About Us

Mr. Amit has over 35 years of experience in construction and project management. He has worked on technical and managerial assignments on various projects including buildings, bridges, and highways, in both civil and structural engineering. As the Director of Construction Services for PHA, Mr. Amit is responsible for PHA’s construction management projects, performing resident engineering services for projects including Ridge Hill Village Center in Yonkers, the Javits Center expansion, Willets Point in Queens, and the Cornell University campus on Roosevelt Island. He has also overseen the provision of resident engineering services on behalf of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the construction of new storm / sanitary sewers in connection with smaller development projects. Before joining PHA, Mr. Amit served as construction manager with the NYC School Construction Authority and the MTA Bridges & Tunnels. Mr. Amit has an M.S. in Transportation from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon), a B.S. in Architecture from City College of New York, and an A.C.E. in civil engineering from Technical College (Israel).

Ms. Cho has 24 years of experience in civil and traffic engineering at PHA. Her experience includes grading and drainage plans, design of roadway and sewer infrastructure, preparation of maintenance and protection of traffic plans, and associated agency coordination and approvals. She also specializes in preparation of mapping drawings for changes to the New York City map. She provided civil engineering services for the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s area-wide Coney Island Infrastructure project; for the Domino Sugar site on the Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront; the David H. Koch Cancer Center on East 74th Street in Manhattan; and the NYC School Construction Authority’s PS 62 Net Zero school on Staten Island. Ms. Cho also designed the signals and street lighting for the Hunts Point Interstate Access Improvement Project (Contract 2) and the Van Wyck Expressway Capacity and Access Project. Ms. Cho holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Ms. Cowan has over 25 years of experience in planning and business development. As PHA’s Director of Marketing, she prepares proposals, RFP responses, scopes, budgets and marketing materials. She holds a Masters in Community Planning from the University of Maryland and a B.A. in American Studies and French from Dickinson College.

Ms. Jourdy has 23 years of experience in environmental planning. Her responsibilities at PHA include the preparation of Environmental Impact / Assessment Statements and associated analyses of project-related impacts in accordance with City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR), State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She served as the co-project manager for the EAS for the planned Cooper Park Commons development on the former Greenpoint Hospital site. She was also the project manager for the EAS for 69 Adams Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Ms. Jourdy was the assistant project manager for the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Inwood Rezoning EIS. She has prepared environmental review documents for numerous projects involving rezoning; financing from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD); special permits / variances from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA); and other discretionary approvals. Ms. Jourdy holds a Master of Community Planning from the University of Rhode Island and a B.S. in Natural Resource Management from Cornell University.

Mr. Kempf has 18 years of experience in civil engineering, including design of site grading and drainage, builders pavement plans, and sewer infrastructure. He has provided civil engineering services for a number of waterfront developments, including the Powerhouse Arts development on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, Pier 94 Studios in Manhattan, and the McInnis Cement development on the East River in the Bronx. He was also the civil engineer for Brookfield's Manhattan West development in Manhattan. Mr. Kempf holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Evansville and is registered as a Professional Engineer in New York.

Mr. Kuo has 15 years of experience in the field of traffic engineering specializing in transportation data collection and traffic impact analysis for New York area traffic studies. Mr. Kuo prepared the parking analysis for the EIS for the NYC Department of City Planning’s Bronx Metro North Station Study EIS and prepared the traffic analysis for DCP’s Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning. He also prepared the EIS traffic analyses for the Stevenson Commons project in the Bronx and the Acme Fish Expansion in Brooklyn. He holds an M.S. in Transportation Planning and Engineering from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering), as well as a B.S. in Water Resource Engineering from Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Mr. Leung has 35 years of experience in the field of traffic engineering, specializing in the areas of travel demand forecasting, trip assignment, traffic simulation, and traffic impact analysis and mitigation. Mr. Leung has performed traffic modeling using Vissim for NYCDOT, NYSDOT and MTA bridge projects, and has also used Synchro models for project planning and environmental review. He prepared parking analyses for the Inwood Rezoning EIS, East New York Rezoning EIS, and East Harlem Rezoning EIS. Mr. Leung holds an M.S.C.E. in Transportation from the City College of New York, an M.S. in Computer Science from the New York Institute of Technology, and a B.S.E.E. from the City College of New York.

Mr. Loong has 24 years of experience in the field of traffic engineering, specializing in the preparation of travel demand forecasts, trip assignment, traffic studies, traffic simulation, and traffic impact analysis and mitigation. He has prepared traffic analyses for numerous area-wide rezoning projects in New York City, including the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning, East New York Rezoning, West Harlem Rezoning, and North Tribeca Rezoning, all for the NYC Department of City Planning. He was the traffic engineer for the Acme Fish Expansion EIS and the Borough-Based Jails EIS. Mr. Loong also provides construction inspection services for select projects. Mr. Loong holds an M.S.C.E / Transportation as well as a B.S.M.E., both from the City College of New York.

Mr. McKenzie has seven years of experience in environmental planning. His responsibilities at PHA include the preparation of Environmental Impact / Assessment Statements for projects subject to City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR), the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  He also specializes in projects subject to NYC’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Mr. McKenzie has served as the project manager for environmental review for numerous projects involving new schools and school expansion projects. He has been responsible for projects including rezoning actions, zoning text amendments, special permits, public financing, and other actions requiring approval from the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) or the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA). He holds an M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a B.A. in Geography from the University of South Carolina.

Mr. Newman has nine years of experience in civil and traffic engineering, as well as construction inspection. His responsibilities have included preparation of grading and drainage plans, design of roadways and utilities, preparation of maintenance and protection of traffic plans, and associated agency coordination. He has provided civil design services for numerous New York City projects, including 11 Hoyt Street in Brooklyn and 415 Madison Avenue in Manhattan. He prepared the traffic control plan for the NYCDOT Belt Parkway Bridge Improvements project in Brooklyn and for the NYCDEP 108th Street Pump Station Reconstruction in Queens. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas.

Ms. O'Brien has 12 years of experience in environmental planning, specializing in historic resource planning and analysis. She has prepared Environmental Impact / Assessment statements for projects subject to review pursuant to City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR), the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She recently served as the co-project manager for the EAS for Cooper Park Commons, which involves the redevelopment of the historic Greenpoint Hospital in Brooklyn. She was also recently the project manager for the citywide Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency EIS for the NYC Department of City Planning. Ms. O’Brien was the co-project manager of the EAS for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Special District, and assisted with the EAS for the Garment Center Special District Text Amendment. Ms. O'Brien has an M.S. in Urban Planning and Historic Preservation from Columbia University and a B.A. in History from Boston University.

Mr. Peña has 16 years of experience in civil engineering, including preparation of grading plans, builders pavement plans, and sewer infrastructure design. His projects have included the Whitney Museum, the Lincoln Center Redevelopment, 550 Washington Street, Gansevoort Peninsula at Hudson River Park, and the NYCDOT East 127th Street Ramp over the FDR Drive. Mr. Peña was also the civil engineer for a number of residential projects in Manhattan, including 70 Vestry Street, 529 West 29th Street, 520 West 28th Street, 524 West 30th Street, and numerous others. Mr. Peña has an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Polytechnic in Valencia, Spain, where he is also a registered Professional Engineer.

Mr. Reuben has 26 years of experience in urban and transportation planning. His responsibilities at PHA include preparation of environmental assessments and associated analyses, as well as preparation of Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) applications. Mr. Reuben was the project manager for the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Garment Center Special District EAS, and he prepared the ULURP application for the proposed Borough-Based Jails. Mr. Reuben was the project manager for the EAS for the Industrial Business Incentive Area (IBIA) special permit at 103 North 13th Street in Brooklyn, and has prepared the environmental review and ULURP materials for numerous garage special permit applications. He has also prepared the environmental review documents for projects seeking public financing from NYC Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), as well as those seeking a variance or special permit from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA). Mr. Reuben holds a Master of Urban Planning Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as a B.A. in Political Science and History from the University of Colorado.

Mr. Richard has 18 years of experience in traffic and civil engineering. He provided civil engineering services for the Related Companies’ Hudson Yards development, including design of site grading, utility coordination, builders pavement plans, security bollards, and site connections. He provided traffic engineering for the New York Methodist Hospital Expansion in Park Slope, Brooklyn, as well as for the Navy Green residential development in Brooklyn. He has also been responsible for the layout and design of numerous parking garages, loading areas, drop-off zones, and other transportation elements. He has developed bollard plans for several sports arenas. Mr. Richard also provides construction inspection services for select projects. He holds an M.S. in Transportation and a B.S. in Civil Engineering, both from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering).

With over 30 years of experience, Ms. Sabet is the director of PHA's planning division. Her responsibilities at PHA include the preparation of Environmental Impact / Assessment Statements and associated impact analyses of land use and zoning, open space, historic resources, urban design, community facilities, traffic and transportation, as well as other environmental issues. Ms. Sabet was the project manager for the Arthur Kill Terminal EIS, Inwood Rezoning Proposal EIS, the River Ring EIS, the Acme Fish Expansion EIS, the Stevenson Commons EIS, the East New York Rezoning, and numerous other large-scale projects. Ms. Sabet holds a Master of Urban Planning from NYU and a B.A. in Urban Design Studies, also from NYU.

Mr. Somrah has nine years of experience in transportation planning / traffic engineering and leads the transportation work for many of PHA’s environmental review projects. He has participated in preparing traffic, pedestrian, and transit analyses for a number of projects subject to City Environmental Quality Review, including the Borough Based Jails, the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Corridor Rezoning, the Gowanus Rezoning, the parking and pedestrian analyses for DCP’s Bronx Metro-North Rezoning, the new residential development at the Forest Hill Cooperative, and the Coney Island Hospital renovation. Mr. Somrah also served as the transportation planner for NYCEDC’s SPARC Master Plan. Mr. Somrah has prepared traffic studies for numerous NYCDOT and NYSDOT highway and bridge projects. Mr. Somrah holds an M.S. in Transportation Planning and Engineering and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Mr. Young has 19 years of civil engineering experience, including preparation of grading and drainage plans, builders pavement plans, sewer infrastructure design, SWPPPs, maintenance and protection of traffic plans, and associated agency coordination and approvals. He provided civil engineering services for the Cornell Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, 155 3rd Street in Brooklyn, the Pier 6 residential development at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the Riverside South Phase IV Park along the Hudson River on the Upper West Side. Mr. Young also has extensive experience in the preparation of mapping drawings for changes to the New York City map through ULURP. Mr. Young holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from The Cooper Union, and is registered as a Professional Engineer in the State of New York.

Lan La Leung has four years of experience transportation planning and traffic engineering. She is the transportation lead for the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses EIS and for NYCDCP’s Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan. She also serves as the traffic engineer for many school and school expansion projects. She served as the traffic engineer for the Innovations QNS EIS and prepared the transit and pedestrian analyses for the 1045 Atlantic Avenue EAS.  Ms. Leung holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from NYU Tandon School of Engineering.