laura rothrock (moderator)

President, Long Island City Partnership

Laura Rothrock is the president of Long Island City Partnership (LICP) and executive director of the Long Island City Business Improvement District (LIC BID), which is managed by LICP. From 2013-2022 Laura was an executive at Nicholas & Lence Communications, a government affairs and communications firm. She started her career at the New York City Department of Small Business Services, serving as the BID Program’s executive director, where she represented nearly 70 BIDs across the city and oversaw its $100 million contract management portfolio. Laura holds a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola University in Maryland and a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

basha gerhards

Senior Vice President of Planning, Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)

Basha Gerhards is the Senior Vice President of Planning with the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). Basha is focused on topics related to housing, land use, zoning, resiliency, and community development at the city, state and federal level. Her work has helped to secure City and State legislation expanding access to housing vouchers, policy changes to facilitate office to residential conversions, and advance major projects delivering much-needed housing for New Yorkers.

Previously, Basha served as a senior land use advisor to then Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. Prior to that, Basha worked at City of New York’s Department of City Planning.

She has an M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University GSAPP and holds a B.F.A. in Historic Preservation, with a concentration in Urban Design & Development, from the Savannah College of Art & Design.

Ya-ting liu

Chief Public Realm Officer, City of New York

Ya-Ting Liu is the Chief Public Realm Officer for the City of New York. Liu brings over 16 years of policy, community organizing, coalition building, and government affairs experience to the Adams administration. She has dedicated her career to building coalitions and partnerships to deliver projects across a range of issue areas, including transportation, sustainability, and technology. For the last two years, she has served as chief strategy officer to Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, a title she will continue to hold concurrently with chief public realm officer.

Before entering city government, Liu worked as the director of government affairs and policy for the rideshare company Via, as sustainability program director for the New York League of Conservation Voters, as director of transit advocacy for Transportation Alternatives, and in federal advocacy for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Liu earned a Bachelor of Science in conservation studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.