20th-century African-American people