Cesar Mesias brings a range of experience in public, community-based and academic approaches to design and architecture for equitable urban planning. He conducts mapping + zoning analyses, demographic and neighborhood research, as well as implements community engagement materials, tools and strategies. Last year, he researched development opportunities created by East Harlem’s most recent rezoning and the future development sites for the Second Avenue Subway. The basis of this research and recommendations was guided by the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan, an intensive multi-year community-based planning process done prior to the rezoning.

Cesar holds a B.Arch. in Architecture from the City College of New York. Before Hester Street, he worked for NYC’s Department of Design and Construction overseeing cultural capital projects citywide and interned in non-profits such as The Van Alen Institute, J. Max Bond Center and In Our Own Back Yard (IOBY).