Jeffrey Poor

Partner, Studio Director

Jeffrey Poor brings more than 30 years of experience in the conceptualization, formulation and implementation of sustainable and compelling site design to Starr Whitehouse. His award-winning work spans a wide range of project scales and types, and consistently contributes creative solutions to the challenges faced in the implementation of sustainable design. Beginning with his work in New York’s Central Park, Poor’s interest in environmental, social and aesthetic considerations dovetailed neatly with the foundational design framework of the Greensward Plan. His work for the Central Park Conservancy emphasized the use of natural materials, native plant communities, and the creative treatment of stormwater. In projects such as the Great Lawn, Harlem Meer, North Meadow, and the Reconstruction of the West Side, Poor, in collaboration with Laura Starr, transformed the landscape and reinvigorated the Park’s ideals of social and environmental stewardship through the implementation of sustainable design practices long before the term gained its present currency.

Such innovations have become a staple of Poor’s career. For the Wildlife Conservation Society, Poor oversaw the design and implementation of an environmental restoration project along the Bronx River. The project restored portions of the riverbank, captured, detained and polished stormwater and implemented a graphic signage system explaining the hydrologic cycle as a public education resource.

As Partner and Studio Director at Starr Whitehouse, Poor plays a lead role in making the design team’s vision a reality. His experience and technical mastery weave together diverse and often competing variables into fully integrated and innovative design solutions, resulting in successful and memorable spaces. His forward-thinking design with Stephen Whitehouse for the Bronx River House in Starlight Park employs landscape and horticultural strategies to mitigate heat loads through controlled evapotranspiration using a layered green wall. In another collaboration with Whitehouse, his DEP Maintenance Facility design introduces stormwater retention swales within the public right of way to capture and polish roof runoff for use in maintenance operations, an innovation that would later be incorporated into the DEP’s manual of best practices.

Representative Projects: 

Park Design

The Battery Projects, New York, NY
Marsha P Johnson State Park, Brooklyn, NY
Bear Mountain State Park Restoration, Bear Mountain, NY
Manhattan Greenway Harlem River Waterfront Park Design, New York, NY
Riverside Park Dinosaur Playground, New York, NY
Arverne East Nature Preserve, L+M Development Partners, Queens, New York
Seaside Park and Community Arts Center, New York, NY
Bushwick Inlet Park, Brooklyn, NY
Freshkills South Park, Staten Island, NY
Starlight Park/Bronx River House, Bronx, NY
Paulus Hook Waterfront Park Concept Design, Jersey City, NJ
Morningside Gardens Master Plan & Schematic Design, New York, NY*
Madison Square Park Schematic Design, New York, NY*
The Central Park Projects, New York, NY*

Site Plans + Housing

Halletts Point Waterfront Development, Queens, NY
VIA 57 West Courtyard, New York, NYVine Street Waterfront Development, Philadelphia, PA
Packer Collegiate Master Plan, Brooklyn, NY
Harlem River Point Residential Garden and Playground, New York, NY
StuyTown Fitness Park, New York, NY
Central Park West Co-op Courtyard, New York, NY
Jersey City Municipal Services Center, Jersey City, NJ
EF Academy, Thornwood, NY
40th Police Precinct Station House, New York, NY
Orient Point Residence and Nature Preserve, Long Island, NY
Success Academy Playgrounds, New York, NY
ACS Playground, New York, NY
Hunters Point South Affordable Housing, Queens, NY
Caton Street Courtyard and Rooftop Community Garden, Brooklyn, NY
The Easton Bonus Plaza and Terraces, New York, NY
Gowanus Green Waterfront Park, Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Academy of Music Fisher Hall Roof Terrace, Brooklyn, NY
United Nations International School Courtyard Design, New York, NY
SUNY Cortland Campus Landscape Design, Courtland, NY
116th Police Precinct, Brooklyn, NY
Oyster Bay RR Museum Plaza Design, Oyster Bay, NY*
School Construction Authority Playgrounds, Brooklyn, NY*
Flatbush Branch Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY
Remsen Street DEP Maintenance Facility, Brooklyn, NY*
Bronx River Walk, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY*
Columbia University President’s Garden, New York, NY*
Canterbury School Multiple Projects, New Milford, CT*
RPI EMPAC Plaza and Site Design, Troy, NY*
Hamilton College, Kirner Johnson Addition Plaza Design, Clinton, NY*
Dekalb Branch Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY

Streets, Public Realm, and Infrastructure

Randall’s Island Hell Gate Pathway, Randall’s Island, NY
Belt-Shore Parkway Bridge Rehabilitation, New York, NY
Manhattan Bridge Plaza Design, Brooklyn, NY*
Vietnam Veterans Plaza, New York, NY*
Hutchinson River Parkway Bike Path, Bronx, NY*

*Work completed prior to joining Starr Whitehouse