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Land use and policy consulting

Build Upstream Solutions

Time costs everyone.
Build great spaces for people — faster.

We help property owners in New York City avoid delays in building new spaces, and we help public organizations everywhere streamline the path to a better future.

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Our services

The longer a project takes, the more can go wrong. We work with property owners and with the public organizations that review their projects, and understand both perspectives to find the path to a successful outcome.

For property owners Project Delivery We clear the path to build: finding what your site can become, choosing the right approval pathway and steering the project through review. For public organizations Policy Alignment We help fix the path itself: diagnosing permitting bottlenecks, launching programs, designing reforms and helping staff put them in place.

For property owners

Project Delivery

We turn a property into a buildable project. We tell you what your site can become, then manage the path from first idea to approved plans.

Two new approval pathways are open to small property owners, and most haven't heard of them yet:

  • Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP) cuts public review time in half for modest rezonings. Rob was on the staff of the 2025 Charter Revision Commission that created it.
  • Affordable Housing Fast Track is a 90-day public review for zoning changes that add affordable housing in the 12 community districts that have built the least.

We check whether your project qualifies and plan one that works for your property and your finances.

Discuss a property

  • Development potential

    Zoning review and floor area ratio (FAR) analysis that shows what you can build, and how much.

  • Entitlement strategy

    The fastest, lowest-risk approval pathway for your project, including whether it qualifies for ELURP or the Fast Track.

  • Scattered sites planning

    One development strategy for small sites spread across a neighborhood.

  • Land use approvals

    ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure), ELURP and Fast Track applications, zoning amendments, special permits and variances.

  • Environmental review

    We coordinate city (CEQR), state (SEQRA) and federal (NEPA) environmental review.

  • Process management

    We work with the approval agencies, coordinate your project team and keep the schedule on track.

What you get

  • A clear picture of development potential before you commit capital
  • An approval strategy with a timeline and a risk profile
  • Land use issues found and resolved before they can stall the project midway
  • One experienced lead from first analysis through approval

For public organizations

Policy Alignment

We help public organizations put policy into practice, from new programs to reforms of slow processes.

We dig into an organization's permitting process to find where time is lost and what to fix first. For institutions, we run policy education programs so leadership and staff share an understanding of the policy, its goals and the plan to reach them.

We have done this work from the inside:

  • Co-authored the 2026 SPEED Report, with reforms that cut ULURP pre-certification for some project types from two years to six months and connect agencies' permitting IT systems
  • Led Get Stuff Built: 111 reforms to environmental review, land use and permitting across 25 agencies
  • Project manager for ADU for You, including NYC's ADU Homeowner Guidebook and web tool
Talk about your organization

  • Permitting deep dives

    Mapping current workflows, finding bottlenecks and recommending practical reforms.

  • Permitting streamlining

    Fewer duplicate reviews, clearer requirements and coordinated sign-offs, so projects move from filing to approval faster.

  • Permitting IT modernization

    Linked agency portals and data, digital plan review, and clear review-time metrics for applicants.

  • Education and alignment

    Policy training programs and value-based change management for teams and leadership.

  • Capital program management

    Structuring and advancing capital projects and portfolios.

  • Interagency governance

    Coordinating roles, decisions and handoffs across agencies.

  • Partnerships and procurement

    Structuring public-private partnerships and procurement for public projects.

  • Stakeholder relationships

    Building and managing relationships with communities, elected officials and partners.

What you get

  • A clear diagnosis of where your process creates friction, and why
  • The easiest, highest-impact reforms first, then a path to the bigger fixes. Early wins build trust with stakeholders.
  • Staff who are supported and aligned around shared goals and policy direction
  • Faster, more predictable outcomes for the projects you oversee

How we work

From first analysis to the new places people need.

  1. 01

    Diagnose

    We find where time is lost, on your site or in the agency's process.

  2. 02

    Plan

    We choose the fastest, lowest-risk path and set out the timeline and the risks before you commit capital.

  3. 03

    Navigate

    We steer the work through review, working with the approval agencies and keeping your team on schedule.

  4. 04

    Deliver

    Owners get approved plans. Public organizations get reforms their staff can put in place.

Portrait of Rob Holbrook

Who we are

Rob Holbrook

Founder and principal

Rob has spent more than 20 years planning, reforming and delivering New York City's development process.

He has worked at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Department of City Planning and the Mayor's Office of Policy and Planning. Delivering projects from every side of the system taught him where they stall and how to keep them moving. He then used that experience to fix the system: the City chose him to lead Get Stuff Built, its effort to cut approval times in half, and he co-wrote the SPEED Report.

In 2023 the New York State Association for Affordable Housing gave Rob its Advocate of the Year Award for Excellence. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Arts from St. John's College.

You work directly with Rob from start to finish.

Selected work

Reforms reshaping how New York City approves projects.

01 · 2026Co-author

SPEED Report

Seven major initiatives to cut years off affordable housing approvals and permitting, including connected agency permitting systems.

02 · 2026Project manager

ADU for You

A City program, guidebook and web tool that help homeowners plan, finance, permit and build an ancillary dwelling unit.

03 · 2025Senior advisor

Charter Revision Commission

Charter amendments that created ELURP, which halves public review time for modest housing, affordable housing and resiliency projects.

04 · 2022Executive director

Get Stuff Built

111 reforms to environmental review, land use and permitting, agreed by 25 City agencies to cut development delays by about 50%.

Contact

Let's talk about your vision for the future.

Tell us about the property you want to build on or the process you want to fix, and Rob will be in touch.

Required

Rob Holbrook

Principal and Founder
Build Upstream Solutions LLC