Chris Anderson

Senior Associate and Project Manager Chris Anderson has been part of the Starr Whitehouse team for nearly ten years, leading dozens of projects from detailed pocket parks to state-wide planning and construction efforts. He has honed a versatile skill set in construction administration, project management, design team coordination, and client communication. From overseeing the implementation of New Jersey’s first resilience park in Hoboken, NJ, to managing the completion of six new gateway plazas across New York State’s ambitious Empire State Trail system, Chris has become an invaluable member of Starr Whitehouse’s project management corps. Chris has been active in establishing Starr Whitehouse’s Studio in Hudson, NY, where he manages projects for state, county, and local governments across New York State. Recent work includes the DRI-funded reconstruction of historic Promenade Hill Park in Hudson, NY, the creation of statewide design guidelines for the New York Power Authority and Canal Corporation, shoreline stabilization and habitat restoration for Hamlin Beach State Park on Lake Ontario, and the ambitious renovation of historic Bear Mountain State Park in Tomkins Cove, NY.

Representative Projects:

Park Design
Bear Mountain State Park Reconstruction, Tomkins Cove, NY
Hamlin Beach State Park Shoreline Restoration, Hamlin, NY
Promenade Hill Park Restoration & Plaza Redesign, Hudson, NY
Southwest Resiliency Park, Hoboken, NJ
St. Mary’s Park Master Plan and Reconstruction, Bronx, NY
Tallman Mountain State Park Study and Implementation, Sparkill, NY
New Windsor Cantonment Accessibility Improvements, New Windsor, NY
Scout Park Redesign, Hamlin, NY
Mills Norrie State Park Study, Staatsburg, NY
Saratoga Spa State Park Playground, Saratoga Springs, NY
Taconic State Park Rudd Pond Playground, Millerton, NY
Thompson Park Master Plan, Watertown, NY
Manhattan Greenway Harlem River, New York, NY
Bronson Park Vision, Hudson, NY
Battery Playscape Construction Administration, New York, NY

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
Destination: Greenways! Leif Ericson Park to Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn, NY
Niagara State Park Signage & Wayfinding Plan, Niagara Falls, NY
NYPA Reimagine the Canals Design Guidelines, Multiple Sites, New York State
NYS Parks Empire State Trail Gateways, Multiple Sites, New York State
Manhattan Greenway Harlem River, New York, NY
Fresh Creek Coastal Resiliency, Brooklyn, NY

Site Plans + Housing
Bedford Green House, Bronx, NY
Mill Brook Senior Housing, Bronx, NY
Cunningham Park Garage, Queens, NY
Coney Island Affordable Housing Development, Brooklyn, NY
Covenant House Young Adult Shelter, New York, NY
StuyTown Fitness Playground, New York, NY
Crossroads Development Plaza, Bronx, NY
Pawling Residence, Pawling, NY
Pine Plains Residence, Pine Plains, NY
Woodstock Residence, Woodstock, NY
Gowanus Greenscape Master Plan, Brooklyn, NY*

*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse

Perdy Biddlecombe, originally from Glasgow, Scotland, holds an undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology. Five years ago, she moved to New York to pursue a Master’s degree in Media, Culture, and Communication, at New York University. Passionate about communications, Perdy is particularly focused on how to market accessible sustainable design while serving diverse communities. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, embroidery, and playing wiffle ball.

Senior Associate Ryan Castro brings over a decade of experience shaping immersive landscapes across a broad range of project types—from urban playgrounds to state parks, greenways, and green roofs. At Starr Whitehouse, Ryan serves as the lead landscape architect for the Brooklyn Greenway, a waterfront project focused on enhancing accessibility, promoting health, and connecting communities with scenic views and recreational spaces along the waterfront. In addition, he played a key role in the design of the ambitious Lakeshore improvements at Bear Mountain State Park, working closely with the team to enhance the visitor experience while preserving the site’s historic and ecological character. Ryan approaches every project with a balance of creativity and technical rigor, crafting spaces that offer moments of calm, connection, and clarity within the urban fabric. His work is grounded in place making—weaving together narrative, site, and user experience to create landscapes that resonate deeply while meeting future needs and the challenges of diverse communities. He earned his Master of Landscape Architecture as a Presidential Scholar at the Rhode Island School of Design and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the New York Institute of Technology.

Representative Projects:

Parks and Playground Design

Dinosaur Playground Restoration, Riverside Park, New York, NY
Bear Mountain State Park Restoration, Bear Mountain, NY
Clove Lakes Park Ballfield Reconstruction, Staten Island, NY
Bartlett Playground, Brooklyn, NY*
Maple Playground, Queens, NY*
Lower Highland East Playground and Comfort Station, Queens, NY*
FDNY-EMT Yadira Arroyo Playground, Bronx, NY*
Playground 134, Bronx, NY*
Longfellow Playground, Bronx, NY*
Lyon Square Playground, Bronx, NY*
Little Claremont Playground, Bronx, NY*
South Rochdale Playground, Queens, NY*

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure

Destination Greenways! Leif Ericson Park to Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn, NY
Destination Greenways! Plan, Queens/Brooklyn, NY*

Site Plans + Housing

116th Police Precinct Station House Landscape, Queens, NY
Barnard College, Manhattan, NY*
NYU Langone Tisch Courtyard, Manhattan, NY*

*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse

With a dual background in architecture and landscape design, Associate Aishwarya Dharmarajan is a multidisciplinary systems thinker who manages consultant teams and leads documentation on some of Starr Whitehouse’s most ambitious urban design and streetscape projects. As project manager for NYC DOT’s Park Avenue Vision Plan, she oversees graphic production, leads stakeholder engagement, and coordinates the Starr Whitehouse consultant team to transform eleven blocks of Park Avenue above a reconstructed MTA train shed roof. For the Linc in New Rochelle, Aishwarya provides design detailing and construction documentation to convert a highway overpass into an eleven-acre park. Before joining Starr Whitehouse, she contributed design development, subconsultant coordination, and construction documentation for the North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project. Aishwarya is a recipient of the ASLA NCC Student Merit Award, H. Leland Vaughan Memorial Scholarship, ASLA Certificate of Merit in Graduate Category, and AWAF–KFA Architecture Scholarship. She has been recognized as a 2024 LAF Olmsted Scholar.

Representative Projects:

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
Park Avenue Vision Plan, New York, NY
The Linc Highway-to-Park Conversion, New Rochelle, NY
Niagara Falls State Park Rainbow Bridge Study, Niagara Falls, NY

Climate Resilience Planning
Esplanade Gardens Resilience Study, New York, NY
North/West Battery Park Coastal Resiliency, New York, NY*

Park Design
Oakdale Lake Park Playground, Hudson, NY

*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse

Managing a broad portfolio of urban planning and design projects in some of the New York Metro area’s most environmentally challenged neighborhoods, Associate Annabel Finkel brings extensive experience engaging communities, building stakeholder consensus, and developing award-winning project communications. Trusted by agencies to represent the City to stakeholders, Annabel has a reputation for translating complex information about climate threats and design solutions into intuitive graphic narratives and sensory tools. As engagement lead for the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice’s Climate Strong Communities program, Annabel manages partnerships with over 65 community organizations across 10 neighborhoods — developing materials and strategy for stakeholder interviews, neighborhood walks, and public workshops. She currently serves as the Starr Whitehouse project manager for NYC DOT’s North Brooklyn Plazas initiative and Citywide Greenways Expansion plan. In 2026, Annabel won funding to explore pathways to expand equitable access to drinking water on New York City streets and sidewalks as part of The Trust for Public Land’s Water: Designing an Equitable Water Future for NYC initiative.

Representative Projects:

Climate Resilience Planning
Climate Strong Communities, New York, NY
East Shore Shoreline Resilient Parks Plan, Staten Island, NY
NYC DEP Water and Stormwater Resiliency Program Engagement and Signage Plan, Five Boroughs, NY

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
34th Avenue Open Street Study, Queens, NY
Citywide Greenways Expansion Plan, All boroughs, NY
North Brooklyn Plazas, Brooklyn, NY
DUMBO / Vinegar Hill Mobility Study, Brooklyn, NY
East Village / Lower East Side Waterfront Access Study, New York, NY
Lewisboro Comprehensive Plan, Lewisboro, NY

Park Design
Hart Island Concept Plan, Bronx, NY
Southwest Resiliency Park Expansion, Hoboken, NJ
Nissequogue River State Park Master Plan, Kings Park, NY
Public Square Historic Park Renovation, Hudson, NY

Alice Foppiani, a Marketing Coordinator at Starr Whitehouse, believes in design as a tool for collective well-being. Growing up in Brooklyn instilled in her a dedicated care for the built environment and a commitment to more sustainable living. Previously, she supported the marketing efforts of an architecture studio where she developed her skills in constructing projects’ visual and written narratives. Alice holds a degree in Studio Art from Washington University in St. Louis.

Harriet Grimm is a registered landscape architect and certified arborist with over three decades’ experience designing, guiding and implementing complex multi-disciplinary projects. Her work has primarily focused on projects in the public realm, including parks, schools, streetscapes, roadways and infrastructure. She has deep knowledge of New York City and State agency design requirements, including bidding and construction procedures. This makes Harriet an invaluable resource for constructability and quality assurance reviews across the Starr Whitehouse team. Harriet has developed specifications and provided construction administration for multiple projects for the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, including the renovation of Bear Mountain State Park, the restoration of a valuable stretch of Lake Ontario shoreline at Hamlin Beach State Park, and the redesign of Marsha P Johnson State Park in Brooklyn. She regularly supports complex design and construction projects for NYC Parks, NYC DEP, NYC EDC, and NYC DOT, including the Freshkills South Park landfill-to-park conversion and the rehabilitation of four NYC DOT bridges on the Belt Shore Parkway in Brooklyn. Recent private sector work includes quality control and construction documentation for the Durst Organization’s Halletts Point Esplanade and CAMBA’s Weeksvillage Senior Housing. As a landscape architect and certified arborist, Harriet provides expert guidance on protecting trees and natural systems during construction. Prior to Starr Whitehouse, she was a Senior Associate and Landscape Studio Director at Saratoga Associates’ NYC Office.

Representative Projects:

Park Design
Bear Mountain State Park Restoration, Bear Mountain, N
Hamlin Beach State Park Shoreline Restoration, Hamlin, NY
Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River, NY
Marsha P Johnson State Park, Brooklyn, NY
Jones Beach State Park Energy and Nature Center, Wantagh, NY
Jones Beach State Park West Games, Wantagh, NY
Freshkills South Park, Staten Island, NY
Teatown Nature Preserve Visitor Center, Ossining, NY
Promenade Hill Park Universal Access and Plaza Design, Hudson, NY
Public Square Park Restoration, Hudson, New York
Southwest Resiliency Park and Park Expansion, Hoboken, NJ
Brooklyn Bridge Esplanade, Brooklyn, NY
Riverside Park Dinosaur Playground Restoration, New York, NY
Riverside Park 97th Street Entrance, New York, NY
Arverne East Urban Nature Preserve, Queens, NY
Niagara Falls Entrance, Robert Moses Parkway, Niagara Falls, NY*
Crown Hill Restoration, Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY*
Re-imaging Gardens on Parade, Queens Botanical Garden, NY*

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
Manhattan Greenway Harlem River Waterfront Park Design, New York, NY
Destination Greenways! Leif Ericson Park to Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn, NY
Anderson Plaza, New Rochelle, NY
Belt Parkway Bridge Rehabilitation, Brooklyn, NY
Empire State Trail Gateway Sites, Various Sites, NY
Tibbetts Brook Daylighting, Bronx, NY
North Bay Connector Trail, Hudson, NY
Daylighting the Saw Mill River, Van der Donck Park, Yonkers, NY*
Mosholu Parkway, Preliminary Design Report, Bronx, NY*

Site Plans + Housing
Halletts Point Esplanade Waterfront Development, Queens, NY
Seniors First: Weeksvillage Senior Housing, Brooklyn, NY

*Work completed prior to Starr Whitehouse

Tahra Khanuja, the Community Engagement Coordinator at Starr Whitehouse, is committed to creating meaningful connections within the public realm. A recent graduate of NYU, Tahra uses her passion for community engagement and storytelling to foster dialogues between communities, agencies, and stakeholders about how to improve the urban realm.

Tahra started as an intern at Starr Whitehouse before her senior year of college, working in the field on community-based projects like Climate Strong Communities, Cloudburst Management and Green Thumb’s Water Management Plan. Her final semester at NYU, Tahra interned at the Meatpacking District Management Association where she learned more about city BIDs and how to engage various communities through media, programming, and outreach. Tahra’s Spanish speaking proficiency and her eagerness to learn more about New York City’s diverse neighborhoods serve as assets in her engagement and storytelling efforts.

Outside of work, Tahra is an avid runner, and you can find her freelance reporting for local publications or exploring urban parks with her dog, Gracie.

Representative Projects:

Climate Resilience Planning

Climate Strong Communities, New York, NY
Cloudburst Hubs, Queens, NY
Greenthumb Community Garden Irrigation Plan and EIS, New York, NY

Street, Public Realm, and Infrastructure

DUMBO Mobility Study, Brooklyn, NY

Landscape Designer Joanna Królak brings international experience in project visualization and production to the Starr Whitehouse team. A skilled renderer, Joanna has provided project visualizations and schematic designs for a new corporate plaza and open-air market in São Paulo, creating a strong design concept aligned with client’s placemaking goals. Her graphics and renderings for the daylighting of Tibbetts Brook in The Bronx were featured in Landscape Architecture Magazine. In project production, Joanna brings experience in schematic design development, presentation preparation, client coordination, and other phases. For a new riverfront park in the city of Roswell, GA, she worked on a children’s storm water garden from design development to construction drawings. For Manhattan Greenway Harlem River, a 7-acre linear park on the Harlem River Waterfront, she worked on schematic and technical studies, construction drawings, and construction administration. Joanna holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Cracow University of Technology in Poland. 

Representative Projects:

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure

Tibbetts Brook Daylighting, Bronx, NY
Brooklyn Greenways, Brooklyn, NY
Broadway Boulevard Plaza, New York, NY
Anderson Park, New Rochelle, NY
Spring Creek, New York, NY

Park Design

Roswell River Parks, Roswell, GA
Dinosaur Playground Restoration, Riverside Park, New York, NY
Thompson Park Master Plan, Watertown, NY
Bear Mountain State Park Restoration, Bear Mountain, NY
Manhattan Greenway Harlem River Waterfront Park Design, New York, NY
Stadshart Hoorn (City Beach), Hoorn, The Netherlands*

Site Plans + Housing

Halletts Point Waterfront Development, Queens, NY
Hybrid Industrial/ Commercial Development, Brooklyn, NY
Vine Street Development & Park, Philadelphia, PA
Greenpoint Hospital Redevelopment, Brooklyn, NY
Phipps Lambert Houses, Bronx, New York
Luna Plaza, Gardens, and Roofs, São Paulo, Brazil
Overhoeks Residential Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands*
Facebook Data Centre, Clonee, Ireland*
Cherrywood Development – Parks and Residential, Dublin, Ireland*

Climate Resilience Planning

East Shore Shoreline Resilient Parks Plan, Staten Island, NY

Other

Green Heart – design research, The Netherlands*

* Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse

 

Urban Planner Hazel Magoon manages a broad range of urban planning and design projects — with a particular focus on making urban parks and other large, complex open spaces more socially and physically resilient. A gifted communicator and consensus-builder, she acts as a linch pin between city agencies, stewardship organizations, multidisciplinary design teams, and environmental stakeholders. Hazel is currently the project manager on the Waterfront Alliance’s resilience study for Coney Island Creek and NYC Parks’ Pelham Bay Park Resilience and Access Study — working with complex agency and non-profit constituencies to protect beloved open spaces from sea level rise. Previously, Hazel was the project manager for NYC Parks’ Hart Island Concept Plan, supported community engagement for the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice’s Climate Strong Communities program, and supported workflows on a broad range of projects for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Hazel discovered her passions for sustainability, urbanism, and building equitable green spaces in undergraduate classes at the University of Michigan where she majored in urban studies and political science. She has previous experience working in urban planning and small-scale real estate development.

Representative Projects:

Climate Resilience Planning
Coney Island Resilience Study, Brooklyn, NY
Climate Strong Communities, New York, NY
GreenThumb Irrigation Plan & EIS New York, NY
Hart Island Master Plan, Long Island Sound, NY

Park Design
Pelham Bay Park Access and Resilience Study, Bronx, NY
Hart Island Master Plan, Long Island Sound, NY
Southwest Resiliency Park Expansion, Hoboken, NJ
Letchworth State Park Pool Study, Mount Morris, NY
Niagara State Park Pool Study, Niagara Falls, NY

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
DUMBO and Vinegar Hill Mobility Study, Brooklyn, NY