Steve Zirinsky Is New President of Block Board
The Block Association’s new president, Steve Zirinsky, is not a block newcomer. He and his wife Paula moved here in 2002 and he has been involved with and committed to our block community ever since. We can thank him for organizing the installation of our elegant streetlights, which he shepherded through city bureaucracy. He spearheaded the expansion of the tree gardens and continues to provide creative ideas and leadership to the board and residents.
Steve grew up in Great Neck, Long Island. Even in elementary school he was curious, and liked to arrange things, and figure out how they were put together. His interests sparked the high school vice principal to administer a special test, which helped him be admitted to Carnegie- Mellon University, where he earned a degree in architecture. He worked briefly in New Haven, but then came to New York. After a short stint on the East Side, he moved to the West Side, where he has been at home ever since. He was responsible for a new streetlight on Riverside and 94th St. when he was president of a co-op there. When he and his wife moved to our block, he got busy working on West 104th Street’s lights. Soon the family expanded with the addition of Ethan, now 14.
Steve’s architecture firm is in Long Island City, so he has a reverse commute. His very first commission was a new warehouse in Brooklyn. He has worked on interesting projects—such as renovating the New York Road Runners Club—as well as what he dubs the “usual” mix of residential and commercial work. His interest in the streetscape stems from his notion that architecture doesn’t stop at the building line…but is experienced everywhere.
His avocation is postage stamps, and his collection is vast. He specializes in canceled envelopes and island countries of the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. He will travel internationally to further this passion. He still finds time for weekend runs, and has completed enough marathons (it is not his favorite distance). Steve is a member of many associations involving architects, city regulations, and postage stamps. He has served on several mayoral committees organized through the Dept. of Buildings, and now sits on one that is developing the 2019 New York City Building Code.
He is passionate about our block and encourages every resident to become involved in some way to improve the sense of community that makes our block special. Feel free to contact him with your suggestions at Steve@zirinskyarch.com. And please read your newsletters and emails for more ideas from Steve.