Mitchell Silver

{{short description|American urban planner}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Mitchell Silver | native_name =  | native_name_lang =  | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | order = | office = Member of the Raleigh City Council | status =  | term_start = December 2, 2024 | alongside =  | monarch = | president = | governor_general = | taoiseach = | chancellor = | governor = | deputy = | lieutenant = | vicechair = | succeeding =  | constituency = District A | majority = | predecessor = Mary Black-Branch | successor = | prior_term = | order2 =  | office2 = Parks Commissioner of New York City | term_start2 = May 1, 2014 | term_end2 = July 30, 2021 | alongside2 =  | monarch2 =  | president2 =  | governor_general2 =  | prime_minister2 =  | chancellor2 =  | taoiseach2 =  | governor2 =  | vice_president2 =  | vice_prime_minister2 =  | deputy2 =  | lieutenant2 =  | vicechair2 =  | succeeding2 =  | predecessor2 = Liam Kavanagh | successor2 = Gabrielle Fialkoff | parliamentary_group2 =  | constituency2 =  | majority2 =  | prior_term2 =  | president1 = | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | education = Pratt Institute (BA)<br />Hunter College (MA) | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|06|27}} }} '''Mitchell J. Silver''' (born June 27, 1960) is an urban planner and former commissioner for the New York City Parks Department.

Appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, he assumed the office of New York City Parks Commissioner in May 2014, and led the department until his resignation in July 2021.<ref name="NYT" /> He was president of the American Planning Association (APA) between 2011 and 2013, the first African American to hold the title.

Elected in 2024, he currently serves as a City Council member in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he served as chief Planning and Development Officer and Planning Director from 2005 to 2014.

== Education == Silver attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn. He has a bachelor's degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Master of Urban Planning from Hunter College.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/news/daily-plant?id=23120|title = The Daily Plant : NYC Parks}}</ref> He is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a licensed Professional Planner (PP) in the State of New Jersey.

== 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 in New Jersey, and deputy planning director in Washington, D.C.

He served as chief Planning and Development Officer and Planning Director for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hunteruap.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Urban-Review_Spring-2011.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116082916/http://www.hunteruap.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Urban-Review_Spring-2011.pdf |archivedate=2014-01-16 }}</ref>

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, 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 and CIO. Silver led the comprehensive plan update process in Raleigh and oversaw a rewrite of the Development Code.<ref name="theguardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jul/02/mitchell-silver-redesigning-way-live?CMP=twt_gu|title=Mitchell Silver: Redesigning the way we live – Society – The Guardian|date=July 2, 2013|publisher=theguardian.com|accessdate=14 January 2014}}</ref>

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 was one of his favorite city parks.<ref name=NYT/>

=== New York City Parks Commissioner === Mayor Bill de Blasio named Silver the New York City's Parks Commissioner in 2014.<ref name="NYT2">{{Cite news|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|date=2014-03-21|title=North Carolina Planner Named to Head New York City Parks Dept.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/nyregion/mitchell-silver-north-carolina-planner-named-to-head-nyc-parks-dept.html|access-date=2021-11-18|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff : NYC Parks|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/people/nyc-parks-commissioner|access-date=2021-11-18|website=www.nycgovparks.org}}</ref> 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."<ref name=NYT2/>

In 2017, Silver appointed Marty Maher to the position of Brooklyn Parks Commissioner.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.queensledger.com/view/full_story/27357027/article-Longtime-parks-employee-moves-to-top-Brooklyn-position?|title=Longtime parks employee moves to top Brooklyn position|last=Kearns|first=Patrick|date=|website=Queens Ledger|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Teaching and honors== He has taught graduate planning courses at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Hunter College, Brooklyn College, Pratt Institute, and North Carolina State University.<ref name="planning">{{cite web|url=http://www.planning.org/apaataglance/leadership/apaboard.htm|title=APA Board of Directors|publisher=planning.org|accessdate=14 January 2014}}</ref> 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 (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 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).<ref>{{cite web|title=Eighty-four leading social scientists conferred as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences|url=https://www.acss.org.uk/news/eighty-four-leading-social-scientists-conferred-fellows-academy-social-sciences/|website=Academy of Social Sciences|accessdate=5 August 2017|date=19 October 2016}}</ref>

In 2017, Silver was selected to become an Honorary American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Member.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ASLA Announces Newest Honors Recipients {{!}} asla.org|url=https://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=50465|access-date=2021-10-07|website=www.asla.org}}</ref>

==Personal life== He is married to Mary, an administrator for the nonprofit Brooklyn Community Services, and they have a daughter. He is a confessed "social media addict."<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/nyregion/how-mitchell-j-silver-new-york-city-parks-commissioner-spends-his-sundays.html|title=How Mitchell J. Silver, New York City Parks Commissioner, Spends His Sundays|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa|date=7 August 2015|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-bef|before=Liam Kavanagh}} {{s-ttl|title=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation <br> Commissioner|years=2014–2021}} {{s-aft|after=Gabrielle Fialkoff}} {{s-end}}

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