Adriana Lenarczyk
Adriana Lenarczyk is a landscape designer with a background in environmental science and fine art. She approaches both public and private projects through the lenses of environmental health, biophilia and human experience. Adriana is currently drawing on her scientific background to develop an invasive species management plan for Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, NY, and a planting plan for a senior housing development in Manhattan. Prior to joining Starr Whitehouse, she worked with New York Restoration Project on wetland restoration, field monitoring, and expanding public engagement and access along the waterfront of Manhattan’s Sherman Creek Park. She also spent a summer at LaGuardia Design Group, where she developed site plans, construction documentation, and 3D rendering. Adriana holds a Master’s of Landscape Architecture from the City College of New York, a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science from Queens College, and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the Pacific Northwest College of Art.
Representative Projects:
Site Plans + Housing
Ridge Street Senior Apartments, New York, NY
Innovation Queens Affordable Housing, Queens, NY
Park Design
Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center Maintenance Manual, Wantagh, NY
Sherman Creek Park, New York, NY*
Climate Resilience Planning
The Line, NEOM, Saudi Arabia*
*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse.
Urban Planner Hazel Magoon uses her skill in administration and coordination to manage and support a broad range of projects in Starr Whitehouse’s urban design and planning studio. She currently manages the Starr Whitehouse consultant team on a resilience study for Coney Island, developed for the Waterfront Alliance. For NYC Parks’ concept plan for Hart Island, Hazel coordinated subconsultant tasks, project scheduling, and client communication. Hazel has produced public outreach materials for climate justice communities across New York City as part of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice’s Climate Strong Communities program. She also supports project billing and other administration on a broad range of projects for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation as well as the expansion of Southwest Resiliency Park for the City of Hoboken, NJ. 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
Kateryna Maksimentseva is a multidisciplinary designer with a background in landscape architecture and architecture. This dual focus, honed in Germany, has been informed by her diverse experiences working across Ukraine and the US. At Starr Whitehouse, Kateryna is working on two major affordable housing projects: for the Seniors First Kingsborough development in Brooklyn, she’s focused on concept design, detailing, and grading of the roof terrace. For the Lambert Houses Affordable Housing project in the Bronx, she’s using her deep knowledge of Revit-based BIM modeling to develop concept designs for townhouses and courtyards. Her designs are shaped by a passion to dissolve the boundaries between architecture and landscape, creating spaces that function as one harmonious, living system. Kateryna received both her master’s in landscape architecture and bachelor’s in architecture from Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture.
Representative Projects:
Site Plans + Housing
Seniors First Kingsborough Affordable Housing, Brooklyn, NY
Battery Playscape Field House, New York, NY
Lambert Houses Affordable Housing, Bronx, NY
Innovation Queens Affordable Housing, Queens, NY
388 Hudson Street, New York, NY
With a background in architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture, Dhwani Mehta brings a multidisciplinary approach to projects ranging from site design to large-scale urban realm interventions. She has experience across all project phases, from concept and design development to construction drawings and site supervision. collaborating closely with designers, engineers, construction teams, and community stakeholders. Currently, Dhwani is contributing project visualization to community-focused design projects such as the Coney Island Creek Resilience Project. Before joining Starr Whitehouse, Dhwani was an urban and landscape designer at AECOM, where she worked on design development and construction documentation for resilience projects like NYC DEP’s Kissena Cloudburst Hub. Dhwani holds a Master’s in Architecture Studies and Urbanism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s in Architecture from KRVIA, Mumbai University, where she is a licensed architect. While at MIT, she was selected for the MIT DesignX and MIT PKG accelerator programs, co-founding a hyperlocal digital platform that connects businesses and supports urban economies in informal settlements in India.
Representative Projects:
Climate Resilience Planning
Coney Island Creek Resilience Project, Brooklyn, NY
Cloudburst Kissena Hub, Right-of-way design, Queens, NY*
Coastal Resilience Design, Confidential project, MA*
Park Design
Cloudburst Kissena Hub, Onsite Park, Queens, NY*
Payne Playground, Brooklyn, NY*
Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
Owl’s Head Viaduct Rehabilitation Impacts, Brooklyn, NY*
Airport Landscape Design, Confidential project, NY*
DC Public Realm Plan, Washington, DC*
Site Plans + Housing
BCM Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, India*
Bellevue Holiday Villas by Carnival Realty, India*
Gupta House, India*
IB Farmhouse, India*
Meenakshi Hospital, India*
Estaa Gems Office, India*
Lodha residential interior projects, India*
Modus Office Interiors, India*
*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse
Growing up in Harlem and spending his teen years in the Dominican Republic, Comptroller Antonely Molina has always had an appreciation for finance and the importance of planning for unforeseen situations. He has worked in a variety of industries and brings seven years of experience in the construction industry, where he developed procedures to keep track of over/under budgeted projects, relieve cash flow restraints, and maintain up-to-date contract information. At Starr Whitehouse, he leverages this experience to support the stability, reliability and transparency of the firm’s financial department. Antonely received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Hunter College. When not crunching the numbers, he loves to spend quality time with friends and family and nerd out over music, sports, anime and tattoos.
Aaron is a senior landscape designer with experience in all phases of design and an interest in narrative and the long-term health of landscapes. Before joining Starr Whitehouse, Aaron performed construction documentation and administration on projects at Hudson River Park Piers 25 and 84. He has been involved from schematic design through construction administration in public and low-income housing projects across New York City. Prior to moving to New York City, Aaron worked in Southern California, learning sustainable and equitable design practices in a drought and fire sensitive region. Originally from rural Alabama, he graduated with an MLA from Auburn University where he worked as a teaching assistant. He enjoys exploring, sketching, and investigating landscapes both native and novel.
Representative Projects:
Park Design
Southwest Resiliency Park Expansion, Hoboken, NJ
Dinosaur Playground Renovation, Riverside Park, New York, NY
Streets, Public Realm and Infrastructure
Destination Greenways! Leif Ericson Park to Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn, NY
DUMBO and Vinegar Hill Mobility Study, Brooklyn, NY
Site Plans + Housing
Atlantic Chestnut Affordable Housing, Brooklyn, NY
Greenpoint Hospital Redevelopment, Brooklyn, NY
Bedford Union Armory, Brooklyn, NY*
Mary Star of the Sea Senior Housing, Brooklyn, NY*
Penn South, New York, NY*
The Chateau Garden, Queens, NY*
*Work Completed Prior to Joining Starr Whitehouse.
With a background in public space design and urban planning, Keiko Okai-Yabe brings comprehensive expertise to various stages of spatial creation, from urban vision development to construction documentation and supervision. With five years of practical experience in Japan, including street and square designs, she has a strong interest in urban-rural resilience, having participated in both research and practical aspects of recovery projects following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
Before joining Starr Whitehouse, Keiko obtained a Master’s in City Planning and an Urban Design Certificate from the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, where she developed strong research and quantitative analysis skills within the urban planning field. She also holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Tokyo, where she was in the Landscape and Civic Design Lab.
Representative Projects:
Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
Niagara Falls Signage and Wayfinding Plan, Niagara Falls, NY
Public Square Park Renovation Bid Documents, Hudson, NY
Walkable KOBE Vision Plan, Hyogo, Japan*
Sankita Streetscape and Plaza, Kobe-Sannomiya Station, Hyogo, Japan*
Streetscape Design, Izumo Taisha Shrine, Shimane, Japan*
Yanagawa Station Canal Square, Fukuoka, Japan*
Matsuyama City Station Square Concept Design, Ehime, Japan*
*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse
Landscape and urban designer Ana Piacentini brings four years of experience as point person and lead designer on multiple project at varied stages from conceptual master planning to construction documentation. During her four years at Local Office, she designed and detailed a range of residential, public and housing projects throughout New York City, Miami and the Bahamas. With an emphasis on detailed GIS site analysis and ecological research, Ana approaches her work with a focus on local ecologies and water management. Her research interests included collaboration with the Regional Plan Association on a vision for future streets in New York City. In her free time, Ana loves to rock climb, play tennis, read, and experiment with different artistic mediums such as cyanotyping and block printing. Ana graduated with her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Northeastern University in 2019.
Representative Projects:
Park Design
Southwest Resiliency Park Expansion, Hoboken, NJ
Arverne East Nature Preserve, Queens, New York
Bear Mountain State Park Restoration, Bear Mountain, NY
Rudd Pond State Park, Millerton, NY
Hart Island Master Plan, Bronx, NY
Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
Grove Central Metro Station, Miami, FL*
Blackwell Park Plaza Restoration, Roosevelt Island, NY*
Southwest Streetscapes Concept Masterplan, Miami, FL*
Beach Outfalls CSO Visioning Plan, Bay St. Louis, MS*
Site Plans + Housing
Packer Collegiate Master Plan, Brooklyn, NY
Beach Green Dunes 3 Housing Development, Arverne, NY*
Climate Resilience Planning
Arverne East Resilient Neighborhood Masterplan, Arverne, NY*
* Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse.
With a background in fine art and philosophy, Phil crafts the narratives and graphic materials that communicate Starr Whitehouse’s vision.
Brady is a versatile landscape designer and writer who contributes production on projects across all phases of design. He was instrumental to Starr Whitehouse winning two of the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management’s Green Infrastructure Design Challenge projects, subsequently spearheading design development and construction documents for both. He worked on the detail-rich design for the extension of the East River Esplanade on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Other experience includes a new riverfront park for the City of Roswell, GA on the Chattahoochee River, expanding waterfront access, local habitat, and shoreline resilience. Prior to Starr Whitehouse, Brady worked on public and private sector projects in Colorado, Oregon, and Arizona. All that time out West sharpened his appreciation for the complexity of ecologies, both pristine and disturbed, and the resiliency of the individuals and communities that inhabit them. Outside the office, you’ll find Brady writing, reading, or hiking in the mountains.
Representative Projects:
Site Plans + Housing
Vine Street Waterfront Development, Philadelphia, PA
Covington Town Center Residential Development, Covington, GA
Lecount Place Residential Development, New Rochelle, NY
Aspen Art Museum Streetscape and Courtyard, Aspen, CO*
Portland Art Museum Landscape Exhibit, Portland, OR*
Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure
East River Esplanade, New York, NY
North Point Parkway, Alpharetta, GA
Green Infrastructure Challenge: Continental Colony, Atlanta, GA
Brooklyn Bridge Esplanade, New York, NY
*Projects completed before joining Starr Whitehouse