RPA meets to discuss future of the region.

Perhaps it was the quickening pace of Spring-like weather, or the rumblings of new real estate development, but whatever it was, the Regional Plan Association nearly doubled its attendance at this year's conference on "The Manageable Region: Rethinking the Way We Govern."

Held at the New York Sheraton last week, the assembly attracted participants from all over the tri-state region who came to help shape the Third Regional Plan, due next year.

The confab was designed to bring the tri-state regional issues to the forefront and obtain input from interested individuals. The Regional Plan Association has been active for 65 years and the first Regional Plan in 1929 was instrumental in situating area infrastructure, including the location of bridges, airports, highways and parks.

The second plan, issued in 1968, promoted the development of suburban areas linked by a commuter rail system, but its warnings on growth went unheeded. Instead, the region grew around limited access highways, complicating today's workforce commutes and corporate relocations.

This Third Regional Plan will focus on rebuilding and maintaining national and international competitiveness. The plan is expected to address issues such as governmental reform, economic opportunities, sustainable growth and bringing inner-city minorities and immigrants into the mainstream of the region's economy.

Workshops and speakers concentrated on issues such as regional cooperation for sustainable development while considering ecological matters, waste management, commuting options and integrated rail systems.

Mayor Rudolf Giuliani addressed the luncheon crowd of over 500 participants. He formed the Metropolitan Regional Council, consisting of Westchester, Rockland, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut officials, soon after his election campaign. They concentrated on those issues they agreed on, Giuliani explained, and quickly determined it is in the interest of the New York counties to have New York State takeover Medicaid payments. The regional officials are united in the fight against crime, as well.

"The challenge to us," said Giuliani, "is to compete more effectively to solve some of the fundamental problems that lead business to say, 'We want to go somewhere else.' New York should be able to compete for businesses that want to be...in large densely populated urban areas."

He astounded the group when he said not even the School Chancellor knew how many people work for the Board of Education. "We have to impose a lot more accountability," he said, explaining that a better educated population will help businesses predict employee needs and availability.

Lively debate in one morning workshop centered on the construction of the long heralded $75 million 42nd Street cross-town trolley. The RPA is urging that its run be extended from merely crossing 42nd Street from the U.N. down to the Javits Center, southward to 34th Street and Herald Square and then up Broadway to Lincoln Center.

The initial plan was approved by the City Planning Commission earlier this year. Proponents point to the number of tourist attractions, hotels, convention sites and modes of transportation that would be linked by this modern, light rail system.

Critics such as Roger Starr, however, say noise in the form of the clanging trolley bell is not so different than the snorts of 55 buses now in use, while others questioned why more modern electric buses were not considered. Many are concerned that other traffic will be severely impacted if 42nd Street is closed to eastbound vehicles and say it will be worse if 34th and Broadway are also involved.

Daniel A. Biederman, president of the Grand Central Partnership, who has been involved in the proposal for many years, thinks Manhattan must change because it is no longer the center of the world. Community Boards, he said, believe Manhattan is already perfect.

Biederman also mentioned that in general, environmental reviews have perhaps gone too far in that they have blocked projects that would have helped reduce other problems, such as clean air and transportation issues.

Environmentalists, including representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sound Watch and the Nature Conservancy who attended workshops on the Sustainable Region would have probably countered his position.

Frances Beinecke, who represents NRDC on the President's Council on Sustainable Development, said energy conservation needs to be addressed in the design of government buildings, hospitals and schools so they could be used as demonstration projects for private sector construction.

Former city environmental commissioner Albert F. Appleton said the challenge of sustainable growth is to make it more than ideology and to make it an economic concept. He said there are often benefits to the community when something does not have to be built and also benefits to recycling. He pointed to the North River Sewage Treatment Facility, developed under his administration, that is topped with a park as an example of creative thinking and co-usage. He also suggested retrofitting buildings for new usage.

Peter W. Herman, counsel and member of the board of directors of RPA and head of the real estate department at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, said environmental issues will be much more significant in any regional plan that is to be developed in the 1990s.

"Issues like solid waste disposal and how to re-use derelict tracts of land are much more visible," he said. He expects the Sustainable Region part of the regional plan will be a more significant part of the document than it ever was in the past.

RPA President Claude Shostel agrees that in the post-Rio age, this area must be competitive environmentally. The Earth Charter approved at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro states that environmental protection must be "an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it."

One recurring theme of the conference was the emphasis on combining smaller government services into regional systems. This has already been accomplished in Portland, Oregon and is being looked at or adapted in other areas. The recent Westchester 2000 report that made many recommendations for consolidation of school and police departments, among other items, was discussed during an afternoon session.

Westchester's Planning Commissioner Lynn Oliva impressed onlookers when she candidly admitted the report would probably not be implemented. Former Governor Jim Florio of New Jersey believes that as long as services are delivered, however, people do not care who is providing them.

Scarsdale officials, who are wrestling with a downtown revitalization plan of their own, said they were very impressed with the research materials provided by the RPA.

Among the attendees was Assembly Member Donald R. Davidsen of the Corning region, who has proposed a bill that would split the rest of New York State from Rockland, Westchester, New York City and Long Island. He called this bill, which he admits has little chance of passing, the ultimate regional plan.

Shostel was pleased with the turnout and level of interest garnered by the conference. "Instead of a regional approach being a tougher sell, it's an easier one, and people are taking an increasing interest in the issue. It's more do-able rather than less. I'm feeling awfully good about the conference and the general level of interest."

Most of the RPA's $3 million in financing is obtained from foundations and governmental grants earmarked for specific research projects. Among its current projects is one to foster regional markets for recycled materials, and another to promote the region's commuter rail systems and station development.