FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 4, 2025
CONTACT: Sam Bowden Akbari, PhD [email protected]
Awards to be conferred at RPA’s annual Celebrate the Tri-State Gala October 23rd, 2025
NEW YORK, NY — AUGUST 4, 2025 — Each fall Regional Plan Association (RPA) hosts the Celebrate the Tri-State benefit, bringing together civic, business, public and elected leaders to recognize three outstanding contributors to the region’s public realm and support RPA’s work. This year’s awardees include Central Park Conservancy’s development of the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer for Project of the Year; the Commissioners of the Gateway Development Commission with the Making it Happen award for their exceptional leadership in advancing one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the nation—the Gateway Program; and University of Pennsylvania professor, Dr. Eugenie L. Birch, for our Above and Beyond award recognizing her efforts on behalf of the organization and impact on urban planning policy.
Honoring the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer with Project of the Year
The Project of the Year award is given to an ambitious project that re-imagines our shared future. The award celebrates and recognizes the culmination of more than four decades of commitment from the Central Park Conservancy to ensure all New Yorkers can enjoy world-class public space. Conceived as part of a larger re-envisioning of the site by Conservancy’s landscape architecture team, the Davis Center was designed by Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture ∙ Design and Mitchell Giurgola Architects in collaboration with the Conservancy. Harlem’s new year-round destination for recreation, nature, and community connection features an innovative, state-of-the-art facility that accommodates swimming in the summer, ice skating in the winter, and a turf field in the spring and fall. The Davis Center seamlessly integrates into Central Park’s north end, reconnecting the community with nature and restoring access to the landscape that was once obstructed. This welcoming new space is a testament to the power of what is possible when civic projects are undertaken with the highest standards of design excellence.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, President & CEO, will accept the award on behalf of the Central Park Conservancy. For the last eight years, Smith’s top priorities have been to guide the Conservancy in its efforts to preserve Central Park’s essential purpose as a retreat from the pressures of city life and to elevate the profile of the Conservancy as the Park’s primary steward and anchor institution critical to the health and vibrancy of the city.
Past recipients of the Project of the Year award include:
Google’s St. John Terminal, conferred by Congressman Dan Goldman
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), accepted by USDOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg
One Vanderbilt, accepted by SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, conferred by NYC City Planning Chair Dan Garodnick
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Centennial, accepted by PANYNJ Chair Kevin O’Toole and Executive Director Rick Cotton, conferred by Governors Kathy Hochul and Phil Murphy
Moynihan Train Hall, accepted by Governor Andrew Cuomo
World Trade Center Master Plan, accepted by David Earls and Larry Silverstein
Domino Park, accepted by Two Trees CEO Jed Walentas, conferred by former NYC Deputy Mayor Bob Steel
Honoring the Commissioners of the Gateway Development Commission with the Making it Happen award
RPA is proud to honor the Commissioners of the Gateway Development Commission with the 2025 Making it Happen award for their transformational leadership advancing the Hudson Tunnel project. After decades of delays, the Commissioners have succeeded in securing historic federal investments, aligning key public and private partners, and driving progress on the Hudson Tunnel Project, the cornerstone of the Gateway Program. Their vision, tenacity, and coordination across agencies and jurisdictions are a model for regional collaboration and long-term planning. The Gateway Development Commissioners are making the region stronger, more connected, and more competitive—now and into the future.
Past recipients of the Making it Happen award include:
Doreen Harris, President & CEO of NYSERDA
Janno Lieber, Chair & CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Hope Knight, President, CEO & Commissioner of Empire State Development (ESD)
Polly Trottenberg, NYC DOT Commissioner
Nancy Douzinas, President, Rauch Foundation
Janette Sadik-Khan, Principal at Bloomberg Associates
Honoring Dr. Eugenie L. Birch with Above and Beyond
Dr. Eugenie L. Birch has been shaping RPA’s work for over a decade as a supporter, a board member, and a globally respected leader in urban policy and planning. She is the Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research. Her latest book is Urban Sustainable Development, Governance, Finance, and Politics (Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI), 2024). Currently, she is co-chair, Secretariat, SDSN Global Commission for Urban SDG Finance, co-chaired by mayors Anne Hidalgo (Paris) and Eduardo Paes (Rio de Janeiro), and economist Jeffrey Sachs aiming to increase subnational finance for climate change. Her leadership extends across numerous national and international planning bodies. In the early 1990s, she served on the New York City Planning Commission and, in 2002, was a member of the jury that selected the designers for the World Trade Center site.
Past recipients of the Above and Beyond award include:
Jim Johnson, COO, Trinity Church, conferred by Leah Johnson, EVP & Chief Communications, Marketing and Advocacy Officer at Lincoln Center
Jun Choi, CEO, Menlo Realty Venture, conferred by Margaret Crotty, CEO, JSI
Scott Rechler, CEO, RXR Realty, conferred by Rick Cotton, Executive Director, Port Authority New York New Jersey
Peggy Shepard, Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Maxine Griffith, Senior Advisor to the President and Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia University, conferred by Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins
Bob Billingsley, Vice Chairman, Cushman & Wakefield, conferred by Tony Coscia, Chair, Amtrak
To hear more about the issues facing the tri-state region and how our awardees are helping tackle the challenges, please join us at our benefit, Celebrate the Tri-State on October 23rd, 2025. Tickets and details can be found here.
About Regional Plan Association
Regional Plan Association (RPA) is an independent, non-profit organization that conducts research, planning, and advocacy to expand economic opportunity, environmental resiliency, improved health, and better quality of life in the New York metropolitan area. Since the 1920s, RPA has produced four landmark plans for the region. The most recent was released in November 2017. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org.
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