To strengthen the business district’s competitive position and support its community’s future growth, EE&K created a new strategic vision for Downtown Brooklyn prior to its merger with Perkins Eastman. The design, centered on a new series of public places, leverages one of the City’s busiest transportation hubs and realizes a new vision for Flatbush Avenue as a spine for development. The plan and its comprehensive strategy allows for growth of the area’s education and cultural institutions including NY Polytechnic Institute (now NYU School of Engineering), CUNY City Tech, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Long Island University. Serving as the basis of the New York City Planning Commission’s 2004 rezoning, the plan has succeeded in attracting billions of dollars of new investments to neighborhood, including major housing and commercial office developments. The successful plan created social and economic benefits throughout the community and established Downtown Brooklyn as a vibrant, internationally-recognized mixed-use district.