Steven Cohen | The Huffington Post

The Miller South Shore commuter rail station is being targeted for improvements by railroad operator Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and the city of Gary. Both want the station to become the center for a vibrant neighborhood.One of the signature accomplishments of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s twelve years as mayor was the development and implementation of New York City’s first sustainability plan: PlaNYC 2030. Mayor Bloomberg saw projections of New York’s population growth and realized that environmental goals needed to be integrated into the city’s economic development goals. The plan’s focus on measurable accomplishments and frequent performance reporting mirrored the highly successful anti-crime techniques pioneered by the NYPD’s CompStat system. Key to the success of PlaNYC was its clear status as a mayoral priority.

PlaNYC joined environment to the mayor’s top priority of economic development. Last week, we may have seen a similar moment in policy development as Mayor de Blasio linked sustainability to his top goal of poverty reduction. The fact that he is attempting to integrate sustainability with his highest priority is a strong indication that sustainability goals will continue to advance in New York City.

The different goals of our very distinct mayors reflect the different conditions they inherited when they assumed office. Mayor Bloomberg took office less than one hundred days after the horror of the World Trade Center’s destruction. Our confidence was low and the city’s economic viability was under threat. Bloomberg’s steady, business-like approach and his focus on management and economic development reassured New Yorkers and led to a decade of renewal. In 2008 and 2009, the shock of the Great Recession further reinforced the need to create a city attractive to businesses that would bring energy, creativity, money and employment to the City. Read more